Author: Ang Anderson

Honey Beer Bread

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I’ve got a small secret to share. On New Year’s Day when I made the spinach dip, my oven already had an occupant basking in its warmth – this glorious Honey Beer Bread.

honey beer bread

Which is why when I discovered the frozen spinach in my freezer, I had a serious lightbulb moment. Some of my best spinach dip experiences have involved a good hearty bread as an accompaniment. So, knowing this was already in the oven, I was compelled to make the dip. I didn’t have a choice. The force was too great. The pull too strong.  Thankfully, the dip was a success with altered ingredients and this beautiful, hearty bread arrived on the scene with delightful hints of honey and malt. Together, they made the first day of 2013 a tasty one.

Here is the lovely recipe from lululuathome.com to make one loaf…

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 can or bottle of beer
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat over to 350F. Grease a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed.  (Microwave the honey for 5 to 10 seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Use a pastry brush to spread it around.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Ang’s Note: The batter will be bumpy, giving texture on the top and creating nice crevices for the butter to bake in.

Spinach Dip

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I’m pretty sure I have printed off or pinned a few recipes for Spinach/Artichoke dip or variations thereof but I have never actually made it. I order it at restaurants. I eat it whenever and wherever it is available. I do, in fact, love it. Which is why when I discovered a box of frozen spinach in the New Year Purge of my freezer, I had an epiphany. After all, it was New Year’s Day and holidays induce a certain desire for scrumptious appetizers – or for me more of an impending need. So, I dug into my Pinterest pins and found this one from Martha Stewart and decided to use it as my guideline.

After evaluating the required ingredients, I discovered that I had no bacon in the house so I was forced to forgo that savory addition. {insert sad face} I was also too lazy to cut up onion {it was, after all, a holiday!} and used some minced onion I had in my pantry instead. I also didn’t have regular cream cheese but a lovely brick of Neufchatel Cream Cheese, which I no-doubt purchased because it touted a “less fat” option.  {oh, the tricks I have to play with my mind to consider naughty things “healthy”!} I think this may have worked in my favor because the Neufchatel gave it a really lovely creamy texture. I also had these delicious flatbread crackers to accompany the dip. They joyfully deepened the flavor, which is always a good thing.  Martha’s Version looked a bit spinach heavy so I cut the spinach in half but kept about the same cream cheese/sour cream amounts.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz Neufchatel
¾ cup sour cream
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1-2 Tbsp minced onion
8 oz Parmesan
Splash of milk

Directions:

Melt the Neufchatel in a saucepan over low/medium heat with the sour cream and add milk to obtain a nice cream texture. Add about ½ the grated parmesan and the spinach.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper too. Transfer to a glass pie plate (or other small baking dish) and top with remaining parmesan. Bake for 14 minutes at 375 degrees and then broil it for 3 minutes.

Voila!

spinach dip

This with the flatbread crackers and a glass of vino? Perfection.

Happy New Year!

Simple Holiday Treats

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I wanted to take a moment to share a few easy holiday treats.  I know I’m a bit late in offering these (I apologize!) but I also know people oftentimes celebrate with family and friends after Christmas too.  Honestly, either of these could be made anytime with adjustments to their decorative offerings.  The first are these cute little sandwiches.

Ritz

You’ll need:

Ritz Crackers

Peanut Butter

Chocolate Almond Bark

Simply take a Ritz cracker and spread it with peanut butter, then top with another cracker.  In essence making a mini peanut butter sandwich.  Repeat until you have your desired amount.  I used two sleeves of Ritz crackers when I did it and copious amounts of peanut butter.  They are cute and yummy and you can eat one (or two!) if you need a little sustenance for the task at hand.  I make a bunch and stack them on a plate.  Then, I use the double broiler method to heat up the Chocolate Almond Bark.  Once the chocolate is fully melted, remove from heat.  You can dip these little babies to your heart’s content and then lay on a piece of waxed paper to cool and harden.  I just use a fork to drop them in, flip them so they are fully covered with chocolate, and then tap off the excess on the side of the bowl.

Ritz Close Up

To add to their cute-ness factor, you can add sprinkles if you like or just leave them as is.

I also wanted to mention these addictive little pretzel treats and share a photo of the red and green holiday edition.

Pretzel Treats

I originally shared these treats when I made them for Valentine’s day last year.  They are so versatile and can be made any time of year with regular M & M’s or your favorite holiday version.  Click Here for the full link containing details on the Pretzel Treats.

Do you have a favorite easy treat you make for the holidays?  I would love for you to share in the comments section!