Garlic Cheesy Bread with Marinara Sauce

Is a caption even needed? These breadsticks are out of this world, and paired with some homemade marinara sauce... amazing!!! I'm so glad I found this recipe, I will be making these a lot. 

Ingredients for Cheesy Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups grated cheese of your choice (I love sharp cheddar!)
3/4 tsp parmesan cheese
parsley for garnish

Instructions
In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Slowly mix in the water and knead with your hands until it forms a ball.

Spread 1 tbsp oil in a separate bowl with your hand. Place the ball of dough in the oiled bowl. Cover and let it rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough on pizza pan or baking sheet.

Melt butter, then mix in the garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Pour the butter mixture all over the top of the dough, then sprinkle the grated cheese all over the bread. Sprinkle parsley over the top as a garnish.

Cook in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until it looks golden and melted. Cut into strips.

Ingredients for Marinara Sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp fresh black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the minced garlic and let them cook down for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, sugar, and pepper and let that simmer for about 7 minutes. The type of crushed tomatoes you use will greatly change the taste of the sauce. I don't have a favorite type of crushed tomatoes yet, so try some different ones and find one you like!

Homemade Marshmallows

I know they look like tiny tofu squares, but these are delectable little marshmallow clouds. They're time consuming, but fairly simple. 

Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup corn starch

Instructions:
Place gelatin in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/2 cup of the ice cold water.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup ice cold water, corn syrup, salt and granulated sugar. Place over medium high heat, and allow it to cook, covered for 3-4 minutes. Then uncover, and cook until it reaches 240 degrees, which will be about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using a whisk attachment, turn the mixer on low, and slowly add the syrup mixture. Once it's all added, turn the mixer on high and let it whip for 15 minutes.

While it mixes, prepare the pan. Lightly mist nonstick cooking spray in a 9x13 pan. Combine the confectioners sugar and corn starch. Add some of the sugar/starch mixture to the pan, and move it around so the mixture is around all the edges and bottom.

When the marshmallow is done whipping, use a greased rubber spatula to pour into the prepared pan. Smooth out as well as you can, then sprinkle more of the starch/sugar mixture over the top. Then you let it sit for at least four hours.

After it has rested, carefully take it out of the pan onto a cutting board that has been sprinkled with the sugar mixture. Using a pizza roller, cut the marshmallow into the desired size and shape. Then roll the pieces around in the sugar mixture to prevent extra stickiness.

Greek Yogurt Coated Cranberry Granola Bars

This recipe calls for a few ingredients that aren't normally in your kitchen. I don't always use all these ingredients. The asterisk indicates the ingredients you can leave out and still have a delicious bar.

Ingredients for Bar:
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup brown rice krispies
*1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup your choice of nuts (almonds and sunflower seeds are my favorites)
*1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries

Ingredients for Greek Yogurt Coating:
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon gelatin
1/4 cup greek yogurt (Any flavor you like)
1 tablespoon honey
pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

Line an 9x13 square pan with wax or parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the oats, rice krispies, coconut, almonds, chia seeds, and salt. Mix together.

In a small microwave safe bowl combine the almond butter and honey. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture is hot and pourable. Add the vanilla and mix again.

Add the honey mixture to the dry oat mixture and mix until everything is moist and combined. Gently stir in the dried cranberries. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and then using the back of a measuring cup press the mixture into the pan until it is tightly packed. Cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour. Cut into 9-12 bars and return to the freezer.

Make the greek yogurt coating. Combine the water and vanilla in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top and whisk with a fork until the gelatin is evenly distributed. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until needed. It will set into a thick paste.

In another small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey, and salt. Microwave on 15 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the yogurt is liquidy and very warm to the touch. Don't let it start to boil or the yogurt will curdle. I microwaved mine for 30 seconds total.

Whisk the gelatin into the warm yogurt mixture. Whisk until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Scrape the yogurt mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Pour the powdered sugar on top. Use a mixer or whisk until the yogurt and powdered sugar combine into a thick, but pourable, coating.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silpat. Working with one bar at a time, dip the bottom of the bar into the yogurt and allow any excess to drip off. Flip the bars over so the yogurt coated side faces up and place on the prepared baking sheet. They will be very sticky. Repeat with the remaining bars. Let the bars sit, uncovered, until dry to the touch, about four hours or overnight 

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups flour

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup lemon juice

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. 

Optional: Sprinkle some confectioner's sugar over the top.

Spring Rolls with Sweet and Spicy Thai Sauce

I have made these over and over, tweaking the recipe until it tasted just right. Here is my most updated version of Spring Rolls. This is much easier than how I originally made them, and just as tasty! This recipe yields about 18 spring rolls.

Ingredients for Spring Roll Wrapper:
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
Whisk ingredients together until most of the lumps are out of the batter. I use a lightly greased nonstick skillet so I can cook 3 wrappers at once. I set the temperature for 150 degrees, the lowest possible temperature. Scoop about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the batter onto the skillet, and very quickly use the back of the spoon to spread out the batter as much as you can in an oval shape. The edges will start to curl up slightly when it's ready to be flipped. Cook for only about 15-30 seconds on the second side.

Ingredients for Spring Roll Filling:
1/4 head cabbage
2 carrots
1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
2-3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2  tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions:
In a food processor, shred the cabbage, carrots, and yellow onions. I suppose you could do this by hand, but it would take forever. The food processor really ensures that they will be shredded very finely.

Put the shredded vegetables in a large skillet and cook on medium high. Add the remaining ingredients and let it cook together for about 15 minutes or until everything has completely cooked through.

Putting it All Together:
Simply lay out a spring roll wrapper and put a spoonful of filling towards one end of the oval. Roll it like a burrito. Tuck in two of the ends, then roll. I make a paste of equal parts water and flour to seal the end of the roll. Continue with the rest of the spring rolls.

Deep fry the rolls for about 5 minutes or until they reach desired crispiness.

I like to dip them into a sweet and spicy Thai dipping sauce. I fiddled around with a recipe quite a bit until I got it how I liked it.

Ingredients for Sweet and Spicy Thai Sauce:

If you don't like spicy foods, definitely cut back on the red pepper flakes. This is about as much spice as I can tolerate.
1 tbsp rice vinegar (you can use white vinegar if that's all you have)

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp corn starch

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp ginger

Instructions:

Just add all the ingredients together in a small saucepan. Stir together then bring to a boil. It should thicken pretty quickly after coming to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool. 

BBQ Chicken Calzones

I love barbecue flavored foods, but this calzone can be filled with pizza ingredients, or with whatever you like!

Calzone Dough Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 c flour

Instructions:
Combine the yeast with 1 cup of warm water. Allow the yeast to bubble (it usually takes about five minutes.)

In a mixer, combine the yeast water with the rest of the ingredients. Only put in about half the flour and let it mix in before adding the remaining flour. When mixed well, knead on a floured surface. Let it rise for ten minutes.

Divide dough into four pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle. Fill the middle with filling.

Calzone Filling Ingredients:
2 medium chicken breasts or 1 large one
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded cheese (any kind you like)
1/4 cup sour cream

Instructions:
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and fry in a pan with the onions. Combine the cooked chicken, onions, scallions, barbecue sauce, cheese, and sour cream in a bowl. Put in the middle of the calzone dough.

Fold the dough in half over the filling, and seal the edges with your fingers.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Meatloaf

Let's be honest, meatloaf isn't a very photogenic food. It sure is yummy, though. This recipe is just enough for Michael and me, so if you're cooking for more than two, I would double it. 

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg - beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. mustard

Instructions:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

The preparation is pretty dang easy. Combine all the loaf ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pack firmly into a greased loaf pan. Combine all the sauce ingredients and pour over the meat. Bake for about 1 hour. Let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.