It’s The Little Things: Crushed Garlic

All right, I hate to keep repeating myself. But, it needs to be said again. “I am lazy.” Right now I am writing this post. I should be vacuuming. Or doing laundry. Enough said.

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And I love to cook. Enter all-ready-crushed-and-pureed-for-you garlic.

I buy my garlic in this handy dandy little case. It comes in servings of 20. Each serving is one clove of garlic. It is kept frozen. I also sometimes purchase minced garlic in the jars. You can find the jars in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.

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The garlic is in tiny little pockets all of its own. Besides making cooking easier, this is frankly adorable. And cooking and adorable go together like….hmmm. Well. Not at all. Movin’ along.

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I use this in any recipe that calls for garlic. I buy mine at a little specialty food store near my house. It is in the frozen vegetable aisle. It is inexpensive. It is wonderful.

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It’s the little things: not smelling like garlic. Not having to chop garlic = Less work = Happy lazy girl.

Do you chop your own garlic? Or do you use prechopped like me? Do tell!

The Unbeknownst Battle Of Garlic Bread

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My mother makes the yummiest garlic bread. But so does my mother-in-law. They are different, but equally good. I have taken to splitting a loaf of french bread in half and doing half of a loaf with half of each recipe. If you choose to go wild and crazy like me, then halve each recipe.

My Mother’s Garlic Bread

My mom’s recipe is simple. I think my favorite part about it, is the broiled crispy buttery top. It is easy. It is good. The proof is in the pud… Um, bread.

The following recipe is for a whole loaf:

Ingredients

1 loaf french bread
1 stick softened salted butter
2 cloves of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon of minced garlic from a jar)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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Cut french bread in half.

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Mix butter, garlic, and cheese.

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Spread on bread. Cut bread into hearty pieces. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes.

Turn oven to broil. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes until top is the yummiest golden brown. Watch this. It can burn VERY Fast. Quickly (but safely) remove from oven.

Turn off oven.

Serve with meal of your choice. Thanks mom!

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My Mother-In-Law’s Paprika Garlic Bread

Shhhhh! Do not tell my mother-in-law I am sharing this recipe. I might get in trouble. But I think this recipe is good enough to risk it. She is such an amazing cook. I am always lurking behind her while she is cooking. Watching. In a hopefully not-at-all creepy way.

The following recipe is for a whole loaf:

Ingredients

1 loaf french bread
1 stick softened salted butter
1/2 stick softened cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesian cheese
2 cloves of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon from a jar)
Paprika sprinkled on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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Cut french bread in half, lengthwise. Mix butter and garlic together. Butter both sides of bread. Spread cream cheese on top of butter. Sprinkle cheese on top of bread. Sprinkle paprika over top of cheese.

Slice into large, yummy slices. Hey! This bread is not wanting for calories. If you can only have one piece of bread, best make it count!

Place on baking sheet. Bake for eight minutes.

Remove from oven. Let cool two minutes.

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I serve mine with spaghetti, lasagna, and any all pasta dishes. My mother-in-law served this with steak when she was here. Yum!

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If you choose to halve each recipe and do half of a loaf of each mom’s bread, then please: Remove the paprika bread after eight minutes. Then broil the regular garlic bread after that. The paprika bread should not be broiled.

Serve and decide which garlic bread is your favorite. I cannot choose. I love them both!