Pull-Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I've brought it to dinner at Eric's parents' house a number of time and there has never once been leftovers. His mom is especially found of the pull-apart bread. It was my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house a few years ago. They loved it. It takes a bit of time to make, but it's so worth it. However, if you have a helping hand in the kitchen, the process goes much quicker. Eric and I usually make this together.

This recipe comes from Pillsbury. I just made a few minor changes.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and finely chopped.

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cans of crescent rolls

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.

Combine melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the mayo, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, basil, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Set aside.

Separate crescent roll dough into 16 triangles then cut each triangle in half lengthwise so you have 32 small triangles. Roll out the triangles to make them slightly bigger. You may want to lightly sprinkle your work area with flour to prevent sticking. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture into the center of each triangle and pull the dough around the filling to form a ball. Press the edges of the dough together to seal. Dip each ball in the butter mixture then place in the bundt pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the bread turns a golden brown. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. To remove the bread from the pan, place your serving plate upside down over the pan then turn the plate and pan over. If desired, serve with marinara or tomato sauce. 

This bread compliments any dish that calls for tomato sauce--spaghetti, ziti, lasagna, etc. As a tradition, we eat pizza every Christmas Eve in my family. This year instead of ordering a side of bread sticks, we made pull-apart bread. It went perfect with the pizza.

When Eric and I make this dish together, I make the balls, he dips them in butter, and the process seems to go a million times faster.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Pumpkin Bread!

Continuing on my pumpkin kick, tonight I baked some yummy pumpkin bread. However, I either lost my loaf pan in my last move or gave it to my mom because I rarely used it, so I baked my bread in a bundt pan.

Pumpkin bread in bundt form

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8.5x4.5x2.5-inch loaf pan (or bundt pan) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl add pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar. In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Blend the wet ingredients together while gradually adding the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Pour into pan. Bake for 50 minutes.

The pumpkin bread is delicious with butter or cream cheese. But since we like everything sweet in this house, I whipped up some cream cheese frosting that's sweet but not too sweet. This recipe only makes a small amount of frosting, just enough for a loaf of bread.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend all the ingredients in a bowl with a mixer. Spread on sliced bread.

Enjoy!

~Krissy