Focaccia Bread

I love to knead bread by hand, I've always thought it was fun, so I knew I would love this recipe. It's a great bread recipe to accompany any dish: soups, pastas, beef, etc. I even microwaved a few leftover pieces and served them the next day and it still tasted great. My favorite is to serve it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in.

Focaccia Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour




• 1 tsp. salt




• 1 tsp. white sugar




• 1 tbsp. active dry yeast




• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil




• 1 cup water




• 1 tsp. garlic powder




• 1-2 tbsp. olive oil




• 1 tsp. dried oregano




• 1 tsp. dried thyme




• 1 tsp. fresh minced basil




• 1 pinch ground black pepper




• 3 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese




• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Method:

• In a large bowl, place flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and garlic powder.




• Fold in the vegetable oild and water.




• When the dough has come together, place it on a lightly floured surface, and knead it until resilient but smooth.




• Lightly brush with oil on both sides and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.




• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.




• Press dough down and flatten; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle.




• Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with final ingredients of oregano, thyme, basil, black pepper, Paremsan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.




• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Chocolate M&M Pretzel Buttons

Luckily, I came across this recipe just in time for a bridal shower I was throwing and also right before I hosted Easter at my house. I tied a handful of them up in bags with a pretty ribbon for both events and everyone loved them. These pretzel buttons are very fun for kids to make and there's really no way they can make a mess with just 3 simple ingredients.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and arrange mini pretzels on a baking sheet.
Step 2: top each pretzel with any flavor of chocolate melting wafer (I used white vanilla, obviously). Place baking sheet in the oven for 2-3 minutes, just long enough for the chocolate to melt and stick to the pretzel, so you are able to stick the M&M into it.

Step 3: Take out of oven and place an M&M on top of each one. Put the tray in the fridge to set for a while and viola! You're done!!

Be careful...they're addicting!