Garlic Breadsticks

So I decided I needed to stop making so many desserts all the time.  Of course the problem with that is I immediately just switch to making breads.  Not sure which one is worst for my waistline, homemade breads or desserts.  I'm pretty sure both are equally terrible for me as I tend to eat way too much of them in one sitting!  I made these tonight for the first time.  I was wanting a bread stick like the one you get at Olive Garden and since I'm in Japan I can't really go to Olive Garden so had to make my own.  I think these turned out awesome.  I loved them, so did my husband and kids.  Definitely a home run and will be making these again and again!  Plus my kids loved helping me shape these into bread sticks. 

Breadstick Dough

1 package active dry yeast

4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour,plus more for dusting

3 tbsp unsalted butter,softened

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. salt
1 1/4 c. warm water + 1/4 c. 

Topping:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter,melted

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 to 1/4 tsp. garlic powder 

Pinch of Italian Seasoning

Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water; mix with the paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms, 5 minutes.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until very smooth and soft, 3 minutes. Roll into a ball and place in an oiled bowl and cover.  Allow to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.  I then turned mine out onto a floured surface and pressed to a square and used a knife to cut long strips in the shape of bread sticks.  I didn't actually measure the size, just guessed how big I wanted them.  Then placed each bread stick on a baking sheet on parchment paper that I sprayed with Pam.  Cover again and allow to rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make the topping by melting the butter and then adding the garlic powder, salt and Italian seasoning into the butter mixture then brushing the bread sticks with it before placing in the oven and right after they come out as well.  Bake approximately 15 minutes.

Whisking Wednesdays #12

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Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays! 

What a week here.  We had an earthquake then a typhoon barely missed us.  It is super windy out and has been raining on an off all week because of this storm.  It is my son's first birthday tomorrow, though we celebrated it yesterday because of  my husband's long 12 hour work days and he was off work yesterday.  We had a ton of fun.  Both my little ones are sick though so that always sucks.  But I've been in the kitchen cooking up a storm which always puts me in a good mood. 

The top three from last week's Whisking Wednesday are below.  You are welcome to grab a feature button if you'd like.  Thank you all for visiting and sharing your recipes!

Did you say stuffed?  A stuffed cinnamon roll with cookie dough and chocolate all in one?  I mean cinnamon rolls, you can't get much better than those but then adding cookie dough and chocolate all into the same recipe!  

#1

Melissa's Cuisine 

Cookie Dough & Chocolate Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls 

YUM!  Peanut butter, chocolate and rice krispies.  These look awesome.  Reminds me slightly of a childhood recipe my mom made except it was peanut butter and butterscotch in the base.  Gonna have to make my variation of these this week in honor of my mom now that I've seen these. 

#2

Captive Creativity 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars 

These cupcakes look so refreshing.  Or maybe it is because lemonade is so refreshing it makes me think these have got to be refreshing.  What a wonderful summer cupcake, raspberries and lemonade.  I love lemon in everything so I'm sure these are amazing. 

#3

World According to Jiggle 

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes 

The Rules:

1. Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your recipe.
2. Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
3. Share your delicious recipes from this week. You are welcome to link up multiple recipes.
4. Leave me a comment and let me know that you've linked up.
5. Please visit at least two others and comment on the goodies they've added to this party.
6. Also, I would love for you to follow me but it isn't a requirement.  

This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week.  Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.  

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Some Japan Favorites

 So these dumplings are called "gyoza".  I LOVE these things.  Everywhere we go I order them for an appetizer for us.  My husband actually likes them too which is always a surprise because he isn't big on trying new things.  My 1 year old really loves them too but that isn't saying much as he'll eat just about anything.  They have a cabbage, onion, minced or ground pork filling and are just awesome dipped in a bit of soy sauce.  Many stores you can walk buy and actually see them hand making these dumplings inside.  Did I mention that I think soy sauce here in Japan is about 100 times better than the states, not sure why that is.  Maybe it is just my imagination. 

Another thing that you can get just about everywhere here is ramen.  There are so many different types I don't even know where to begin.  Especially since I'm a ramen beginner.  I've tried ramen quite a few times in the two months I've been here and find that almost all of it is really good.  My daughter who won't eat anything will even eat ramen now.  One of these days I'll learn the differences between all these ramen dishes but right now I'm just enjoying them.  The big green thing in it is a sheet of seaweed. 


This is chop suey.  I wasn't sure about it because it had a bunch of misc. seafood pieces in it that I still cannot tell you what it was I ate exactly and you can choose between crunchy or soft noodles and I got crunchy because this was my first time eating it and I didn't really know what I was ordering anyways.  I was really surprised at how good this was.  I won't say it was a favorite or anything but just something I tried, and enjoyed and remembered to take a picture of. 

The picture below is a picture of a Japanese oven.  They have basically two stovetop burners and a pull out thing to cook fish in.  They don't actually have an oven like we are use to.  I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had to use one of these and couldn't really bake like I'm use to. 

I find that the more I get out into town and do things the more comfortable I am with it.  It is amazing at how many people speak English or at least can speak English so much better than I can Japanese.  We went to a store recently that is much like the Home Depot in the states except it is two stories high and has a furniture store on the top part.  It also had a McDonald's in the store.  So we figured we'd get the kids some lunch while we were there shopping.   It is McDonald's so how hard can it be to order, right?  Well everyone's order turned out fine except mine.  It seems anytime I attempt to communicate things myself things go wrong but I find it amusing and just figure I'll try again next time to get it right.  They have a Teriyaki Burger at the McDonald's here.  It looked really tasty.   So I attempted to order the Teriyaki Burger with no mayonnaise or lettuce and ended up with just a plain burger with absolutely no sauce whatsoever.  Oops, better luck next time! 

Happy 101 Award

So I've been honored with receiving the "Happy 101" award from Grandma Loys Kitchen!  I feel so special and it just puts a smile on my face to know that someone enjoys my blog and thought of me to pass this on too.   

Ok, so here are the rules for this award:
1.  Copy the award image into a post.

2.  List 10 things that make you happy.
3.  Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
4.  Put in a link to their blogs.
5.  Notify the award receivers.
6.  Recipients should link back to the sender’s blog. 

So the first being ten things that make me happy.  I'm a pretty happy person so that should be a breeze to make that list.

1.  My children
2.  My husband
3.  My family (mom, sister, dad, niece, nephew)
3.  Baking
4.  My new apartment
5.  Having the opportunity to live and explore a new country (Japan)
6.  Making new friends
7. This amazing warm sunny weather here in Japan.  Sunshine always makes me smile.
8.  My sister is having a baby boy!
9. New fruits and vegetables to try here in Japan
10.  And one that is quite ridiculous but my husband will tell you how true it is, spending money.  Spending money always makes me happy and puts me in a good mood!

Next, 10 bloggers that brighten my day.

 1.All Things Erika

Ok, so this one probably shouldn't be my first but it is.  This is my sister's blog.  My very pregnant sister.  I'm in Japan and she is in Maryland with her husband, my niece and my new nephew on the way.  So her blog helps me to stay connected to her and I love seeing what she is up to.
 
2.  Chef in Training

I love this blog.  I find the recipes on here to be absolutely incredible and the pictures amazing.  I don't think I've seen one single picture that I didn't want to eat!  

 3.That Skinny Chick Can Bake

I love the recipes on this blog.  Not only do all the pictures look so very professional and fancy but she does things with the pictures that I'd never even be able to think of!  Also, I find it amazing that she is so skinny (yeah, hence her blog name) but has the most amazing desserts she makes all the time!  I don't know how she does it!

4. Crayon Freckles

I love this blog.  Not only the design and layout but I love the fact that there is so much stuff on there geared towards her role as a mom and crafts and things she does with her child.  I also love the crafts in general as I find that I wish I could recreate some of them but I'm not that craft.  

5. Sweet As Sugar Cookies

There are so many amazing recipes on this blog.  I love that there is so many sweet treats but also lots of really interesting things like BBQ Meatballs that I can't wait to make! 

6. Grandma Loys Kitchen

This blog has some great recipes and has such a nice homey feel to it.  Grandma's always make you feel comfy and homey!

7. Debbie Debbie Doos 

I love the newby parties on her site every week as I think many of my followers found me through this site and can't thank her enough for it!

8. At Home with Haley


Another blog with amazing recipes and pictures.  I also love the weekly link-up party!

9. For the Love of Cooking

This blog has so many dinner ideas.  A lot of the recipes are simple and tasty and I always check this blog out when I'm looking for ideas for dinner. 

10.  Sugar and Dots

I'm posting this blog because I find it so difficult to get my daughter to eat fruit for some reason.  She absolutely LOVED the shark watermelon that was on this blog recently and asked me to buy her a watermelon so we could make this shark together and swears she is going to eat it.  So fingers crossed on her actually eating it.  I love the link party on this blog too!

I'm totally thrilled with this award and wish my kids would give me a bit more time to say nice things about all the blogs I love but unfortunately I've got two sick kiddos right now and a 1st birthday party for my son I'm trying to make a cake for so my hands are so very full.   But I want to thank everyone that reads and visits my blog and tell you how much it means to me!

Banana Muffins

I had a few bananas on my counter that desperately needed to be eaten or used today so I decided to do some Banana Muffins.  Not only because it is such a simple, quick recipe to make but it makes your entire house smell just amazing.  If you want you can substitute some or all of the butter for applesauce to make it a lighter muffin as well as switching out the all purpose flour for whole wheat or using half whole wheat.  I wanted to do whole wheat but realized that they don't have whole wheat pastry flour at my only store here on base and I'd bet my life you can't get whole wheat pastry flour at one of the local grocery stores in town in Japan. Granted, even if I was standing there looking directly at it I wouldn't have a clue what it was since I can't read Japanese!  Looks like that is one of those items I'm going to have to have my mom ship to me from the states because I love using it and don't really want to go three years without it!

Banana Muffins

2 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 small very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 c. fat-free vanilla yogurt

2 large eggs

6 tbsp. unsalted melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your muffin pan.  I like to grease it with butter.  Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.  Mash the bananas in a separate bowl.  Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla into the bananas and whisk until combined. Then pour in the butter to the banana mixture while whisking.  Make sure your butter isn't piping hot but has cooled a bit. Pour the banana mixture into the flour and whisk until just combined.  This is a thick and chunky batter so you may want to stir with a wooden spoon instead of a whisk at this point.  Use a 1/3 c. measuring cup and scoop into muffin pan.  This makes 9 good sized muffins.  Bake 22-25 minutes or until golden brown and a knife can pierce the muffin and comes out clean.

Red Velvet Brownies

I was in the mood to make something different than your regular brownie yesterday so I did a red velvet brownie with a cream cheese swirl.   My swirl didn't turn out very swirly but these weren't a hit.  My husband loved them and so did my daughter.  My 1 year old chased me around the house hoping I'd give him a bite.  The cream cheese taste is subtle but really made a big difference in the taste of the brownie.  I like fudgy brownies so I baked mine for about 25 minutes and then cooled in the fridge until set.  If you like it more cake like I'd cook for about 30 or so minutes. 

Red Velvet Brownie

1 stick melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. white vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream Cheese Swirl:

3 oz. cream cheese
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

For the brownie, melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove the butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring and vinegar mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour and baking powder until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.  For the cream cheese swirl blend together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy and no lumps.  Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan.  Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

Post Shared With: 
At Home with Haley 

Chicken Verde Quesadillas

I love this really super simple dinner recipe.   My husband is now working 12 hour day shifts two days a week then 12 hour night shifts two days a week.  So with him not getting home until 9pm two nights a week I wanted to find dinners that are easy but tasty to make for me and the kids and then be able to reheat or quickly put together for him when he gets home at night.  A friend of mine told me about a verde chicken enchilada she makes and I've been hooked on verde salsa since I tried it.  You can make the chicken ahead of time or use a rotisserie chicken.  I make my own taco seasoning but packet works just as well, I just don't usually have it on hand so find it easier to just make my own when I need it. 

 Chicken Verde Quesadillas

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet of Taco seasoning
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 jar of verde salsa
1/4 c. sour cream
quesco fresco cheese
1 c. mexican shredded cheese
6-8 tortillas

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the chicken breast on a baking sheet and liberally cover with taco seasoning and drizzle with olive oil.  Then turn the chicken over and repeat making sure to massage the taco seasoning into the chicken.  Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken is).  Then shred the chicken.  In a bowl mix the entire jar of verde salsa (minus a bit if you want to drizzle it on top or dip it) with about 1/4 c. sour cream and about 1/4 c. queso fresco cheese.  Add the chicken to the verde sour cream mixture.  Heat a large skillet on medium and spray with non-stick spray.  Place a tortilla down and then spread the chicken verde mixture onto the quesadilla (liberally) and sprinkle the shredded Mexican cheese on top and cover with another tortilla.  After 3-4 minutes flip and cook the other side until crispy.  Cut into wedges and serve.