Homemade Breadsticks

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe on this blog—over three months to be exact! Well, today my recipe hiatus ends and I’m excited to share this gem of a recipe I discovered earlier this year; it’s so good that it has a permanent home in my recipe binder!

Nothing compares to the taste and texture of fresh bread, but baking homemade bread can be laborious. Not these breadsticks though! They are buttery and delicious, even made with yeast—yet they are so simple to make and you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand. Your family will love them, your kiddos with love them, your friends will love them, and of course I think you will love them too!

They pair perfectly with any Italian dish, a soup and salad meal, or just plain and simple by themselves. My biggest piece of advice with this recipe is to make sure to use a cookie sheet with an EDGE; otherwise the butter will ooze all over your oven alarming the smoke detector to start screaming—that may or may not have happened to me the first time I made these. 😉

ENJOY!

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Homemade Breadsticks

Yield: 10-12 Breadsticks

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon yeast

1 ½ cups warm water

3 ½ cups flour

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ c butter

Parmesan cheese

garlic salt

 

Directions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt; add the yeast mixture and stir together.

3. Knead for 3 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the ½ cup of butter and pour onto baking sheet (with an edge).

5. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about the shape of the baking sheet. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into one-inch wide strips. Take each strip by the two ends, bring them together and twist to form breadsticks. Roll each breadstick around in the butter and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt (or whatever seasonings you like). Let them rise for 10 minutes.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Best served warm!

 [PRINT RECIPE]

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Homemade Honey-Almond Granola

One of my favorite things about granola is the big crunchy oat clusters that are mixed in with the smaller oat clusters. I often pick out the big clusters and eat them plain. Aside from eating it plain, granola is also great with milk or mixed in with yogurt.

Homemade granola has been on my bucket list of recipes to try and I finally got around to making some recently. It was a a lot easier to make then I envisioned, but I had to make two batches of it before in met my approval. The first time around it turned out dry, salty, and not sweet enough. So I tweaked the original recipe I found and made it my own. My taste-buds were much happier with the second batch!

Oats, almonds, flaked coconut, honey, brown sugar, and coconut oil pair together to create a sweet and nutty granola.

This granola is filled with delicious golden oat clusters. Tasty plain, with milk, or topped over your favorite yogurt.

Store it in a Ziploc bag or any airtight container like a mason jar. Enjoy!

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Honey-Almond Granola

Servings: 5-6 cups of granola

 

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cups sliced almonds

1 cup flaked coconut (sweetened)

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup (plus a little more for drizzling) honey

¼ cup coconut oil

½ teaspoon almond extract

½  teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor finely chop ½ cup of the almonds. Rough chop the other ½ cup of almonds or leave them as is (this depends on if you prefer small pieces or larger slices of almonds in your granola).

2. In a large bowl combine the oats, both almond mixtures, the coconut, the salt, and the sugar.

3. In a small microwave safe bowl, add ½ cup of honey and the coconut oil. Heat for 30-40 seconds; stir to dissolve the coconut oil. Then add the almond and vanilla extracts.

4. Pour the honey mixture over the oats and stir to combine until evenly coated.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the oats evenly onto the baking sheet. Drizzle a little extra honey over top (optional step, but it gives the granola nice texture). You don’t want your baking sheet too crowded, so you may need a second baking sheet.  It also helps if your baking sheets have sides to avoid liquids from the oats spilling into the oven and burning.

6. Bake the oats for 10 minutes. Give the oat mixture a good stir. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. The granola is done once the oats are slightly golden brown and toasty. The granola may be a little soft but it will harden as it cools.

7. Let the granola cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Then transfer the parchment paper with granola to a cooling rack so that it can cool further. Let it cool for about 30-60 minutes. Once it starts to harden, break apart the oat clusters. Store the granola in a Ziploc bag or airtight container.

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Black Bean Tacos with Creamy Avocado Sauce

Tacos are one of those tasty foods that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Depending on what you stuff them with, they can be a healthy way to get dinner on the table in a timely manner. This recipe for black bean tacos caught my eye recently and it quickly made its way to my list of recipes to try. The flavor-packed avocado sauce is what sold this recipe to me!

A combination of avocados, lime, and cilantro pair together to create a savory topping for these yummy tacos.

This recipe also happens to be vegetarian, gluten-free, and could classify as vegan if you leave out the cheese (but I’m a cheese girl so I had to add in the cheese 😉 ). We are meat-eaters in my family but ever so often I like to prepare something meatless like this. I’d say it made for a tasty dinner and it took me under 30 minutes to prepare!

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Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Cilantro-Lime Sauce

Servings: 8-10 Tacos

Source: Adapted from The Garden Grazer

 

Ingredients:

1- 15oz. can black beans, drained

¾ cup salsa

½ tsp. cumin

1 tablespoon agave

corn tortillas

toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, olives, corn, shredded cheese, etc.)

[For the Sauce]

1 small ripe avocado

¾ cup cilantro, stem removed

Juice of 1 lime

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon agave (or honey)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Make the avocado sauce: in a food processor or blender, add all sauce ingredients and blend. Add a touch of water or an a little more olive oil to thin if necessary. Adjust seasonings as desired. Set aside.

2. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add black beans, salsa, cumin, and agave. Heat for about 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Mash beans after heating for a creamier filling if desired.

3. While the beans are heating chop and prepare your toppings and warm tortillas.

4. Assemble the tacos: spoon the black bean mixture in the center of the tortillas, drizzle a small amount of avocado sauce over the top, and add the toppings.

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