Our herb garden is going crazy this year. I am not complaining because I love fresh herbs, but I am having a hard time keeping up. Our basil plants are especially out of control. I’ve made several batches of pesto, but every time I walk outside it looks like I haven’t touched the plants. They are growing like weeds. 

I am always looking for new ways to use up our basil, so when I saw Jenna’s recipe (TK member kitchenlovenest) for Basil Butter Garlic Bread, I knew I had to try it. I love regular garlic bread and this version looked even better. The garlic bread gets jazzed up with basil butter and Parmesan cheese. 

To make the bread you will need: ciabatta or French bread, butter, olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic, green onion, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. 

First, combine all of the ingredients, except for the bread and cheese, in a food processor. 

Process until smooth. 

Season basil butter with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Cut the bread in half using a bread knife. 

Spread the basil butter generously over each half of bread. 

Put the bread halves together and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. 

Remove the bread from the oven and carefully separate the bread halves. Sprinkle each half with Parmesan cheese. 

Return the bread halves to the oven and turn up the heat to 500 degrees F or put them under the broiler. Cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Cut the bread into slices and serve warm. 

We made the bread for a pizza party and everyone loved it. It was the perfect appetizer. The basil butter is full of flavor and the perfect addition to garlic bread. The melted cheese on top also makes this bread extra special. If you are looking for a way to spice up traditional garlic bread, try this Basil Butter Garlic Bread. It is easy to make and out of this world delicious. Thanks Jenna for helping us use up our garden basil. We love this bread! Visit her blog, Jenna’s Everything Blog, for other tasty recipes. 

Printable Recipe

Basil Butter Garlic Bread

by kitchenlovenest on August 4, 2011 in Breads August 4, 2011 Breads

See post on kitchenlovenest’s site!

4.83 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 6

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Garden overflowing with basil? Look no further for a recipe that will use a generous handful!

Ingredients

• 2 ounces, weight Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 bunch Basil Leaves (generous Handful)
• 1 bunch Parsley (use 1/3 Of The Amount Of Basil)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 whole Green Onion
• 2 pinches Salt To Taste
• 1 pinch Pepper To Taste
• 1 loaf Ciabatta Or French Bread
• 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (up To 2 Cups)

Preparation Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the bread and cheese in a food processor, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Cut open the loaf of bread and spread both halves with the basil butter. Put the halves together and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake for in a 400ºF oven for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the bread, separate the halves and load them up with Parmesan cheese. Return them to the oven and either crank up the heat to 500ºF or put them under the broiler.
4. Cook until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and starting to get brown. Serve!

 
 
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Maria and her husband Josh (who she affectionately refers to as her “dough boy”) blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. They’ve been featured on Saveur, Eatocracy, Gourmet Live, Glamour, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. We’re so glad to have them here!

 
I have a thing for plantains. Specifically, crunchy fried, golden sweet plantains that are just dripping with caramelized brown sugar. Just hand me a plate of sweet plantains and I’m in heaven. So, when I saw Tina’s recipe for BBQ Chicken, Brie and Plantain Wraps I knew it would be a winner. Spicy barbecue chicken with gooey brie cheese and sweet crunchy plantains? Sign me up!

Tina’s recipe calls for a box of frozen sweet plantains, but after searching five grocery stores to no avail, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own. I found this easy Tasty Kitchen recipe for Sweet Plantains submitted by Stephanie. It only took about ten minutes and the end result was delicious! (I’ll include that recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Since I skipped a step by not getting packaged plantains, after frying them I sliced them in half to prep them for my yummy wrap!

Then, I set the plantains aside and got to work on my barbecue chicken! Tina used a grill, but I decided to go the grill pan route in my oven instead for convenience. I also used garlic powder plus salt instead of garlic salt. So I sprinkled these guys with a little garlic powder first…

Then I gave them a good pinch of sea salt.

Followed by a healthy dash of cayenne—my favorite!

I cooked my chicken breasts for 25 minutes at 375ºF.

Then poured on my favorite BBQ sauce during the last five minutes of the cooking process.

Once the chicken was done and juicy, it was time to assemble the wraps! I thinly sliced my barbecue sauce-laden chicken breast and placed it on top of my wrap and mixed greens.

Followed by chunks of brie cheese. Doesn’t that look delicious?! Just you wait.

Lastly, I scattered my sweet plantains on top of everything. I’m getting hungry again just looking at this!

The hardest part of the whole thing was rolling the wrap up! But that’s probably just because I have a history of overstuffing my tortillas.

There you have it—lunch is served! I absolutely loved the flavor combination here and have a feeling these will now be my go-to lunch. Thanks, Tina, for this awesome recipe! It was cheesy, smoky, sweet and delicious! (Check out Tina’s blog My Life As A Mrs. for more of her delicious recipes!)

Printable Recipe

BBQ Chicken, Brie, and Plantain Wraps

by Tina (My Life as a Mrs) on May 16, 2011 in Main Courses, Sandwiches May 16, 2011 Main CoursesSandwiches

See post on Tina (My Life as a Mrs)’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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Smokey BBQ, creamy brie, and sweet plantain wrap = party in your mouth!

Ingredients

• 1 box (about 11 Oz.. Size) Frozen Sweet Plantains
• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
• ½ teaspoons Cayenne
• ¾ cups BBQ Sauce Of Choice
• 4 whole Spinach Wraps
• 1 cup Mixed Greens
• 6 ounces, weight Brie Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Ignore the cooking instructions on the box/bag your plantains. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Lay frozen plantains out in a single layer (make sure none of them are overlapping).

Bake for a good 20–30 minutes, allowing them to caramalize and get that gorgeous chewy edge! They are done when they are nice and golden with dark brown edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, slice each piece in half lengthwise, and set aside until ready to use.

Season each piece of chicken with a sprinkling of garlic salt and cayenne pepper on both sides and throw them on the grill until cooked completely through (flipping halfway through). Baste both sides with BBQ sauce in the last 5 minutes or so of cooking. Remove from the grill and slice into thin strips.

To assemble, lay a wrap flat and add a small amount of mixed greens. Top with a few slices of chicken, some brie, and a some of the plantains (I like mine with lots of plantains!). If you want to get REALLY crazy, go ahead and add an extra drizzle of BBQ!

Carefully wrap the wrap up (burrito style), place on a baking sheet (seam side down), and put back into the 400°F oven for just a few minutes (3–5 minutes). This allows the cheese to melt a little and the outside of the tortilla to crisp up slightly. Remove from the oven, slice in half, and serve!

Printable Recipe

Sweet Plantains

by Stephanie Deal on April 17, 2011 in Fried, Sides April 17, 2011 FriedSides

See post on Stephanie Deal’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 6 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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This tasty dish is really easy to prepare and tastes great with pork chops, etc. It can also just be eaten as a snack.

Ingredients

• 3 whole Plantains, Very Ripe
• 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• ¼ cups Peanut Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Slice plantains into 1-inch slices, put in a bowl and gently toss plantain slices with brown sugar.

Heat peanut oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Put plaintain slices into the skillet and fry until the plantains begin to turn golden brown, then turn over, and continue frying until they have caramelized, about 2–3 minutes per side.

Remove slices from the skillet and dab onto paper towels. Do not put slices onto paper towels as they will stick to the paper due to the caramelization. Put on a plate and sprinkle with salt before serving.

 
 
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Jenna is a food writer who has worked as a pastry chef and bread baker. Her blog Eat, Live, Run has great recipes, travel stories, and the perfect slogan: “Celebrating life, one crumb at a time.”

 
I don’t know about you, but it’s finally winter in my neck of the woods. It’s cold. I’m hungry. And I’m ready to hibernate.

I could live off soups year round, and find that nothing is more satisfying that a big bowl of stew (or two) followed by a few cookies. Maybe some bread. Maybe a salad. But the soup is where it’s at. According to my mom, my grandma made an excellent beef and barley soup. However, it was never one of the recipes she made in my lifetime. It’s been hidden in my recipe box since she passed away, and I had all but forgotten about it until I came across this Beef with Barley Soup recipe from Terri. I could hardly wait to whip up a pot; it just screamed comfort. And it’s much easier than I thought it would be. Win!

Here are your super simple ingredients: salt, pepper, thyme, carrots, olive oil barley, stew beef, season salt, diced tomatoes, beef stock, garlic, potatoes, onions and 1 bay leaf.
It should be noted that I had a difficult time finding pearl barley and had to resort to a quick cooking barley. Because of this, I reduced my simmer time a bit, and while I was afraid the barley would be a hot mess, it still came out great! More on that later.

Begin by dicing your onion. Also peel and chop your potatoes.

Next up, add your olive oil to a large stock pot and let it get nice and hot. Once hot, add your beef and DON’T TOUCH IT. Let it sear first, then once it can easily be flipped (and is not sticking to the pot), toss it.

See the caramelly brown color? That’s what you want. Gray meat is the worst. Trust me. Give it some color!

After about 5 minutes your meat should be browned, and it’s time to add your onions and garlic. Stir everything together.

Continue stirring every few minutes until the onions become caramelized. You can add a little more oil here if needed, but it wasn’t necessary for me.

Now it’ time to add everything else! Throw in the potatoes and carrots and barley …

Dump in the stock …

Then add your seasonings and bay leaf.

Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and let it cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Again, I shaved a bit of time off here since I used the quick cooking barley. I let mine simmer for about 45-60 minutes.

After the 2 hours (or 45-60 minutes, in my case), add in your diced tomatoes. Give it a good stir and let it simmer for another hour. Easy!

Give it a taste and adjust your seasonings. I snuck multiple spoonfuls for about 2 hours straight.

Remove your bay leaf and serve it hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. I added some crusty bread with butter for dipping. Crackers would be good, too!

Dig in!

This soup actually warmed me to the core and the flavor was just incredible. It is a perfect dish for cold winter nights, and if you use the quick cooking barley, you can even make this as an easy weeknight meal. I didn’t even care that I burn every inch of my mouth.

Thanks so much Terri for the delicious recipe! Be sure to check out her blog That’s Some Good Cookin’. It’s chock full of fabulous dishes and stories.

Printable Recipe

Beef with Barley Soup

by Terri @ that's some good cookin' on October 13, 2011 in Soups, Stews October 13, 2011 SoupsStews

See post on Terri @ that's some good cookin'’s site!

4.82 Mitt(s) 17 Rating(s)

Prep Time: -

Cook Time: -

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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Take the chill off with a warm bowl of this filling soup.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 pound Beef Cubes (for Stew)
• 1 whole Large Onion, Medium Diced
• 2 cloves Minced Garlic
• 2 whole Carrots, Smaller Ends Cut Into Rounds, Larger Ends Diced
• 2 whole Potatoes, Large Dice
• 1-½ teaspoon Seasoning Salt
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt (or To Taste)
• Ground Black Pepper To Taste
• 6 cups Beef Stock
• 2 cups Water Or As Needed
• ½ cups Pearl Barley
• ½ teaspoons Thyme
• 1 whole Bay Leaf
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Size) Diced Tomatoes

Preparation Instructions

Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add the olive oil.

Brown the beef cubes for three minutes in the oil, then add the onions and garlic. Lower the heat to medium low and cook until the onions are cooked and just start to caramelize. Stir as needed to keep onions and garlic from burning. Lower heat if necessary; drizzle a little more olive oil if needed to keep food from sticking.

Add everything except the tomatoes to the pot and stir well. Increase the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat as necessary to keep soup at a slow simmer. If the soup thickens too much, add a little more water or broth.

Taste to correct seasonings, then add tomatoes and simmer for another hour. Remove bay leaf before serving.

 
 
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Jessica Merchant is a personal trainer turned food writer and blogger. Her blog, How Sweet Eats, is where she proclaims her love for all things sweet, all things bacon, and everything else in between. She works her magic in her Pittsburgh kitchen, which she shares with her husband of 2 years.

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