Quick, Yummy Sandwich!

Sometimes, all you need is a good sandwich. It's quick and easy, and if you add the right stuff, it's delicious!

INGREDIENTS

1 multigrain baguette

cheese (we used marble cheddar, but smoked gouda would be perfect!)

1 cooked chicken breast (ours was marinated in spicy bbq sauce and baked in the oven)

1 avocado

ASSEMBLY

Slice the baguette in half so that you can put the filling inside. Cut it into servings. Slice up the cheese and lay it on both sides of the baguette. Put in the oven on 350 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is bubbly.

While the cheese is melting, slice up the chicken breast (if it's leftovers, then you can reheat it quickly in the microwave) and the avocado.

Remove the cheesy baguette from the oven and top with chicken and avocado. Serve it up with some chips or veggie sticks.

Mmmmm!

Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is something that I could eat even when I'm not hungry. It's especially delicious when made from homemade baguettes. I posted the baguette recipe before but now I'll give you my recipe for warm, tasty garlic bread. We eat it with pasta or chili and sometimes, we'll just eat it by itself!

Garlic Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf of baguette or other crusty bread

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (can add more if you like it garlicky)

1/4 grated cheese (you can use cheddar or something tangy) (optional)

STEPS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice the loaves diagonally to make individual slices, but do not cut all the way through.
• Melt the butter in the microwave in a small, microwaveable dish. Stir in the garlic powder.
• Using a spoon or a brush, spread the butter onto both sides of the bread slices. If using cheese, sprinkle cheese on top of the loaf.
• Wrap the loaf in foil and place in preheated oven for 10 minutes. If you like the bread crispy, you can open up the foil in the last few minutes to brown or place under the broiler.

Baguettes

The smell of freshly baked bread is absolutely irresistible. Today, I decided to make some multigrain baguettes for us to enjoy. The recipe below is for regular baguettes, but you can substitute some or all of the flour for different kinds depending on what kind of baguette you want to make. For my multigrain baguettes, I substituted 1 cup of multigrain bread flour for the white flour. You can also use an egg wash instead of the milk for a harder, crispier crust. To make the egg wash, mix 1 egg or 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon of water.

Baguette Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup very warm water

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons milk

STEPS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the bread flour and mix together to form dough. Then add the salt and knead in. Knead dough for a few minutes until it forms a ball of dough. It should still be slightly sticky. Once kneaded, cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
3. Once the dough has risen, punch it down. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half, forming two 8x12 inch rectangles. Beginning from the 12 inch side, roll each half of dough up tightly, then gently pinch in the ends and fold over to seal. Turn the roll over and pinch the seam shut. Gently roll it back and forth to smooth out the seam. Cover and allow to rise for another 35 minutes.
    
    
    
   
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If you have a baking stone, preheat the stone in the oven. If not, you may transfer the baguettes to a cookie sheet for baking.
5. Once the baguettes have doubled in size, gently brush the milk over the tops of the loaves. Then, with a very sharp knife, make deep diagonal slashes across each loaf about 2 inches apart. 
   
6. If using a baking stone, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. If using a cookie sheet, bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a rack.

Who doesn't love pizza?

The very first thing that I learned how to make really well was pizza. My mother-in-law showed me how to make the best pizza ever and I couldn't believe how easy it was! Please forgive my photos as I'm not a great food photographer - I promise to work on it, though.

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients

1 tsp sugar

1 cup very warm water (but not boiling)

1 TBSP yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 ball mozzarella cheese, grated

You will also need your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce and toppings. I like bacon, onions, hot peppers, chipotle peppers and artichokes on my pizza, but you can put whatever you like.

Steps

1. If you have a mixer that kneads dough, pour the sugar and water into the mixer bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. If not, then use a large bowl. Once the sugar is dissolved, sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water and let sit for 5-10 mins for the yeast to activate.
2. After the yeast has activated, pour the oil into the mixture and stir to combine. If using a mixer, now secure the bowl to the mixer and add 2 cups of the flour and begin kneading. If doing by hand, add the 2 cups of flour and stir together with your hands until the flour begins to come together.
3. Mix the salt into the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour (this will prevent the salt from killing the yeast) and pour the rest of the flour into the bowl. If using the mixer, let it work until you have a nice dough that is soft but not sticky, approximately 2 mins. If it is sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. If you are not using a mixer, begin kneading the dough to incorporate the flour. Continue kneading until you have formed a dough ball. If it is still sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour. Continue kneading. This takes approximately 8-10 mins.
4. After the dough has been kneaded, cover with a piece of wax paper or a damp cloth and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for approximately one hour or until doubled in size.
5. While the dough is rising, prepare your toppings and grate the cheese. Also, lightly grease a cookie sheet with edges.
6. Once the dough has risen, punch it down. For a thicker crust, allow to rise again for 20-30 mins. Otherwise, move right to step 7.
7. Preheat your oven to 410 degrees F if using a convection oven, otherwise 425 degrees. Spread the dough out evenly onto the cookie sheet. Cover the dough with your pizza or spaghetti sauce, leaving a small edge as a crust.
8. Arrange your toppings on the pizza and cover with the grated mozzarella. Let the pizza rest for 10 mins, then bake for 22-25 mins or until golden brown. Then cut, serve and enjoy!