Simple Cornbread

After I posted the updated version of the White Bean Chicken Chili, I realized this delicious cornbread needed its own post too, instead of being a side-note in the old chili.  This is a recipe I make quite often, and my family goes gaga every time.  I found this recipe a few years ago and have never tried another cornbread recipe since - that definitely says something!  It is just simple and delicious!  We love it with butter, and/or honey, jam, whatever we're in the mood for.  It goes great with soup or chili and only dirties one bowl!  Now that's my kind of recipe.

Honey Wheat Rolls

It's that time of year where I want to bake...a lot.  I find myself making soup several times a week and wanting to make some sort of bread or roll to go with it!  These little gems are ones I've eaten a lot (made either by my mom or sister), but I hadn't made them myself until recently.  They are delicious!  The recipe makes a dozen, but you could easily double it.  I made two batches a couple weeks ago and stuck one back in the freezer for later.  They tasted great both times we had them.  The original recipe is for a breadmaker, but I made a couple little changes after a failed first attempt to adapt them, and they've worked great.  Enjoy!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

I am slowly starting to realize that there just aren't enough hours in the day to make every single thing from scratch, but that sure isn't going to stop me from trying!  There are some things you can buy in the store that are somewhat close to a homemade version, but let me tell you, corn tortillas are not one of them.  Store-bought corn tortillas are pretty awful, depending on the brand, and you aren't left with many options other than frying them since they are dry and break apart if you look at them wrong.  So unless you've got a great Mexican market close by, your corn tortilla experiences may not be the best.  BUT...they are SUPER easy to make at home!  I'm not sure why I never tried them before, honestly.  They are way easier than flour tortillas and are quite delicious and addicting!  My boys and I made these together a couple weeks ago and they were great to munch on while we were making and made a delicious taco shell for our chicken tacos that night.

French Bread

I went to make this bread the other day and realized the recipe was tucked into another soup post, and that was just not okay!  This needed its own post.  This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and I've made it many many times now.  Sometimes I sub half of the all-purpose flour out for whole wheat, sometimes I just do all white.  It's great paired with soup, pasta, salad, you name it.  It takes awhile for all the rising, but the actual work is very easy and fast.  And homemade french bread is so much more delicious and impressive than store-bought!  Give it a try!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Have you been picking blueberries this summer?  We're fortunate enough to live in a place where berries grow in abundance, and we've been blueberry-picking several times this summer.  This has been one of our favorite ways to enjoy them.  Blueberries are so tasty fresh, but I have to admit, I love them even more when they're cooked and they burst with juices and flavor.  These muffins are super easy to whip up and they are quite healthy too!  You can use fresh or frozen berries; and yogurt, buttermilk, or non-dairy milk.  We've tried them all ways and they're delicious anyway you do it!  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

The past couple months I've been making all my own bread again.  I go in spurts with this, usually in the wintertime, and I finally have a system down that has worked out really well.  I love this whole wheat bread, but it can be a little dense for sandwiches, so I went on the hunt for a lighter bread.  I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour and I've been really happy with it.  Every 1.5-2 weeks I make 2 loaves of this bread and 3 loaves of the other whole wheat bread, which I use for toast or snacks or whatever (my 3 yr old loves it!).

Naan

Ooohhhh Naan.  If you haven't had Naan, it is Indian flatbread that is similar to a pita.  It's very soft and extremely delicious and addicting!  My husband goes to school with a lot of Indian students and asked one of them for a recipe.  She suggested this one.  It takes some time for all the rising, but it's not too hard to put together and makes a wonderful addition to an Indian meal!  There are lots of variations you can try - some with garlic, herbs, even potato, but this is just a basic.  I did add a little parsley on top of a few, but nothing too crazy.  Enjoy!

Slider Buns

These are so cute!  I made these months ago for a luncheon and kept forgetting to post about them.  I had a bunch of girl friends over and made this big salad for the ladies but wanted something else that was kid and adult friendly.  I decided to make these cute little ham and cheese sliders.  I just stuck some deli ham on the bun, topped it with a little swiss cheese, spread some mayo on the top bun, baked them on a cookie sheet covered with foil for about 15 minutes, and they were a hit!

Herb Focaccia Bread

This bread is AMAZING.  After making this the first time, I turned to my husband and said, "I think this bread has changed my life".  It's that good.  I am so in love!  It is so easy, so delicious, and I made it twice in one week.  It comes together in just over an hour - rising, baking, and all and it has a delicious flavor and texture.  I am finding myself trying to think of main dishes that will go with this bread so I can make it again...hehe.  But really, it can go with anything!  Give it a try and you will not be dissapointed!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Oh mama.  This is no low-cal breakfast, let me tell you that.  But it is delicious!  This comes from the Pioneer Woman (so obviously it's not low-cal!) and that woman sure knows how to make food.  I made this a year or so ago for the first time, forgot about it, then recently remembered and tried it again.  Basically you take old french bread, pour an egg/cream mixture over the top, let it sit in the fridge overnight, top it with a yummy brown sugar topping, and pop it in the oven.  It's too easy!

Italian Bread

I told you I've been on a roll lately! I'm enjoying this last week of cooking before the baby comes. I tried this bread awhile ago and it was very fun! It's similar to french bread, but it has a little thicker crust and it's a little more dense and chewy. It would be great for a very saucy pasta, soup, or something else with juices you want to soak up. We had it with some Greek Chicken Salad and then again later with some yummy pasta. It requires you to start it overnight, and then it has a lot of rising times, but the actual time you spend doing something is very minimal. It was fun for a change!

French Bread Rolls

I have been seriously missing in action lately, but I have lots of good reasons. We're selling our house, I'm having a baby in 2 weeks, my grandfather passed away, and life is just all around busy. But I'm still cooking! I haven't been making too many exciting things, but just the other day I thought that I wanted to make some yummy things in the next few weeks before the baby comes while I still have some time on my hands!

Pumpkin Bread

There seem to be two types of pumpkin bread - the very cake-like kind that often contains chocolate chips, and the denser spice-bread-like one with nuts. Both are delicious and I have a hard time deciding which I like better. I guess it depends on my mood. This is pumpkin bread of the denser variety and I think it is delicious! It doesn't have a ton of ingredients - which is great, it makes 2 loaves - so you can take one to a friend, and it seriously takes about 6 minutes to whip together. This would be great to include on holiday goodie plates or to serve at a holiday party or just to make for your long drive to California you have coming up - that would be my reason :). It will be delicious no matter what!

Soft Garlic Knots

I am a bread person. And a garlic person. Combine the two and it is heaven! These are really delicious and, as the title would indicate, very soft. They went great with our lasagna the other night and with our spaghetti a few weeks before that. :) I think they'd be good with all sorts of things. They may look hard since they're in a knot, but it's really easy. The recipe makes 10 "knots" (rolls) and I assembled the actual knots in just a couple minutes - no harder than any other roll/breadstick kind of thing. You do need to allow enough time for them to rise twice, so plan accordingly. They're topped with a glaze of butter, fresh garlic, and Italian seasoning and they are delicious!

Banana Bread

I love banana bread, but I've never really had a go-to recipe. I found this one recently on the Joy of Baking website (which I love) and I decided to try it. I'm so glad I did! It's really tasty. I went ahead and toasted the nuts like it suggested (although it's totally optional since it takes a little extra time) and it gave it a really yummy extra flavor. I don't like my banana bread too cakey, and this one was just right. I hope you enjoy it!

Allspice Crumb Muffins

Last night we had a delicious breakfast for dinner. I love doing that, do you? We do it fairly often. I love having leftover dinner/breakfast for breakfast the next morning. Yum! So I made this no-crust quiche with bacon, spinach and swiss cheese (oh my - that was a good combination. And then you get to eat yummy turkey, bacon and swiss sandwiches with your leftovers the next day if you happen to have turkey and delicious sourdough bread like I did...

Oatmeal Muffins

I love these muffins! We love oats in our family and these are a great way to eat them. Every time I make these Jeremy just mmms and aahs and devours them. I try to find excuses to make them as often as I can. :) Tonight I paired them with this white chili and it was a great combination! They call for white flour but if you want to make them a little healthier you can use whole wheat, (although I prefer the flavor with white). These are super easy too, which is always a plus. Give them a try!

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

This is simple, basic, delicious, hearty whole wheat bread. I got this recipe from my mom and I've made it a lot. Sometimes I do part wheat, part white flour depending on what I'm in the mood for. Any way you make it, it's delicious. (Usually I do all wheat, but the last time I made it, I did half and half just to switch it up and it was great!) Enjoy!

Best Hamburger Buns

**I recently revised this recipe to be more mixer-friendly. If you'd like to make it with a wooden spoon/your own two hands, see the original recipe (link at the bottom).

I saw these buns over at Smitten Kitchen and I knew they would be amazing. They aren't any harder than any other bread and they are so good! I know it probably seems silly to make hamburger buns, but I love making bread in any form, and I likewise dislike buying bread, so I thought I would give these a try. The recipe makes 8 buns. These are tasty and if you're looking to make burgers better than any restaurant, this will help you get there.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

We love Mexican food at our house, and homemade tortillas just takes it to a whole new level. Of course it's way more work than buying tortillas, but it's worth it. They are soft and pliable and delicious. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and I've made it several times and several ways. The recipe calls for shortening or lard, but this last time I made them I used butter and it was great! Of course butter is way better for you than shortening and I don't usually have lard around, so from now on I'll be using butter. You may even be able to use oil, but I've never tried it. Also, it says to divide into 12 pieces. I like my tortillas a little bigger, so if you want 6-8" tortillas, do 12; or if you want 10" do 8.