Garlic Cheese Bread

This is very quick and easy to make to serve with your soup.

• 1 loaf French bread
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slice French bread 1/2-inch wide in long angles.  Approximately 10 slices.

Mix olive oil and garlic in small bowl.

Brush the oil mixture over each slice of bread, using all of the garlic.  Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on each slice.

Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and is slightly browned.

“The gains of heaven will more than compensate us for the losses of earth.”

Cranberry Orange Cornbread with Orange Butter

I made this for mid-morning coffee, but it would be fabulous to serve at Thanksgiving.  Lightly sweetened with tart cranberries, but the orange butter makes it!!

Cornbread

• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• Grated zest of 1 orange

Orange Butter

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons thawed orange juice concentrate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet well with shortening.

Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, milk, and oil.  Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.  Add the cranberries and orange zest and fold in, being careful not to overmix the batter.

Pour batter in prepared skillet.  Bake until lightly browned on top and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.  Remove cornbread from the oven and place on a rack to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, confectioners sugar and orange juice concentrate until smooth.

Serve the cornbread warm, spread with the orange butter.

Serves 6 to 8.

* If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, use any baking dish about the same size.

“Praise is the overflow of a joyful heart.”

Cream Scones

Very quick and easy recipe to make.  Serve these with strawberry preserves and whipped cream.  Peach preserves would be good too.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cold butter, cut up
• 1 cup whipping cream

Combine first 4 ingredients; cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly.

Add whipping cream to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 5 or 6 times.  Roll to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter, and place in lightly greased muffin pans or 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.  Serve with preserves and whipped cream.

Yield:  1 to 1 1/2 dozen.

“Spending quiet time with God can bring quiet rest from God.”

Marmalade Muffins

These muffins are a favorite of my husband.  He loves anything orange.  They are best eaten warm from the oven as they tend to get a little dry the next day.  If you can’t eat them all the first day, freeze them.  Then take a muffin out, put it on a microwave safe dish and nuke it for 1 minute at 50% power.  It’s just as good as coming right out of the oven.

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• Generous 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sweet orange marmalade
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, beaten

Topping

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Wheat germ, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the muffin batter:  Sift together flour, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Use a pastry cutter to mix in the butter and shortening.

Mix the marmalade, orange juice and vanilla in a small bowl.  Pour the marmalade mixture into the flour mixture.  Then pour the eggs into the bowl.  Mix all ingredients together gently, using fewer than 10 large strokes.

For the topping:  Mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl.

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray and fill with batter.  Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of topping ingredients over each muffin.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon wheat germ over the top for extra crunch, if desired.

Bake until done, 20 to 22 minutes.  Remove muffins from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before taking out of pans.  Cool on wire rack.  Eat warm.

Makes 24 muffins.

“We have reason for optimism if we’re looking for Christ’s return.”

Beer Bread

This bread is moist and dense with a chewy crust.  Try it with cold butter and homemade apple butter (see recipe in slow cooker category).  Yum!

• 3 cups self-rising flour (see note)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 ounces beer
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and mix.  Then add the beer and mix well.  The mixture should be sticky.  Pour into the loaf pan and tap on counter several times to remove any air bubbles.  Bake for 55 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush top with melted butter.

Note:  If you don’t have self-rising flour you can make your own.  For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

“When we feel the stress of the storm we learn the strength of the anchor.”

It’s Time To Make The Donuts

We sure had fun this morning.  Two of my grandsons were here and we decided to make donuts.  They were so delicious!!  And so easy!!

• 2 (16.3 oz.) cans Pillsbury reduced-fat buttermilk biscuits (not flaky)
• 48 oz. bottle vegetable, canola or peanut oil
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• Cinnamon sugar

Remove biscuits from can and using a very small biscuit cutter or anything else that is the size to cut donut holes out, cut the holes out of the center of the biscuit.  Makes glaze of powdered sugar and milk in a bowl big enough for the donut to fit into and be turned over.

Heat oil to 375 degrees (1 to 2 inch deep) and fry donuts maybe 3 to 4 minutes per side or until they are a medium brown.  Take out of oil and put into a bowl of glaze; turn over quickly and drain on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet.  Make sure they are completely coated.

Put your cinnamon sugar in a paper sack and then add a few donut holes at a time and shake until they are coated.  Take out of sack and cool on rack also.

Enjoy these as soon as they are cool enough to put into your mouth.  Until they are cool, you will be drooling!!  So good!!!

Makes 16 donuts and 16 donut holes.

“Our salvation is secure because God Does the holding.”

Black Walnut Banana Bread

The key to this delicious banana bread is the black walnuts.  They taste different than the more common English or California walnuts.  I just love black walnuts!  Of course, you can make this bread with whatever kind of nut you want or no nuts at all, it will still be delicious.

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1 cup chopped black walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.  Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to batter and mix just to combine.  Add bananas, mixing well.  Fold in black walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan (it will be slightly thick).  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil during last 15 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary.  (I baked mine on the lower middle rack for 1 hour and 25 minutes.)  Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove from pan, and cool 30 minutes on wire rack before slicing.  Slice and slather on the cold butter!  Yum!

“The Christian’s race is not a sprint – it’s a marathon.”