Salted Rosemary Bread

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Salted Rosemary Bread

I love fresh bread! I could eat bread at every meal….and some days I do. (Sorry love handles!) One of my favorite ways to eat fresh bread is with soup so naturally, I almost always make homemade bread when I make soup.

In my last post, I shared with you a recipe for tortellini soup. Beside the soup was one of my favorite breads, but I didn’t get to share with you the recipe. The bread was salted rosemary bread, and it rocks!

Salt, rosemary, and butter…you really can’t go wrong. Salted rosemary bread is quick to throw together in a mixer and doesn’t take too long to make by hand either. It goes great with almost any soup or stew, but pairs well with a salad too. I’ve been known to eat it all by itself as a snack as well! However you serve it, I can guarantee it with be enjoyed!

Salted Rosemary Bread

Adapted from Food.com

Yields 2 Loaves

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Yeast

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Cup Warm Water

2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt, Divided

2 Tablespoons (Good Quality) Dried Rosemary, Divided

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter, Divided

Salted Rosemary Bread.

In a large bowl, add in sugar and yeast. Pour in water and allow to proof for five minutes or until mixture looks foamy. Add in flour, 3/4 Teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon dried rosemary, and 1 Tablespoon melted butter.  Fold ingredients together until a dough is formed. Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for one hour. Separate dough into two even pieces and form into two round loaves. Place loaves on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top the loaves with remaining tablespoon of rosemary and then allow the loaves to rise again for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake bread on the center rack for 15-20 minutes or until loaves look lightly golden brown and are cooked through. Remove from oven and immediately brush on remaining tablespoon of melted butter, dividing evenly between both loaves. Sprinkle on salt, and then allow loaves to cool for at least 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

 

Salted Rosemary Bread..

 

Three Cheese Tortellini Tomato Soup with Spinach and Mushrooms

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Three Cheese Tortellini Tomato Soup -

With the end of my pregnancy approaching (way too quickly!!!), I find myself wanting to spend less time in the kitchen and more time on the couch…or frantically organizing, depending on the day. Because of this, I’ve been looking for quick meals to cook that will get me out of the kitchen asap. So the other day when I found myself craving soup, I just couldn’t bring myself to dice up onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, or anything else. I wanted something simple. This soup totally fit the bill!

Prepared three cheese tortellini makes this soup a cinch to throw together. With a couple cans of tomatoes, vegetable broth, spices, and veggies that don’t need chopped, you have a delicious soup that comes together with hardly any effort at all. Served with fresh baked bread, this soup totally cured my craving and got me back onto the couch. What could be better?!

Three Cheese Tortellini Tomato Soup

Three Cheese Tortellini Tomato Soup with Spinach and Mushrooms

Yields 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Cups Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

1 (28 Oz.) Can Crushed Tomatoes

1 (14.5 Oz.) Can Diced Tomatoes

3 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Basil

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Rosemary

9 Ounces Three Cheese Tortellini, Fresh or Frozen

5 Ounces Baby Spinach

In a large pot, over medium high heat, add in olive oil and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer and add in tomatoes, vegetable broth, and spices. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium high. When the soup begins a low boil, add in tortellini and cook for 10 minutes or until tortellini is cooked through, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and add in spinach. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

Three Cheese Tortellini Tomato Soup (3)

 

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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This has been the longest winter ever. Just when I thought the cold weather would never end…Who am I kidding? I’ve been thinking that for 3 months!…it, finally started to warm up in Ohio (for today anyways). I couldn’t be more excited!  I’m so ready for some sunshine and warm weather! I also can’t wait for the abundance of fresh produce that is soon to come.

One thing that always reminds me of spring freshness is lemons. I love to keep them in the house all season long. Not only do they make for a bright pop of color in the kitchen, they also make for some really delicious food! I like to use the zest and juice in all sorts of different dishes, but my favorite way to use them by far, is in lemon poppy seed muffins!

Lemon poppy seed muffins are amazing! They are sweet with just the slightest hint of tartness, and filled with delicious poppy seeds. They’re light enough to enjoy for breakfast, but sweet enough to satisfy for dessert. Really, they’re the epitome of the perfect spring time muffin. I will, without a doubt be making many batches of these delicious lemon poppy seed muffins this spring!

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Yields 12 Muffins

Ingredinets

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 1/2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds

1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened

3 Tablespoons Applesauce

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Zest of 1 Large Lemon

1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 Cup Vanilla Yogurt

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin/cupcake tin with paper liners and then spray lightly with non stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. In the large bowl of a mixer, add in butter, applesauce, and sugar. Beat over medium high speed until well combined. Add in eggs and continue mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Then, add in vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Once combined, begin adding the flour mixture alternately with the vanilla yogurt, mixing on low speed. Continue until all ingredients are incorporated. Divide batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners, filling most of the way full, and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!

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Roasted Asian Chicken Thighs

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Asian Roasted Chicken Thighs (2)

I have been crazy busy the past two weeks and things aren’t showing any sign of slowing down.Unfortunately, my busy schedule has made cooking a nice meal, an almost impossible task lately. I’ve been turning to convenience foods way more then I care to admit, and quite frankly, I’m annoyed by it!

I strive to feed my family healthy meals and the fact that I haven’t  had the time or  energy upsets me. I should have planed for my busyness beforehand and had a good amount of easy and quick meals lined up, but I just didn’t. While I have pulled a few out of my recipe box the past couple of weeks, I ran out quickly. (Thank goodness for my huge stash of pizza dough in the freezer!) I decided to take some rare free time and find some new, super easy recipes that I will be able to prepare no matter how crazy my day has been and thankfully, none of them involve pizza!

These Asian Roasted Chicken Thighs are a great alternative to Chinese take out. They’re easy to throw together and take almost no effort to cook. The flavor is awesome, and paired with some brown rice and garlic roasted green beans, they’re certainly way healthier then any dish my local Chinese restaurant serves! Perfect for those nights when you have no energy, but can’t stomach the guilt (or sodium) of ordering out!

Asian Roasted Chicken Thighs

Adapted From Food.com

Yields 8 Servings

Ingredients

8 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (About 2 Pounds)

1/2 Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Diced Green Onioin

2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

3 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. Lay chicken things flat in a large baking dish and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken thighs. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 30 minutes, turn thighs over and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve with the extra sauce drizzled on top and enjoy!

Notes:

If you like a thicker sauce, you may add a tablespoon or two of corn starch to the extra sauce before drizzling on top of chicken. You may also wish to double the sauce so you have some to pour  on rice, or whatever you choose to serve this with.

Asian Roasted Chicken Thighs