Cheesy Garlic Bread

The Superbowl will be here in less than two weeks so it's time to start thinking about my favorite part of football games, the food.  We had some friends over this past weekend to watch the Packers game.  It was a rough afternoon in our house, but luckily we had delicious snacks to cushion the blow.  This Cheesy Garlic Bread was phenomenal!  I got the idea from Lauren's Latest and just made a few tweaks based on what I had on hand (and to make it easier on myself).  The ingredient list is blissfully short: refrigerated French Bread loaf, butter, garlic, basil, oregano, and cheese, lots of cheese.

This Cheesy Garlic Bread is incredibly easy.  Pop open a tube of Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf dough, and put it on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Use a sharp knife to cut slits about 3/4 of the way down, about an inch apart all along the loaf.  Bake it at 350 until it is mostly done and starting to brown (I baked mine for 17 minutes).

While your bread is baking grate 1/3 of a lb. of cheese (I used Trader Joe's cheddar gruyere blend but a white cheddar or a Dubliner would be great too).  To make the garlic butter, melt 1/3 of a stick of butter in a small dish in the microwave.  Add one clove of minced garlic along with some dried basil and oregano. 

Pull the bread out of the oven and re-slice along all of the slits you made before you baked it.  You want the slits nice and deep because that is where you will be putting the garlic butter and cheese.

Take that scrumptious garlic butter and brush it inside all of the slits and all over the top of the loaf.

Then take the grated cheese and tuck it into all of the slits pushing it down as much as you can.  Sprinkle the remainder along the top, no cheese left behind. 

Put it back in the oven until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Less than 30 minutes to Cheesy Garlic Bread nirvana!  This Cheesy Garlic Bread is the perfect party appetizer for any occasion, but it just screams football food to me.  Add this to your Superbowl menu.  Your guests will be impressed, your taste buds will thank you, and you can spend your time watching the game instead of working in the kitchen.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

• 1 tube Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf dough
• 3 tbls. butter 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/3 lb. Cheddar Gruyere blend (White Cheddar or Dubliner are good substitutes), grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Open tube of dough and make slits 3/4 of the way down, about 1-inch apart, all along the loaf.  Bake until almost done and starting to brown, about 17 minutes.
3. While bread bakes make garlic butter: Melt butter.  Mince garlic and add to butter along with oregano and basil.
4. Re-cut all of the slits in the bread.  Brush garlic butter into the slits and all along the top of the loaf.  Press grated cheese into all of the slits and sprinkle the remainder on top.
5. Return to oven and bake 5 more minutes, until bread is cooked through and cheese is melted.

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Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad

I love beets but they've always been something I've ordered out rather than cooked at home because I didn't want to deal with the hassle or the mess of cooking them myself.  Enter the beauty that is Trader Joe's.  They have these wonderful, ready to eat, peeled and cooked beets.  I love them!  I usually just eat them with goat cheese and salad dressing but I wanted to make a full meal with them.

Recently my mom was out visiting and bought a trio of nut oils.  One of the three was pistachio oil and I've been trying to decide what to do with it.

I finally came up with this Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad.  It is so, so good!  The quinoa gives protein so it is a complete meal.  Goat cheese is my favorite thing to pair with beets and it works beautifully in this salad.  Adding in some pistachios gives it crunch and some fresh arugula adds a peppery bite.

Start out by making some quinoa.  If you want to keep it vegetarian then cook it with water or vegetable stock.  I had a little bit of chicken stock that needed to get used so I cooked it in that with a few shakes of garlic powder.

While the quinoa cools, cut the beets into bite-sized wedges.  Then start your dressing.  Combine some pistachio oil, red wine vinegar, garlic salt, white pepper, oregano, a little dijon, and a clove of garlic.

Toss the quinoa with the dressing.  Add in the beets, some goat cheese, a few handfuls of arugula, and some pistachios.  Mix it all together and lunch is ready.  Enjoy!

Quinoa, Beet, & Pistachio Salad

• 2 1/4 cups cooked quinoa (3/4 cup dry quinoa, 1 1/2 cups liquid)
• 1 8-oz. package peeled & steamed beets
• 1/4 cup pistachio oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachio pieces
• 1 to 2 cups arugula

1. Cut beets into bite sized wedges.
2. Make dressing: Combine pistachio oil through garlic.
3. Toss quinoa with dressing.
4. Add beets, goat cheese, pistachios, and arugula.  Toss until combined. 

I'm linking up with Wonderfully Creative Wednesday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Create It Thursday, Project Stash, Pin Junkie, Pin It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Busy Monday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad In Crafts, Create Link Inspire, Tasty Tuesday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Made By Me, Whimsy Wednesdays, Wednesday Whatsits, and Wake Up Wednesday.
 

Warm Lentil & Arugula Salad

It's no secret that I love Trader Joe's.  They have so many wonderful products that make my life easier.  This recipe takes advantage of several of them.

My sister's neighbor gave her this really easy recipe for lentil tacos and while I love it, I think it is actually even better as a simple salad.  Just a few ingredients and you have a healthy and delicious vegetarian meal perfect for when you are short on time.

Start out by heating up a little olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add in a container of TJ's chopped onion, garlic, and shallot mix and saute until the onions are translucent.

Add in a package of pre-cooked lentils and use your spoon to break them up.  Add in some salt and pepper and a little cayenne if you want a bit of a kick.  Stir it every so often until the lentils are warmed through.

Put a bag of arugula into a large serving bowl.  Squeeze on the juice of a lemon, some olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and some shaved parmesan, romano, asiago mix.  Toss this all together.

Add the lentil mixture to the salad mixture, give it a quick toss, and lunch is served.

Warm Lentil & Arugula Salad

• 1 package onion, garlic, shallot mix
• 1 package pre-cooked lentils
• 1 package arugula
• 1 lemon
• 1 container shaved parmesan, romano, and asiago
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• cayenne (optional)

1. Heat 1 tbls. olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add in onion, garlic, and shallot mix, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
2. Add lentils to onion mixture, breaking them up with a spoon.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne (optional) to taste.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 5 minutes).
3. In a large bowl combine arugula with the juice of the lemon, 2-3 tbls. olive oil, the container of cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss well.
4. Add lentil mixture to salad mixture.  Toss and serve. 

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Pin Junkie, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Weekend Potluck, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Two Cup Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls, Tips & Tricks, Mad Skills Party, Create Link Inspire, Made By Me, Tasty Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Create It Thursday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Project Stash, and Showcase Your Talent Thursday.

 

Arugula, Sun Dried Tomato, & Feta Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is one of my favorite party foods.  When I throw a birthday party, I tend to go all out (check out my Cars and Superman parties here: 1, 2, 3, 4), so I like foods that can be made in advance and don't need to be served hot.  This arugula, sun-dried tomato, and feta pasta salad is one I turn to again and again.  I regularly get asked for the recipe so I thought I would post it on here so that everyone can make it.

What really sets this pasta salad apart is the dressing.  It's based on a salad dressing that my stepmom makes.  The trick is a combination of two vinegars, red wine and rice wine.  A lot of pasta salads use a pre-made dressing but homemade dressings are super easy and make a huge difference.

Start out by cooking your pasta according to the directions on the pasta.  I used penne this time but any short pasta you like is perfect.  While your pasta is cooking make the dressing.  Combine some extra-virgin olive oil with equal parts rice wine and red wine vinegars.  Stir in a little dijon mustard, dried oregano, onion salt, and pepper.

Drain the pasta and then toss with the dressing while it's still warm.  Refrigerate the pasta until it is cool then add in a container of feta with mediterranean herbs and half of a jar of julienned sun-dried tomatoes.  I got my feta and my tomatoes at Trader Joe's.

Toss it all together and refrigerate until ready to serve.  You can make it to this point the day before.

Right before serving, add in about half of a package of arugula and toss it all together.  Then sit back and wait for the compliments to come rolling in.  This is the perfect pasta salad to bring to a barbecue this holiday weekend.

Arugula, Sun-Dried Tomato, & Feta Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. pasta, penne or other short shape
• 4 oz. oil-packed julienned sun-dried tomatoes
• 6 oz. package crumbled feta with mediterranean herbs
• 3 1/2 oz. arugula

For Dressing:

• 3 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbls. red wine vinegar
• 3 tbls. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. onion salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2. While pasta cooks whisk together all dressing ingredients.  Drain pasta and toss with dressing while still warm.  Cover and refrigerate until cool.
3. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and feta and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Right before serving, add arugula and toss well.

I'm linking up with Wednesday Whatsits, Wake Up Wednesdays, Whimsy Wednesdays, Made By Me, Showcase Your Talent Thursday, Pin It Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Moonlight & Mason Jars, T.G.I.F., Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Weekend Potluck, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, Monday Funday, Busy Monday, Two Cup Tuesday, Tips & Tricks, Create Link Inspire, Mad Skills, and Lou Lou Girls.  

Roasted Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

Christmas Eve with my in-laws means pizza.  I'm not sure how the tradition got started, but every year they go out for pizza at Chi-Chi's and the ladies tend to order pasta.  Since we had a newborn this year, they came to us and picked up pizzas.  I wanted to have pasta but needed something make-ahead because you never know when you will be able to cook.  I knew lasagna was the perfect solution but I had a small challenge.  My father-in-law doesn't eat any vegetables and my niece has recently become a vegetarian so we really needed two lasagnas.  For the vegetarian lasagna I wanted to use butternut squash because my niece really likes it and she was my target audience.  I came across this great recipe from How Sweet Eats and then added in some spinach because I always like to have a green vegetable.  I also left off the sage because I heard it can decrease your milk supply and I'm nursing.  This was A-MA-ZING!  That being said, there was a puddle of grease on top and on the bottom when I cut into it, so I set about making a few changes to try to avoid that when I made it again.  I reduced the amount of butter and replaced a third of the mascarpone with some part-skim ricotta.   All I can say is YUM!

Start out by roasting some butternut squash.  I just bought the bag of pre-cubed butternut squash from Trader Joe's because I don't have time to peel and cut a butternut squash.  Put the squash on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Drizzle it with olive oil and then sprinkle on some salt, pepper, and a little ground nutmeg.  Bake it at 400 for 25-30 minutes, then mash it.  You don't need to make a puree, chunks are perfectly delicious.

To make the cheese mixture, thinly slice a shallot and mince a few cloves of garlic.  Melt a little butter in a skillet over medium and add in the shallots and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes swirling your pan every 30 seconds or so.

Take about a third of a bag of frozen chopped spinach, defrost it in the microwave, and press out as much liquid as you can.  Then in a medium bowl, combine the spinach with some parmesan, ricotta, room temperature mascarpone, the butter, shallot, and garlic mixture, and some salt and pepper.

Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan (this is plenty for my little family but you can easily double this and bake it in a 9 x 13 pan) with cooking spray.  Take a little of the cheese and spinach mixture and spread it around the bottom of the pan.

Lay two no-bake lasagna noodles on top of the cheese and spinach mixture.  Spread half of the mashed squash on top of the lasagna noodles then spread half of the remaining cheese and spinach mixture on top of that.

Sprinkle on some grated parmesan and some mozzarella.  Repeat the layers one more time with the remaining squash, cheese and spinach mixture, parmesan, and mozzarella.

At this point, I recommend refrigerating it overnight so the flavors can marry and the no-boil noodles come out softer.  You can bake it right away if you want but making it ahead is so convenient.

If you made it ahead, about 30 minutes before you are ready to bake the lasagna, remove it from the fridge.   Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown.  (As you can see, I did have a little bit of grease on the top this time too, but I just blotted it off with a paper towel.)

Let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into it and serving.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

• 12 oz. butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 tbls. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg 
• 4 no boil lasagna noodles
• 8 oz. mascarpone, room temperature
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/4 cups grated parmesan
• about 5 oz. frozen chopped spinach
• 1 tbls. butter
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Put squash on baking sheet and drizzle with oil.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg.  Stir to coat.  Bake for about 30 minutes then mash squash and set aside.  If baking lasagna immediately, reduce oven temperature to 350.
3. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the shallot and garlic.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
4. To make the spinach and cheese mixture, defrost the spinach and press out as much moisture as you can.  
5. In a medium bowl combine the defrosted spinach, mascarpone, ricotta, 3/4 cup of the parmesan, salt and pepper, and the butter, shallot, and garlic mixture.
6. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray and spread about 1/4 cup of the spinach and cheese mixture on the bottom.  Top with 2 no-boil lasagna noodles.
7. Spread half of the butternut squash over the noodles and then spread half of the remaining spinach and cheese mixture on top of that.
8. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of parmesan and half of the mozzarella.
9. Repeat your layers one more time: noodles, squash, spinach and cheese mixture, parmesan, and mozzarella.
10. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  *If making ahead, refrigerate overnight.  Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before baking.

I'm linking up with Pin It Thursday, Create It Thursday, Moonlight & Mason Jars,  Thrifty Thursday, Pin Junkie, Link Party Palooza, Show Stopper Saturday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Mad Skills Monday, Create, Link, Inspire, Two Cup Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Wonderfully Creative Wednesdays, and Whimsy Wednesdays.