Rosemary Focaccia Bread

This bread is fun to make and VERY tasty! I made it to go with the Butternut squash soup that I also posted.
I give this a 4.5 out of 5.

Ingredients
• 1 1/4 cups hot water
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Preparation
Combine hot water, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and honey in a large bowl; cool to 100° to 110°. Sprinkle yeast over honey mixture; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 1/4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon salt to honey mixture, stirring to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down. Pat dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Uncover dough. Make indentations in top of dough using handle of a wooden spoon or your fingertips. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon water, and egg yolk; brush over dough. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with remaining rosemary and sea salt.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Roasted Red Pepper Butternut Squash Soup

In the Fall squash is in abundance, and what better time to try a new recipe!
I keep hearing that Butternut squash soup is amazing, so I put it to the test.
I looked over several recipes and made up my own, but there was one recipe that I think is closes to what I made.
I also made some Rosemary Focaccia Bread to go with. It was way good! I will post that recipe as well.
I give this recipe a 4.5 out of 5.

Ingredients:

1 Lb of Butternut squash peeled and cubed
1 Red Bell Pepper cut up very coarsely
2 stalks of Celery chopped coarsely
1 Med Onion chopped coarsely
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Med Carrots chopped coarsely
1 Apple peeled and cubed (Optional)
Oil
1 ½ can Chicken Stalk
½ & ½

Seasonings
Thyme, salt and pepper, rosemary, garlic powder
Sage, and Basil
(You don’t have to use all of these, just pick out and use your favorites)

Place the peeled and cubed Butternut squash, and Red bell pepper on a cookie sheet that is lined with foil. Drizzle 2 TBS of oil over the squash and pepper making sure so that they are all coated with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven at 400* until they are soft and tender, about 30 mins.

While the squash is baking, put your carrots, celery, onion, garlic, (and apple if used) in a soup pot or wok with 1 TBS of oil and sauté until soft and tender. Add your tender squash and peppers to your carrot, celery, onion mix and add your Chicken stalk. Bring to a boil. Put soup in a blender and purée the mixture. Put puree back into the pot and add your ½ & ½ and more stalk until you get a consistency you like. Add your desired seasonings.
Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy!

Cheese and Herb Scones

I made these Scones to go with my Soup the other day. My roommates seem to like time, but I think they could be better. The flavor was good, but they were dry and kind of hard. Im going to make them again but tweak the recipe a little to see if I cant make them better! So until I fix it I would give these a 3.5 out of 5!


Ingredients:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and dry herbs. Cut in shortening until you have coarse crumbs, then add 3/4 cup of the cheese. Lightly mix in the milk and mustard, until mixture forms a soft dough. On a lightly floured board, knead gently 5 or 6 times and then divide. Roll each half into a 7-inch round, then cut into 4 or 5 wedges. On a greased baking sheet, place scones at least 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes, until brown on top.