French Peasant Bread

This bread is easy to bake, beautiful to see, and delicious to taste and smell.  It's a perfect example of how simple and common ingredients can turn into something wonderful.  The best part is that it makes two loaves, so you can share one with a friend or neighbor and enjoy some with your own family as well!

French Peasant Bread

1 package dry instant yeast

2 c warm water

1 T sugar

2 t salt

4 cups flour

oil

cornmeal

melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar, and salt in warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise for one hour, or doubled. Flour hands, remove dough, (it will be so so sticky, this is ok) and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Don't worry about making the rounds perfect, rustic is good! Let rise an additional hour. Brush top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp. to 375 degrees and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.

Grilled Turkey (with Provolone) Sandwich

Heaven. Help. Me.  I just discovered an amazing sandwich.  For all of you Zupas lovers out there (oh it's just my favorite place to eat ever!), this sandwich is especially for you.  I felt like Andrew Zimmern taking my first bite of this divine, mouth-watering miracle.  My next tackle will be adding Cauliflower soup to this bad boy.  MMMmmm.  Enjoy my friends, enjoy.

ingredients
Sourdough bread (I used Sourdough English Muffins)
Mayo
Pesto sauce (you can find a bottle of this by the spaghetti and alfredo sauces)
Tomato slices
Turkey breast deli meat (get it fresh form the deli!)
Provolone cheese (this too!)

instructions
Spread mayo inside thinly cut sourdough bread, as well as the pesto (easy on the pesto - it's pretty strong).  Then I layer like so: provolone, turkey, tomato slices, provolone.  Put finished sandwich on to a medium heated skillet (spray non-stick first) and heat through or until sandwich is a perfectly toasted just as you like it.

Brazilian Limeade

Oh my.  This stuff is so good!  It tastes just like the Brazilian limeade that you can get at Rodizio Grill, only you don't have to pay five dollars per glass. 


Brazilian Limeade

2 cups ice cubes
2 limes
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
1 cup water

Begin by blending the ice alone to really small shavings.  Wash the limes very well, cut off the ends and then cut into 8ths. (Do not peel them!)  Add the lime wedges, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and water to the ice and blend well.  I blend it for at least 1 minute till I don't hear a lot of chunks.  Turn off the blender and allow the drink to sit for a minute, this allows the ice to melt a little bit and makes it cool and refreshing.  Pour the limeade through a fine strainer (to get all the lime bits out) into a glass. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1\2 C. peanut butter
2 C. brown sugar
1 C.sugar
1 C. butter (softened)
3 bananas
1\2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 1\2 C. flour (I used one cup wheat flour and 1 1\2 cups white)
1\2 C. oats

How To:

• Cream peanut butter, sugars and butter together 
• Add in the bananas and mix well
• Slowly pour in baking powder, salt, flour and oats until the mixture is creamy and smooth
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

You can also mix in a cup of chocolate chips, M&M's, nuts, Craisins or any of your favorite add-ins. But they are also divine all by themselves. They seriously are so yummy, it is hands down my new favorite cookie recipe!

Enjoy!