Olive Garden Copycat Breadsticks

Tags

baking, bread, Breadsticks, Cooking, Food, garlic, Olive Garden, recipe, Sticks, vegetarian

So I cannot take credit for this recipe, I found it at Cooking Classy. I made these breadsticks yesterday for my mother-in-law’s birthday. She is a huge Olive Garden fan, but with the COVID situation we decided to have a small luncheon at home. My daughter challenged me to find a recipe and try to recreate the Olive Garden breadsticks instead of baking my usual bread loaves. This recipe fit the bill!!! My MIL said the breadsticks were even better than Olive Garden’s!!!

I did find that when I measured out 2 oz balls to form into the breadsticks, I actually got 14 breadsticks out of this recipe.

I also chose to make these a day ahead and par-baked them for 6 minutes and then stored them in a ziplock back over night. Then the day of I baked them an additional 7-8 minutes until golden brown and then brushed with the butter and seasoning. You could definitely freeze these too.

Delicious!!! I will definitely make these again! Everyone loved them!

Servings: 12-14

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 11 minutes

Resting 2 hours 30 minutes

Ready in: 3 hours 6 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp warm water(110 – 115 degrees)
• 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar,divided
• 3 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil

Topping

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer whisk together warm water, yeast and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar until yeast has dissolved. Allow to rest 10 minutes.

2. Add in remaining 1 Tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp granulated sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 3/4 tsp salt and vegetable oil, then fit mixer with paddle attachment and blend mixture until well combine.

3. Switch mixer to dough hook attachment, add in remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and knead mixture on low speed, adding up to 1/4 cup additional flour as needed, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Transfer dough to a large buttered mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place free from draft until double, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Punch risen dough down, divide into 12 equal portions (2 ounces each by weight), keep them covered with plastic wrap as you work. Roll each piece into a 9 inch rope on a lightly floured surface, then transfer to two parchment paper lined baking sheets. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 425 during the last 10 minutes of rising. Bake in preheated oven 11 – 13 minutes until golden.

7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together 1/4 tsp salt and garlic powder.

8. Remove breadsticks from oven and run a stick of butter over hot breadsticks (using 2 Tbsp, or brush with melted butter) and immediately sprinkle with garlic salt mixture.

Lemon Curd Tart – This was delicious and very impressive!!!

Tags

baking, dessert, Food, Lemon Curd Tart, Meyer, recipe

I love to cook and I’m pretty proficient in the kitchen, but I was intimidated by this recipe. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’m not big on making my own crusts. This recipe really wasn’t hard at all and the crust came together beautifully! It was a great add to our Thanksgiving table, but would be good any time you have lemons on hand. Our Meyer lemons were ripening, so this was the perfect use of them!

I can’t take credit for this recipe. This came from Ina Garten AKA The Barefoot Contessa. I knew it must be good. Ina would never steer us wrong!!!

Lemon Curd Tart

For the Tart Shell:

12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), plus more for greasing, all brought up to room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

For the Lemon Curd:

4 lemons at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1/8 tsp salt

1. Mix the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the chilled tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the lemon curd:

1. Remove the zest of the lemons with a vegetable peeler or zester, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

2. Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10-15 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 175 degrees F, or just below a simmer. Remove from the heat.

3. Fill the tart shell with warm lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature.

Enjoy!!!

The BEST Pumpkin Bread!!!

Tags

Bake, baking, bread, pumpkin, recipe, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

Want a seasonal treat to share with friends, family and neighbors? Or just something to make your home smell fabulous and enjoy with your morning coffee? This pumpkin bread will fill the bill. It is so moist and delicious!!! I’ve been making it like crazy for the last month or so and everyone that has had it, just loves it! It’s pretty easy to make too!

I can’t take credit for this recipe. It comes from the Food Network Kitchen. I do like that the one recipe makes 2 large or 3 medium size loaves, so there is some for you and some to share! You could even add some raisins or nuts to this, if you like!

I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!

The BEST Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable or canola oil

4 eggs

15 oz can of puréed pumpkin

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour two large loaf or 3 medium loaf pans.

Blend together sugar and oil until well mixed. Next add the eggs and pumpkin and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. While the mixer is running spoon the dry mixture into the wet. About half way through add half of the water, then continue adding the dry ingredients and at the end add the remaining water.

Pour and equal amount of batter into each loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center and it should come out clean.

Allow to cook in pans for 10 minutes and then turn out of pans and continue to cool loaves on a rack. It will slice cleaner when it has been allowed to cool for a while.

Enjoy!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.

2 Whisk together the sugar and oil in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk in the eggs and pumpkin until combined.

3 Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined. Add half the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Add half the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Add half the water and stir to combine. Repeat with the remaining flour and water.

4 Divide the batter between the prepared loaf pans. Bake until cake tester comes out clean and the loaves are golden brown, about 1 hour. Let the loaves cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Thanksgiving Dutch Apple Pie – A Traditional Favorite

Tags

baking, dessert, Dutch Apple Pie, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetaria

Yesterday I was a baking fool! First I made cranberry pecan muffins. These were only so-so, so I won’t burden you with that recipe! BUT then, I went on to bake an apple pie and chicken pot pie. Now these two recipes are worth sharing! Today I’ll start with the Dutch Apple Pie. This was my first time ever baking an apple pie! I decided to keep it basic and use a frozen ready made pie shell and went with a dutch topping, instead of crust. The pie was fairly easy to make and it was delicious!!! If you’re looking for a pie to serve at your Thanksgiving dinner, this is an easy version that can fit into your busy cooking schedule. Pies even freeze pretty well, so you can make it ahead and freeze for the big day.

Now I say this was pretty easy, but this is coming from a girl who was blessed to receive a Kitchen Aid spiralizer for Christmas last year. This particular spiralizer has a spiral slicing blade along with a peeling blade, so I did not have to peel and slice 8 cups of apples! Having to do this manually would make this pie more time consuming to make. If you don’t have a Kitchen Aid mixer, but you think you might make this more if you didn’t have to peel and slice apples consider investing in an hand crank apple peeler/corer that attaches to a table. We have an antique one of these and they work great!

Lastly, I cannot take credit for this recipe. This is a Betty Crocker recipe minus the portion to make your own pie crust. I substituted a frozen pie shell.

Dutch Apple Pie

1 frozen pie shell (set out and let thaw for 10-15 minutes)

Filling

8 cups peeled and sliced apples (I used about 5 medium sized apples)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Preheat ove to 400 degrees. In large bowl, toss Filling ingredients. Pour into pie plate, mounding apples toward center.

In medium bowl, use pastry blender or fingers to mix butter, 1 cup flour and the brown sugar until a crumb forms. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon granulated sugar on top.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until pie crust and crumb topping are deep golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Transfer to cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake – I Lowered the Fat and Simplified the Process! Can’t Beat That!!!

Tags

baking, dessert, low-fat, lowfat, Pumpkin Cheesecake

So first try at cheesecake with a berry topping was delicious, but didn’t set up the way it should. I would not be defeated!!! I was getting in the fall mood last weekend and decided to try again with a pumpkin cheesecake. This one was a winner!!!! It had a firm, yet silky texture and the wonderful, comforting taste of pumpkin. I’m not usually a fan of pumpkin pie, but the cream cheese ads a wonderful tang to this dessert!

Tip: In my first attempt at cheesecake I learned that you can’t cut out all the fat and expect it to set up nicely. This version is a compromise. I used the reduced fat cream cheese and used full fat sour cream.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 Pre-made graham cracker crust

2 – 8 oz blocks of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream (full fat – see tip above)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining ingredients one by one while continuing to beat. I used my stand mixer for this. Pour filling into crust. You will likely have some leftover. I poured this into small oven safe bowls and baked as well. Making little custard like bowls. Place dishes on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie – I really need to try this!!! It sounds fantastic!!!

Tags

baking, Chocolate Bourban Pecan Pie, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

This pie sounds and looks fantastic!!! I’m going to have to try this myself!!!

https://casseylouise.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/the-thanksgiving-desert-saga-part-1/

Cheesecake with Berry Lemon Topping – Not Perfect, but Delicious!!!

Tags

baking, berry lemon topping, lemon zest, mixed berries, tyler florence, Ultimate Cheesecake, vegetarian

So this food blogging girl had never made cheesecake before. Don’t ask why! I just never got around to it until recently. As you can see from the picture, it didn’t turn out perfect, but it sure tasted fantastic! I think this recipe is still solid and I made some mistakes that you can easily correct and make a perfectly great cheesecake! I cannot take credit for this recipe though. This was from Tyler Florence of the Food Network.

So my mistake was that in trying to keep this low-fat, it didn’t firm up as much as it should. It did still taste great and have a nice texture though, so if you care more about fat content than the beauty of your dish, you can follow my notes below.

I also cheated and used a pre-made graham cracker crust. I had one leftover from my Canteloupe Pie and that’s what inspired me to try making cheese cake. I was happy with the crust, so if you don’t have a springform pan or just want to save a little time, the pre-made crust worked just fine! I did still follow the baking instructions of adding water to a baking pan and setting the cheesecake in that.

The Ultimate Cheesecake by Tyler Florence

Ingredients

Crust: (My note: I used a pre-made crust with success)

2 cups finely ground graham crackers (about 30 squares)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 pound cream cheese, 2 (8-ounce) blocks, softened (My note: I used reduced fat cream cheese, but I think this contributed to it not setting up completely.)

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 pint sour cream (My note: I used fat free sour cream and this probably also contributed to it not setting up completely.)

1 lemon, zested

1 dash vanilla extract

Warm Lemon Blueberry Topping, recipe follows

Warm Lemon Blueberries:

1 pint blueberries (My note: I had a bag of frozen mixed berries. I thawed them out and then cooked according to this and it was delicious!!!)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons sugar
Filling:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the crust ingredients with a fork until evenly moistened. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the crumbs into the pan and, using the bottom of a measuring cup or the smooth bottom of a glass, press the crumbs down into the base and 1-inch up the sides. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

For the Filling:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined. Gradually add sugar and beat until creamy, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. The batter should be well mixed but not over-beaten. Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake for 45 minutes. The cheesecake should still jiggle (it will firm up after chilling), so be careful not to overcook. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Unmold and transfer to a cake plate. Using a spatula spread a layer of Warm Lemon Blueberry topping over the surface.

Slice the cheesecake with a thin, non-serrated knife that has been dipped in hot water. Wipe dry after each cut.

Warm Lemon Blueberries:

In a small saucepan add all the ingredients and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes or so until the fruit begins to break down slightly. Leave to cool before spreading on cheesecake.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/the-ultimate-cheesecake-recipe2.html?oc=linkback

Enjoy!!!

Peach Cobbler – The Perfect Summer Dessert for Your Barbecues

Tags

cobbler, dessert, Easy, fresh, fruit, Peach, recipe, summer, vegetarian

Happy Father’s Day!!! One of the desserts we’ll be enjoying today is peach cobbler. My husband got some beautiful fresh peaches from a neighbor’s tree. One of the great thing about living in Northern California, is the amazing, local produce that we have access to. These peaches were perfectly ripe, so sweet and delicious. Cobbler was calling to me! It’s so good, but rather easy to make. This came of the oven a wonderful bubbly golden brown! If you have access to fresh fruit (peaches, berries, nectarines) I highly recommend this recipe!

Peach Cobbler

1/2 cup butter

4 large peaches or about 5 cups, sliced (or other fruit)

2 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 1/4 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/4 cup milk

1 1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 tbsp baking powder

Dash of salt

Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Put butter in medium size baking pan and put in oven to melt butter. Meanwhile, add peaches, 1 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice to sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat while stirring constantly.  Once butter is melted (do not let brown!), remove baking pan from oven. In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cup sugar, milk, flour, baking powder and salt until just mixed. Pour over butter in baking pan, but do not stir any more. Pour peach mixture over batter in baking pan, but do not stir. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly. 

This is delicious served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Enjoy and again, Happy Father’s Day!

Basic Dinner Rolls – Let Your Bread Maker Do the Hard Work!!!

Tags

baking, bread, bread machine, bread maker, dinner rolls, vegetarian

I have to warn you! These things are addictive! Lately, our favorite thing to use our bread machine for is making dinner roll dough. It’s so nice to have the bread maker do all the mixing and some of the rising for you. The rest of the steps are pretty simple, but it yields some delicious rolls! They have a good, basic, yeasty bread flavor and nice texture. This one recipe makes 2 dozen rolls, so even with dinner guests you’ll have plenty. We had 7 people for Mother’s Day dinner. My daughter made these and we still had a few leftover, but they disappeared quickly!

While simple, this process does take some time, so give yourself 3 – 3 1/2 hours to have these ready. See my tip below for an awesome way to create a warm environment for dough to rise.

Basic Dinner Rolls

3/4 cup +3 tbsp water, 80 degrees (microwave 30 seconds)

3 cups bread flour (invest in a good flour. I like King Arthur brand)

2 tbsp dry milk

3 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, cut into 6 pieces

1 1/2 tsp fast rise yeast or 2 tsp active dry yeast

• Add water to bread maker pan
• Add flour, dry milk, sugar and salt to pan. Tap pan to settle dry ingredients, the level dry ingredients, pushing some into the corners. Place pieces of butter around outer edges of pan on top of dry ingredients
• Make a light well in the center of dry ingredients and add yeast
• Place pan in bread maker and set maker to Dough setting and turn on
• When bread maker is done (usually takes about 1 1/2 hours), remove dough and let rest on a floured surface for 15 minutes
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Each piece will be divided into 6 equal pieces. I shape dough into a ball, kind of pulling the sides down and tucking under creating a smooth domed top. Place rolls into greased muffin pan or baking pan.
• Place pans with rolls on the top rack of your oven. DO NOT TURN OVEN ON. On the bottom rack of oven, place a large oven safe pan filled with boiling water. Close oven and allow dough to rise for 1 hour. Keep oven closed. No peeking!!!
• After rising, remove dough and water pan from oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is heating melt 1-2 tbsp butter and then brush tops of the rolls with the butter.
• Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Spinach & Sausage Quiche – A Delicious Dish for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Tags

Cheese, Cooking, eggs, Food, Quiche, recipe, sausage, spinach

  
Our family loves quiche! If you love eggs, sausage, cheese in a wonderful pie crust, you’ll love this dish. It also sneaks some veggies in! It’s so tasty though that your picky eaters won’t even fuss about the spinach in the dish! It’s fairly easy to make and since the pie shells come in a two pack, I usually go ahead and double the recipe making 2 quiches. These freeze great, so I’ll make two and freeze one for a quick dinner on another night. 

On this particular night, my 17 year old daughter was our chef doing the cooking. She also made my recipe for Hawaiian Sweet Bread to accompany our quiche. 

Quiche is a great dish for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner! On a few occasions, we’ve hosted a brunch for Mother’s Day. This quiche was a perfect dish for such a brunch and was very well received.

In the following recipe, I’ve given some tips on how to reduce the fat and calories. In a previous blog post, I shared a method for cutting additional fat and calories by replacing the pie crust with shredded potatoes.

Spinach and Sausage Quiche

1 frozen deep dish pastry shell

8 oz bulk pork sausage (I use the light Jimmy Dean sausage)

¼ cup green onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

½ (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, cooked, and drained well

½ cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix (I use Stove Top)

1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (6 oz)

3 eggs, slightly beaten (Egg substitute also works well)

1 ½ cups half and half (I use fat free)

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Let frozen pastry shell stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, do not puncture the pastry shell. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet, cook sausage, green onions and garlic over medium-high heat until sausage is done, stirring occasionally, breaking sausage into small pieces. Drain sausage mixture. Stir in spinach and stuffing mix. Sprinkle first cheese and then sausage mixture into the pastry shell. In a medium bowl, combine eggs and half and half with a whisk or fork until mixed well but not frothy. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in the pastry shell. Bake 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake 20 minutes or until knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 3-5 servings.