Bruschetta

I grew tomatoes this year for the sole purpose of making bruschetta and salsa.  While I did not have piles and pile, it was more than enough to make the occasional appy!

And some little cheese toasts for the little people.

Tomatoes, chopped
Basil (I use the stuff from a tube because I killed TWO basil plants this year!)
Purple onion, chopped
Splash of garlic olive oil
Bigger Splash of balsamic vinegar
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Throw it all in a bowl and then into the fridge.  Slice a baguette, brush with garlic olive oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Broil for 2-3 minutes.  Top with bruschetta and some more parmesan cheese.  Broil another 2-3 minutes.

Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

Simply everything wonderful in one small little cookie!  I borrowed the recipe from here and pretty much much followed the recipe to the letter.  Enjoy, these are on my must bake again list!

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Costco had sweet potatoes a couple of weeks ago.  I ended up making these one afternoon and eating them as a snack!

Use the recipe from here and made few changes based on what was in my pantry.

2 sweet potatoes
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp each of salt, cumin, chilli powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp olive oil (I used garlic infused)

Peel and slice the potatoes into rounds.  Boil until folk tender and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Flatten with folk or bottom of glass.  Mix brown sugar and spices together in a small bowl.  Mix butter and oil in a small bowl.  Drizzle 1/2 the melted butter onto the potatoes, sprinkle half the spices and flatten slightly with folk.  Flip over and repeat.  Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 minutes.

Mac & Cheese

I can't remember where I got this recipe from, but I make it EVERY week for Corbyn's school lunch.

3 C milk
1/4 C flour
2 C grated cheese (I usually use old)
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp each of dry mustard, thyme, sale and pepper
5 C cooked pasta


1/4 C melted butter
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/2 C parmesan cheese


Whisk 1/2 C milk with flour and set aside.  Heat remaining milk until bubbles appear.  Add flour mixture, stir over medium heat until thickens.  Add cheese and spices and stir until melted.  Add cooked pasta and toss until coated.  Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.  Mix remaining ingredients sprinkle over pasta.  Bake for 10 minutes at 450F.

Easy Crusty Bread

I had to try this when I saw it on Pinterest

In a large bowl mix

3 C flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 C water (I ended up using close to 2)

Cover with plastic wrap and place on the counter for 12-18 hours.  Preheat over to 450F, once preheat toss  your baking pot in with lid.  I used a kitchen aid round like this

Heat for 30 minutes.  While the pot is preheating turn the dough out onto a well floured surface.  Remove pot from oven and place dough inside, cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes more.

Now the bread was a little dense and plain, but so super easy to make. I am going to experiment a bit with different cheses and seeds and see what I can come up with!

Pita's

Place the following in bread maker on dough cycle

3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pck yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/2 C warm water
2 Tbsp oil (I used canola, next time garlic olive oil)

Roll into a log and pinch off into about 30 small pieces.  Let rise 15-30 minutes.  Roll into circles and bake on pizza stone for 3-4 minutes at 475F.

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Original recipe can be found here.

2 Tbsp garlic oil (on a shallow plate)
1//2 C bread crumbs
1/3 C parmesan cheese (I used a mixture of real and fake)
2 tsp basil
ground pepper
3 chicken breasts

Mix crumbs, cheese, basil and pepper together. Drench the chicken in oil and then coat in bread crumb mixture. Place in greased baking sheet and top with extra crumb mixture.  Bake about 40 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.