Something light: Homemade Croutons for Soup or Salad

I found some fancy, pretty expensive multigrain uncut bread in my bread box yesterday. I bought it before the rush of the holiday season, with full intention of making garlic bread, but instead I completely forgot about it. It was hard, but I didn't want to waste it. You know what they say: when life gives you old bread, make croutons! Here's a very simple way to turn old (or not so old) bread into a yummy topping for your soup or salad.

HOMEMADE CROUTONS
bread (preferably a good French bread or sourdough or multigrain)
olive oil spray
Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese
dried oregano (optional)
cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season cookie sheet with olive oil spray and a few shakes of the Italian seasoning. Spread bread cubes into a single layer on cookie sheet. Spray cubes with olive oil spray. Shake some Italian seasoning, cheese, oregano and cayenne pepper onto bread cubes. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until lightly toasted.

These go very well with tomato soup or on top of a salad.

The croutons pic is from SimpleComfortFood. This picture looks very similar to my own croutons. The Italian seasoning is full of bits of garlic, sundried tomato, peppers, herbs and spices -- the croutons are full of flavor and flecks of color, naturally.

Rustic (Easy!) Potato Gratin

Need an easy and DELICIOUS side dish for the holidays? I've got one for you. This is one of the dishes that I'm taking to Christmas dinner that I first learned about from the Rachael Ray cooking show several years ago. I tweaked it by lowering the fat, using my Italian Garlic Seasoning in place of salt, and simplifying some steps. You don't need to slice the potatoes into thin slices, you just halve small potatoes until their roughly the same size and you'll see what else. It's very easy to make and it's sooooooooo yummy!


RUSTIC POTATO GRATIN

a couple Tbsp olive oil
3-4 pounds mixed baby potatoes, such as baby red, purples, and fingerlings
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half & half (plus some to cover)
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
2 sprigs each fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp plus a few shakes Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
black pepper
1/2 cup grated Italian Cheeses


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of a large baking dish. Halve the potatoes and toss them into the baking dish and season with a few shakes of the Italian Seasoning and some pepper.

In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, half & half, butter, herbs, garlic and 2 tsp. Italian Garlic Seasoning. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook over low heat for about 20-30 minutes, stirring often. This will infuse the half & half and cream with flavor. Note: This last italicized part was added on 12/27/09. I found that simmering the mixture for a while really helps to add more flavor.

Using a slotted spoon, pull out the herbs, then pour the hot cream mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and top begins to brown. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Artichoke Dip and Baked Tortilla Chips a Hit at Missouri Mercantile

I just love Missouri Mercantile. Here's a store that contains only Missouri-made products in the middle of a mall (The Mills). It's like stepping back into the general store in the 70s show, The Waltons. There are so many cute and yummy items in there. The owner, Bill, and his staff are always friendly and helpful, too.

We demo-ed a family recipe Artichoke Dip. This EASY recipe that is always a hit at family functions and parties is a cinch to make. This recipe is already doubled -- I at least double it and it's always gone quickly! This can be baked and kept warm in a small crock pot for parties. Here it is:

ARTICHOKE DIP

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup shredded Italian cheese (the Italian blend in a bag)
3/4 tsp Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
2 cups light mayonnaise
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Optional (any or all of the following): a few pinches of cayenne pepper, a couple tablespoons pimentos, a small can of rinsed and sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the above in a bowl. Mix well. Spread mixture into a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Bake until bubbly and toasted on top, for about 30 minutes. Serve warm with crackers.

Another party idea: Spread a thin layer of mixture onto focaccia bread or Baboli pizza crust; bake, cut and serve in bite-size pieces.

The recipe for the baked Tortilla Chips can be found here.

Coming Soon... Sat. December 5, 2009

Our seasonings will soon be available at an RFT winning Grocery Market, Local Harvest. We're so excited! We will be demo-ing our seasonings with some tasty recipes Saturday, December 5 from 11am - 2pm. We will have free gift wrap, in recycled fiber tissue, kraft box and raffia. Hope to see you there!

http://www.localharvestgrocery.com/

Tomato Soup with Homemade Italian Croutons

Easy, warm, yummy fall dinner: Campbell's Tomato Soup (with 1/2 can water, 1/2 can milk), topped with homemade Italian croutons.

Yes, in a perfect world I'd like to be able to come home on a weekday night, whip up some homemade tomato soup (I have an awesome recipe for that from my Mom), make some homemade bread (did a lot of this BEFORE having my child!), and turn that homemade bread into croutons (did a lot of this too, sans child). However, in the meantime, here's a quick, inexpensive meal that's pretty wholesome:

Serves 3 - 4

2 cans soup (we love tomato in our house)

If making tomato soup from concentrate, use 1/2 can water and 1/2 can milk or plain soy milk; cook soup according to instructions -- I find it best to have a little whisk handy to keep soup from clumping or sticking to the pan (I think my little stainless steel whisk is from Pampered Chef -- one of my favorite tools)

1 can of breadsticks (like Pillsbury) OR a few slices of bread (sourdough is the best for this); spread either one on cookie sheet and preheat oven 375 degrees

Melt a couple tablespoons butter in a pan or in a small dish in the microwave, add 1 teaspoon Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning to the melted butter, stir, then brush butter mixture onto the breadsticks or bread slices. Top bread with some Parmesan cheese, if you'd like, and then bake until toasted (follow label instructions for breadsticks)

When bread is done, cut into crouton size pieces, top the soup when ready to serve.

Photo from www.peppercornpress.com/blog

Beautful Day for FALL FEST AT THE BARN

Today's weather for Sunday, October 18th:

Mostly sunny and warmer. Highs near 60. Winds: S 5-10

It's going to be a beautiful day (finally!) for a visit out to the Barn at Lucerne in Ballwin, MO for the Fall Fest at the Barn. We will be one of 34 outdoor vendors and 13 indoor artists booths. There will also be seven antique tractor collectors, three great bands, fantastic food and drink, and rides and games for kids. All to raise funds for Operation Food Search! A canned food item can be exchanged for a game/ride.

Not only will Garlic Earth share free food samples of Italian Artichoke Dip (only 5 ingredients -- so easy!) and their Southwest and Asian Chicken, but we are also introducing handmade photo cards made from recycled paper, and we are now a retailer for the very cool-I-can't-live-without-mine ChicoBag, made from 100% recycled fabric.

The Barn at Lucerne is located at 930 Kehrs Mill Road in Ballwin, MO. The hours for the festival are NOON - 7 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Oktoberfest Meal -- Pork Chops with Apples, Raisins & Cinnamon

First of all, a huge thank you to those of you who made it out to the Best of Missouri Market at the Botanical Garden last weekend. I woke up this morning around 7:30 and thought "at this point last week, I was already awake for 3 hours and had been serving food for 30 minutes -- whew!" It was quite a task, but Mindy and I had a BLAST meeting and serving you all. We had to have met and served over 3,000 people... I did the math and we went through that many toothpicks! Fun, fun, fun.

Another HUGE thanks to the Girlies who helped us prepare for this event. This certainly includes Tracy and Kathy for helping out at the booth so that we could take breaks. Thank you SO MUCH!

So, what is on the menu at the Schantz household this week? For one, I bought pork chops, organic Granny Smith apples, organic raisins, organic cinnamon, organic raw sugar and organic sesame seeds. These ingredients, along with a one of the Garlic Earth seasonings (Asian Garlic Seasoning is my favorite with this one -- strange, but the sweetness goes well with this) creates a hearty, healthy dish. Here's the recipe:

Pork Chops with Apples
Serves 4-6
4 - 6 Pork Chops
Garlic Earth Seasoning (Asian or Italian -- 1 tsp./pound of pork)
a few tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples, sliced
1/2 cup (or a few handfuls) of raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar
sesame seeds (optional, but nice touch plus adds calcium!)

Shake seasoning onto pork chops, top and bottom, and let marinate at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the pork, let brown for about 5 minutes on each side -- it's good to get those "bits" on the pan. Remove pork, place onto plate and keep warm in microwave or under foil. With those bits in the skillet, add the apples, raisins, cinnamon, sugar and sesame seeds. Saute well, but gently, for about 5 minutes. Move mixture to side of skillet, add the pork back to the pan, cover with the apple mixture, cover skillet with lid or foil. Let simmer on low until pork is done (about 10-15 minutes over medium low heat). Serve.

Picture from dinkswithkids blog