breads

Naan

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NaanI have a confession. I do believe that when I made and ate this naan, it was the first naan I ever ate. EVER! Can you even believe that?? I am so ashamed. I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. If you’ve never eaten fresh naan before, I think it’s safe to say you’re living under a rock too. A very sad rock…with no naan. Don’t worry though, I was right with you there until recently.

NaanWhether you’ve had naan many, many times or whether this is your first time, you won’t be disappointed. These little guys are fluffy and light and chewy. Oh, and the garlic butter. Yeah. Enough said. I actually forgot to put the garlic butter on my first few naan because I didn’t know any better. Add the garlic butter. It’s wonderful either way…But trust me, add the butter.

NaanNaan is the perfect pair for many dishes! Try it with chicken tikka masala. Hello wonderful Indian food. I made mine with some lentil dhal (dahl? I’m still figuring that one out. HELP!). However you spell it…it was AMAZING! I think I even ate some leftovers with some hummus. Yum yum. 

NaanI’ll be honest, the naan is best within the first day or two but you can store it a couple of days in a plastic bag or wrapped in foil. Just make sure to wrap it up tight. If it starts to get a little hard, microwave for a few seconds and it should soften up a bit!

Naan
Yields 8
Delicious homemade naan that will leave your mouth watering!
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup warm water
  2. 2 tablespoons honey
  3. 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1, 0.25 ounce package)
  4. 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  5. 2 teaspoons salt
  6. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  7. 1 egg
  8. 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  9. cooking spray or olive oil to coat bowl
  10. 4 tablespoons butter
  11. 3 cloves garlic, minced
  12. cilantro, optional
Instructions
  1. Stir warm water and honey in your stand mixer bowl until the honey dissolves. Sprinkle yeast on top and stir with a fork. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture becomes foamy.
  2. Using a dough hook on your stand mixer, put mixer on low speed and gradually add the yogurt, salt, baking powder, egg, and flour.
  3. Mix on medium-low for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky but smooth.
  4. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased (with cooking spray or olive oil) bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.
  5. While the dough is rising, melt the butter in a small saute pan. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Strain out the garlic and set the butter aside.
  6. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and separate into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then use a rolling pin to roll into a circle about 1/4" thick.
  7. Heat a cast-iron skillet or sauce pan over medium-high heat. Butter one side of the rolled out naan dough and place buttered side down in the heated pan. Once in the pan, butter the other side. Let cook for about 1 minute on the first side, flip, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
  8. Keep naan covered with a kitchen towel until ready to serve. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve, optional.
Notes
  1. You will know that the naan is getting ready to flip when large bubbles start to form.
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Sour Cream Banana Bread

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Banana BreadIt’s not Christmas yet. In fact, it’s not even Thanksgiving. However, it snowed so much yesterday in Michigan that it sure feels more like Christmas than Thanksgiving. I’m talking multiple inches of snow, not just a dusting. Yes, I’m from the Midwest and am used to snow. No, we don’t usually get that much here this early.

Since it feels and looks like Christmas, I think it’s okay for me to talk about Christmas. **But for the record, I’m not a fan of the whole Christmas decoration thing immediately after Halloween**. Too soon. Too soon.

Banana BreadEvery Christmas Eve my extended family usually gathers together for dinner and fun. We tend to make and bring WAY too many cookies as a group to this celebration. We always end up with WAY too many leftover cookies that most of us cannot eat. However, I’m pretty sure my husband is a cookie eating machine at Christmas time so he helps the situation slightly.

Anyways, to help with the cookie overload, a few years back my mom started making mini loaves of bread for everyone to take home instead of sending them home with extra cookies. Not only delicious, but they are also perfect for a Christmas morning breakfast or brunch! When I asked my mom for the banana bread recipe she uses, she couldn’t find it!! Panic!! It’s possible she is hiding her recipe so she’s the only one that can make it but I’m pretty sure she probably just left the recipe with her mini loaf pans somewhere in the Christmas boxes. She’ll probably call me in a week with her recipe.

Banana BreadRegardless of whether this is THE banana bread recipe or not, this is sure to make your stomach happy. The cinnamon sugar coating on the pan is GENIUS! So much better than a flour coating. I made mine as full loaf pans but you can also reduce the cooking time to make smaller pans! Wrap them up and hand them out at Christmas. Everyone will love it!

Banana Bread

Sour Cream Banana Bread
Yields 2
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
1 hr 40 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Total Time
1 hr 40 min
To coat the pans
  1. 1/4 cup sugar
  2. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  3. cooking spray
For the banana bread
  1. 3/4 cup butter
  2. 2 cups white sugar
  3. 1 cup brown sugar
  4. 3 eggs
  5. 6 ripe bananas, mashed
  6. 1 container sour cream (16 ounces)
  7. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  8. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  9. 4 1/2 cups flour
  10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  11. 3 teaspoons baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Spray 2 loaf pans (mine were 9" x 5") with cooking spray. Mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Dust the loaf pans with the cinnamon and sugar mixture, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.
  3. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.
  4. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda until just incorporated.
  5. Divide batter into the 2 loaf pans. *Optional: sprinkle a little white sugar on top to give a slight crunch to the top.
  6. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
  7. Remove bread from loaf pans and let cool on wire rack. To store, wrap in aluminum foil.
Notes
  1. I froze one of my loafs because they are so large. They freeze and thaw very well! You can also make this recipe with 4 smaller loaf pans (7" x 3"). If you use smaller pans, adjust the baking time to about an hour, then check with a toothpick to see if they are done.
Adapted from All Recipes | Banana Sour Cream Bread
Adapted from All Recipes | Banana Sour Cream Bread
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Blueberry Crumble Muffins & DIY Muffin Liners

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Blueberry Crumble MuffinsThis recipe is a must at least once a summer with fresh blueberries. At LEAST. Most likely more than once. You’ll totally understand when you try it. I know. I know. It’s technically Fall now but this is my end of the season, last hurrah for blueberries before they cost a million dollars a pint. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. We’ll go with half a million dollars.

Blueberry Crumble MuffinsThe recipe originated from a blueberry buckle (kind of like a cake) from my grandma. I’ve already made the buckle form this summer so it was time to switch it up into muffin form! These muffins are the perfect way to make this recipe seem like breakfast material. Oh, don’t get me wrong…I would definitely eat it for breakfast in buckle form too but muffins just seem more socially acceptable.

process-combined2

Muffins are great because they are easy to share and serve. They can also be a grab and go food but that would just be wrong with these muffins. Spend some time enjoying them. Seriously.

Notice my fancy muffin liners?? You know that part of the recipe where you’re supposed to use a muffin or cupcake liner and you realize you completely forgot to buy them? That only happens to me about every time I make a muffin or cupcake. Literally. Every time. It’s like my brain doesn’t register the fact that I need them. Weird. So I make my own!

liner-comboIt’s a seriously simple solution to your muffin liner woes. All you need is some parchment paper and a pair of scissors. Just cut your parchment into squares that are about 5 inches by 5 inches. This is not a science. Measure if you must but really just make sure they are a couple inches bigger than the diameter of the muffin tin cup. Press the parchment paper in each muffin tin cup, folding to press in. This for sure takes some finagling. You can use a can or cup that fits in the muffin tin cup to push the paper down into the bottom. I, however, usually take the more rustic approach of pressing and then frantically filling the liner with batter to hold it down. You can either choose the more refined method or my method. Either way, you end up with a DIY muffin liner! It adds a bit of charm to your cupcakes or muffins and it’s super cheap too. Yay!

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Blueberry Crumble Muffins
Yields 12
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients for the muffins
  1. 3/4 cup sugar
  2. 1/4 cup butter
  3. 1 egg
  4. 1/2 cup milk
  5. 2 cups flour
  6. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  8. 2 cups blueberries
Ingredients for the crumble topping
  1. 1/2 cup sugar
  2. 1/3 cup flour
  3. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  4. 1/4 cup soft butter
Directions for the muffins
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cream 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and egg with mixer. Stir in milk.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into wet ingredients until just combined.
  4. Gently stir in blueberries.
  5. Divide batter into lined muffin tin (12 muffins). The muffins will come almost to the top of the liners.
Directions for the crumble topping
  1. Mix together all the crumble ingredients until the butter is distributed into pea size pieces throughout.
  2. Top each muffin with crumble topping.
  3. Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
  1. This originated as a blueberry buckle. Also AMAZING! To make this follow the same recipe, spreading the batter into a greased and floured 9 inch square pan. Top with the crumble topping and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  2. Delicious with fresh blueberries but you can use frozen blueberries that are completely drained of any liquid as well.
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

Goat Cheese & Pesto Grilled Cheese

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I first had goat cheese on a grilled cheese when I went out to a local restaurant and WOW was it good. Grilled cheese is gooey and crunchy and delicious by itself. Goat cheese is tangy and creamy and salty. Combined, this is like a grilled cheese that got promoted to grilled cheese boss. The boss of grilled cheeses.

Oh wait…how could I forget about the pesto???? In addition to the gooey, crunchy, delicious, tangy, salty, creamy grilled cheese I already had, I added pesto. Yep. You heard me. This grilled cheese is out of this world!! Specifically, I added my carrot top & basil pesto but you can also make this with regular pesto or good quality pesto from the store.

I’m going to be honest. This is barely a recipe. It’s more of a suggestion of how I did it. Once you have the ingredients you can totally play with the proportions to your taste. Since it was so delicious I just felt the need to share! If you come up with your own awesome combination of grilled cheese, let me know!

Goat Cheese & Pesto Grilled Cheese
Yields 1
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Prep Time
8 min
Cook Time
5 min
Prep Time
8 min
Cook Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 slices of multi-grain or whole wheat bread (I like mine with a good, crunchy crust)
  2. 1-2 tablespoons butter
  3. 1-2 tablespoons pesto
  4. 2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
  5. 2-3 slices of Gouda cheese
  6. tomato slices
  7. spinach leaves
Instructions
  1. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. While the pan is heating, spread butter on one side of each piece of bread.
  3. On the non-buttered side of one piece of bread, spread the pesto.
  4. Add cheeses, tomato, and spinach on top of the pesto. I like to sandwich the tomato and spinach between cheese so that the cheese melts all around it and keeps it in.
  5. Top with the other piece of bread, buttered side up.
  6. Place the sandwich in the pan and cook until the bread becomes toasted and the cheese starts to melt. Flip and repeat.
Notes
  1. Add your own combination of veggies, cheeses, and sauces to make it your own. This is just how I made mine!
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/

 

 

Homemade Pizza Dough

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Who doesn’t love pizza? I’m pretty sure pizza has every single thing that you could need in life on it. Every single thing. And it’s hard to get tired of because there are seriously about a gazillion options for what you can put on it. It’s basically the perfect food.
 
Thank you to whoever said, “Let’s take delicious yeast dough and cover it in tomatoes and cheese and olive oil and everything yummy then bake it until it’s golden brown and bubbly.” You make my life better about once a week. Not that I’m saying I eat pizza about once a week…nope. Actually, yes. Yes, I do eat it a lot.
Risen dough

Just wait until you try this pizza dough that is light and airy but also chewy and crunchy. Is that even possible? The answer is yes! So try it. For real. I had been making a different dough for awhile now and it was good but after trying this one, I think this one takes the cake. It it is so much lighter and golden brown…yum! Wow, I really want pizza again.

I make mine on a pizza stone but you can also do this on a normal baking tray or round tray. I’m going to be honest though. The pizza stone is an awesome investment. Just think of all the money you’ll save from ordering out! That covers it, right? We’ll tell ourselves that at least.

Also, I didn’t add any herbs or spices this time but sometimes I will add in whatever I feel like (garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, basil) to the dough. If you do this, just add the herbs or spices in with the flour so it can get incorporated during the kneading process!

P.S. I am a little over the top. I not only made the pizza dough but I also made the sauce and cheese from scratch. And the basil is from our garden. It was scrumptious. Who here didn’t know you can make cheese at home? Well, you can and I highly recommend it. It’s from a cheese-making kit and I’m still not good at it but apparently it’s still delicious even if you’re not good at it. Awesome! Also, pizza sauce recipe to be posted soon! **Update: Pizza Sauce recipe is posted here!

Homemade Pizza Dough
Yields 2
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Prep Time
2 hr 30 min
Cook Time
15 min
Prep Time
2 hr 30 min
Cook Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
  2. 1 tablespoon dry yeast (instant)
  3. 1 tablespoon sugar
  4. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
  6. 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
  7. garlic salt, optional
  8. corn meal
Instructions
  1. Mix together warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer bowl). Let sit about 10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy.
  2. Add olive oil, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix to combine. I used my hook attachment on my mixer but you can do this by hand. Slowly add 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour to mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Start with 2 cups then add more flour if the mixture is still sticky. It should be barely sticky once the flour is added.
  3. Once the dough is barely sticky, mix on medium-low in your stand mixer with the hook attachment, or by hand, for 5 minutes.
  4. Lightly coat the bowl with olive oil (I used olive oil spray) and roll the dough around to coat the bowl and all the sides of the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel until it is doubled in size (1-2 hours).
  5. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit about 15 minutes before you think your dough has risen and place your pizza stone in the oven to preheat (preheat for at least 30 minutes).
  6. After the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and divide into 2 pieces. Make into 2 balls and cover with a kitchen towel and let rest another 15 minutes.
  7. You can freeze the dough at this point in separate plastic bags (spray dough with oil before freezing) or use it immediately. Take the pizza stone out of the oven and cover it with cornmeal. Stretch the dough to the size of the pizza stone and transfer to the stone. You can still stretch it on the stone (Be careful. It's hot!) to reach the edges.
  8. Spray or lightly brush olive oil over the dough then place your toppings on it. If you want, sprinkle garlic salt around the crust (The crust will taste like garlic breadsticks...yum!).
  9. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown on the outside and the toppings are bubbly and delicious. You can also broil the pizza for a minute or two after you bake it to get an extra bubbly and crispy pizza.
Notes
  1. I froze one of the dough balls because we were only going to eat 1 pizza (even though I would have eaten them both if I could). As stated above, spray the dough with oil then place the dough balls in separate plastic bags to freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator for about 12 hours then let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking, making sure to preheat your pizza stone for at least 30 minutes before placing the dough on it.
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
Flavor From Scratch https://www.flavorfromscratch.com/
 
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