Butternut Squash Bread

So if you all think that squash bread sounds to healthy and disgusting don't!! When I first saw this recipe I thought it sounded interesting but decided to try it anyway. We had it with Chicken and wild Rice soup and it was so amazing!! My kids even gobbled it up. I must confess I made it with half pumpkin and half natural applesauce(no sugar added) because I thought I had squash and didn't and then I thought I had enough pumpkin and didn't so had to use some applesauce. But I really think it would be just as good with the squash I mean lets face it pumpkin is pretty much categorized as a squash isn't it?!!!! Give this healthy bread a try you won't regret it. Especially yummy warm with a little bit of butter!!!

Butternut Squash Bread(or Pumpkin)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour(i use white whole wheat)
1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1/4 cup browned butter(melt the butter in a skillet over low-medium heat until browned)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup butternut squash puree* (or 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin or 1 cup pumpkin and 1/2 cup natural unsweetened applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix the browned butter and the agave or honey. Mix in eggs until well blended, about 1 minute. Mix in squash puree or the pumpkin and the vanilla until thoroughly combined. Slowly add in all the dry ingredients until just mixed, Do not over mix. Pour in prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm with a little bit of butter and a bowl of soup.
*to make squash puree: halve and clean squash. brush with olive oil. Place squash (cut side up) on a lined baking sheet and roast at 425 until fork tender, about 30-45 minutes. Squash will easily scoop right out of skin when it is done roasting. Place in food processor or blender and puree till smooth.

Seriously so tasty. Must give it a try. The bread is great without butter as well. I am not one that usually slathers my breads with butter. I like them with nothing on them but I really liked this with the butter.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars

I found the recipe for these on a friend's family blog. I knew that I had to try them out. Man these were so yummy!! I couldn't get enough of them. These are a chocolate lover's dream. I mean they have chocolate chip cookie dough and brownies all baked together then smothered with chocolate ganache. You can't get better than that putting two of the best desserts together into one.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars
Brownie batter:
5 oz semi sweet chocolate pieces
1 stick butter
2 T. baking cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 c. flour

Melt the butter with the chocolate pieces in the microwave.(don't over cook) Mix in the cocoa. Mix in the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Stir in flour. Set aside

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add in flour, soda, and salt until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Grease a 9x13 pan and drop spoonfuls of cookie batter into pan, scattering evenly. Pour brownie batter over the cookie dough and even out in pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Let cool.

Ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter
1 package chocolate chips
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the cream. Bring to a boil. Take off the heat stir in the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour over cooled brownies and even out the top. Let set completely. The ganache will thicken as it cools. Cut into bars and enjoy!!!!

Pizza Rolls/Mexican Cheese Rolls

I found this recipe a while back over at Coleen's Recipes. I knew I needed to try them out. I made these a couple months ago and they were so good. My whole family loved them!!! The good thing about them is that they are so versatile. You can put just about anything you like in the middle of them from pizza toppings to ham and cheese or taco meat and cheese(our favorite way actually) They can be reheated in the oven the next day and are still very tasty.

Pizza Rolls/Mexican Cheese Rolls
3/4 cup very warm water
1/2 cup sweentened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1/4 cup oil
2 T. sugar
1 large egg (room temp)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 T. yeast
1 tsp salt
Mix the warm water(hottest out of your tap) with the sweetened condensed milk, vegetable oil and sugar and salt. The hot tap water will cool down in temp. once it is mixed with the oil and milk. Next whisk in the egg and yeast(if using active dry) Let this sit for several minutes until the active dry yeast looks well dissolved. If using instant yeast(like i do) then mix the yeast with the flour and add the flour/yeast mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Knead for about 5 minutes. Place in a greased or oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let this sit at room temp. for about 1 hour or until double in size. Remove from the bowl and cut into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into and 8 inch circle. For the pizza filling, put about 1/4 cup cheese in the center of the circle, top with a little pizza sauce and some toppings. For the Taco one:place cheese and taco meat in the center. For the Ham and Cheese:put ham and cheese in the middle of the circle.
These were easier to shape if you sit the 8 inch circle in a cereal bowl before you add the toppings. Draw up the edges of the dough and pinch them together. Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let sit for about 20 minutes. bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Brush them with butter when they come out of oven. Serve with more pizza sauce, ranch, salsa or whatever you like dipping things in.

Note:for the pizza filling:it helps if you saute the peperoni and sausage to render the fat before placing in the dough. It keeps them from getting to greasy and soggy while baking.

Taco meat one with beef and black beans. These ones were our favorite!!!

Bread Bowls

I have never made bread bowls before and I thought it would be great to learn how or to try it out. So I found this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe and decided to try it out. They turned out really good and we had homemade Chicken noodle soup with them. So yummy!!! It is finally starting to be a bit cooler here about 75 degrees so it is nice to have some relief from the heat and have soup for dinner!!!

Bread Bowls
1 1/2 T. yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp salt
2 T. vegetable oil
7 cups all purpose flour
1 T. cornmeal
2 egg white ( used the whole egg)
1 T. water

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the water. Let Stand until creamy and bubbly.(about 10 minutes) Or just use instant yeast like I do and mix it in with the flour for 30 seconds before adding to the other ingredients. Add the salt, oil, and 4 cups flour to the water mixture;beat well. Stir in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time beating well after each addition until a soft but not sticky dough is formed.(you may not need all 7 cups flour) When the dough has pulled together, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover and get rise until double in size about 1 hour. Punch dough down and divide into 6 or 8 equal portions. Shape each into a round ball. Place them ona lightly greased baking sheet sprinkled with the corn meal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl beat together the egg and water;lightly brush the loaves with half of the egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes. Brush each loaf with remaining egg wash and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on Wire racks. Cut the tops off and hollow out the roll on the inside and fill with you favorite soup. YUMMY!!!!!!!