Bread

Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad

September 8, 2014 by Kay Leave a Comment

Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad is a light yet filling salad loaded with homemade bread cubes, sauteed pepper & kale, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, pickled onions and basil.

Panzanella salad is by far my favorite kind of salad. I like to make homemade croutons when making panzanella, it only takes a few minutes and makes a huge difference in the salad. I like to use a hearty bread like sourdough, or a multi-grain bread, cut it into cubes and then saute the cubes in olive oil over medium high heat for a few minutes.

I saute the peppers and kale for this salad. Sauteing the peppers brings out the sweetness in them while sauteing the kale softens it. Add to the peppers & kale some sweet cherry tomatoes, salty feta cheese, pickled onions and basil and you have a great base for this salad. Add to salad a greek yogurt based dressing with vinegar and honey and you have a very tasty panzanella salad that you will fall in love with.

Enjoy!

Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad

Rating: 51

Yield: 4 Servings

Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

For the pickled onions:
1 sweet onion, walla walla or vidalia, sliced into thin moon shapes
Apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
For the salad:
4-5 cups cubed bread, I used sourdough
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 sweet peppers, cut into large chunks
2-3 cups kale sliced into thin strips
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 – ½ cups fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks
½ cup pickled onions
8-10 large basil leaves, chiffonade
For the dressing:
4 tbsp. plain greek yogurt
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 ½ tbsp. vinegar, I used Cranberry Pear, balsamic is fine also
2 tbsp. honey
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch of pepper

Instructions

For the pickled onions: Add all the ingredients to a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
In a large saucepan, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and turn the heat on medium. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, making sure to toss a couple of times. Set the bread cubes aside. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and add the peppers and kale. Saute for 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Mix the dressing: add the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, pickled onions, basil to a large bowl. Add in the bread cubes and pepper/kale mix. Toss everything together. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Notes

Adapted from Love & Lemons.

http://www.lovefoodwillshare.com/pepper-kale-panzanella-salad/

Homemade bread cubes.

Longs list of ingredients.

Saute peppers.

Saute kale.

Salty feta cheese.

Lovely colors.

Sweet cherry tomatoes.

Pepper & Kale Panzanella Salad

Delicious Panzanella Salad.

Apple Pie Bread

September 3, 2014 by Kay Leave a Comment

Apple Pie Bread is an easy to make quick bread with apple pie filling mixed into the brown sugar batter. Serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream!

Fall is just around the corner and fall reminds me of apples, pumpkins, comforting soups, the leaves falling to the ground and wonderful brisk fall weather days. I do want summer weather to last a little while longer but I don’t mind when the fall weather appears.

Apple Pie Bread whips up in a jiffy and uses apple pie filling and apple pie spice to bring home all the flavors of apple pie. The apple pie filling makes this quick bread extra moist. I love the addition of the apple pie spice, the nutmeg in the spice really stands out in this recipe.

I dusted the warm bread with powder sugar, it makes it look extra special. Apple Pie Bread is best served warm but I ate a piece this morning that wasn’t warm and it was still delicious. If serving this to guests, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream along side each slice.

Enjoy!

Apple Pie Bread

Rating: 51

Yield: 8 - 10 Slices

Apple Pie Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1 can Apple Pie filling (approx. 20 ounce can)
Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan. If you would like, you can line the pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the butter and powdered sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed.
Add in the eggs, 1 at a time and mix on medium speed until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and apple pie spice. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until combined on medium speed.
Open the can of apple pie filling and add it to a bowl. With a scissors, cut the apple slices into chunks. Add the apple pie filling to the dough and using a spatula, fold until combined.
Spread the dough into the bread pan, even the top out with a spatula.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store in an air tight container.

Notes

Adapted from Nancy Creative

http://www.lovefoodwillshare.com/apple-pie-bread/

Spread the dough into the bread pan.

You can see the chunks of apples.

Bake until golden brown.

It might sink a little in the middle, that is normal.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Apple Pie Bread

It’s hard to eat just one slice!

Cut and serve warm.

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread

August 5, 2014 by Kay Leave a Comment

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread is a delightful appetizer that has the sweetness of fig spread, a bite from the goat cheese and it’s balanced out with the fresh peaches.

I don’t even know where to begin with this recipe, it’s that good. I guess I will start with my trip to Aldi’s to do a little grocery shopping. I was at the check out andthey had fig spread at the end cap for under $2. I grabbed it and thought, “I can make something with this”.

Figs are really popular right now. I have yet to cook with fresh figs, mostly because they are hard to find and they are expensive. Also, I wasn’t really sure of what the taste would be so I thought starting with the fig spread would give me an idea if I like figs or not. I will say the fig spread was divine!

My daughter Mackenzie and I shared the Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread and once we took one bite we didn’t stop until there was nothing left. That’s how much we loved this recipe. You must try this, TODAY!

Enjoy!

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread

Rating: 51

Yield: 8 Servings

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread

Ingredients

1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut in half lengthwise
4 ounces plain goat cheese, room temperature
¼ - ½ cup fig preserves
Pinch of Sea Salt
2 ripe peaches, sliced thin
10-12 leaves of basil, chiffonade

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the goat cheese evenly on each half of the cut side of the bread.
Spread a thin layer of the fig preserves on top of the goat cheese. The preserves can be very sweet, so make sure it’s a thin layer.
Bake the bread for 10 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven, take a pinch of salt and sprinkle each half of the bread. Layer the peaches on the bread. Sprinkle with the basil. Cut the bread into slices and serve warm.

http://www.lovefoodwillshare.com/peach-fig-goat-cheese-bread/

Ciabatta Bread

Spread goat cheese on the bread.

Add a thin layer of fig spread.

Slice your peaches, chiffonade your basil and sea salt.

Add even rows of sliced peaches.

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread

Ready to eat!

The flavors are sensational.

Peach Fig & Goat Cheese Bread

Sweet Italian Sausage Strata

May 5, 2014 by Kay 1 Comment

Sweet Italian Sausage Strata is a make ahead breakfast item with sausage, eggs, Italian bread and cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Here is another idea for Mother’s Day Brunch, Sweet Italian Sausage Strata. You can make it the day before, let it set over night and bake it the next morning. Serve this along side a fresh fruit salad, coffee and juice and brunch is complete!

The bread soaks up the egg mixture a lot better if the bread is day old. I used an Italian bread in this recipe, I love the amount of crust the bread offers. The parmesan cheese forms a crust on the top of the strata and comes out of the oven crispy, trust me, it’s very tasty. It’s important to grate fresh parmesan, it makes a difference in this recipe.

I prefer Sweet Italian Sausage in the strata, but feel free to use a spicy sausage, that would work well also.

Enjoy!

Sweet Italian Sausage Strata

Rating: 51

Yield: 12 Servings

Sweet Italian Sausage Strata

Ingredients

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 medium sweet bell pepper, chopped
1 loaf Italian Bread, cut into large chunks
3 green onions, diced
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
8 large eggs
1 cup half & half
1 cup milk, I used skim
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
½ cup freshly grated parmesan

Instructions

Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Cook for 5 minutes and add the sweet pepper and cook an additional 3 minutes and set aside.
In a large bowl, add the bread, sausage mixture, green onions and cheddar cheese. Stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs, half & half, milk, salt, pepper and basil. Whisk to combine.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread/sausage mixture. Stir to combine making sure the bread soaks up the egg mixture.
Pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as overnight.
. If you refrigerated overnight, remove from fridge and let come to room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
To bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake for 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

http://www.lovefoodwillshare.com/sweet-italian-sausage-strata/