Pesto Sun-Dried Tomato Bread

A few months ago the food network magazine featured 50 different kinds of quick breads both sweet and savory. When I saw this pesto sun-dried tomato version I knew immediately I had to give it a try. The top is crunchy while the middle is still moist. The pesto swirl gets into every slice making it salty and flavorful. It pairs great along with salad, soup, or a creamy pasta dish but it can also work by itself as a snack.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Oil packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes - Diced

1/2 Cup Pesto

3/4 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Canola Oil

2 Eggs

1 3/4 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese - Grated

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper

1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbsp Butter or Margarine to grease the pan

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with some margarine or butter and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, and cheese). In a medium sized bowl combine the sour cream with the oil and the eggs.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until completely combined, then mix in the sun-dried tomatoes. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Shake and tap it on the table for it to spread out and fill in the corners.

Spoon the pesto on top and swirl it into the batter making sure to get it into the middle so it is in every slice of bread. Bake 40-50 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Let cool 1 hour, then run a knife along the edges of the pan and gently ease the bread out. Cool completely on a baking rack. Serve as a snack or along side of your favorite soup or salad.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

No Bake Granola Bars

It is time for another round of Secret Recipe Club. This month we were assigned Shelley from C Mom Cook. She is very adventurous in the kitchen and takes part of two other monthly cooking challenges. She participates in Daring Cooks which chooses recipes from different countries such Bibimbap from Korea. She also has a sourdough starter that she has been baking with for over a year and uses it once a month for different baked goods such as croissants or pop-overs. A lot of her recipes use a Sourdough starter but since I don't have one to work with I chose these No Bake Granola Bars. Unfortunately, the bars didn't stay together as much as I was expecting. Instead most of it crumbled into granola, buts it tastes delicious so I have been putting it on top of yogurt for breakfast and ice cream for dessert.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups Granola

1/2 Cup Craisins

1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

1/4 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Honey

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Pam Spray

Combine the granola in a large bowl with the craisins and chocolate chips. You can definitely interchange the mixins other options could be raisins, nuts etc... I increased the amount of granola and mixins in my granola bars because Shelley commented that the bars were too sticky and that is what she would've done had she made them again. I think maybe part of my problem was I added too much but didn't increase the amount of liquids. So I have fixed the amount of ingredients in hopes that your bars will form better than mine did.

In a small pot melt the butter with the brown sugar, and honey until it is bubbling. Allow it to cook for a few minutes until it has thicken a bit, stirring occasionally. Take it off the heat and add the vanilla. Mix together the granola with your choice of mixins and pour the warm syrup over top mixing so that it coats everything. Don't be alarmed if some of the chocolate melts cause it will harden as it sits. 

Spray a jelly pan with Pam and pour the granola onto the pan. If you are using a large one it will only fill up about 2/3 of the pan. Be sure to push it down and together tightly as you can with a spatula which will give you the best chance for it to stick well enough to form bars. Allow it to stick room temperature for at least 3 hours, then carefully cut it into bars. If you struggle like I did you can try drizzling some more honey over the top and putting the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes or so which is how I got a few bars to stay together long enough to take a picture.

Enjoy!!

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