Irish Bread Braid

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This Irish Bread Braid from Best Yummy Recipes, is super YUMMY! I used their cut finished loaf picture, because my loaf got cut and eaten before I had the chance to grab a pic. I went out on a limb with this recipe, on the search to find something, anything that my daughter will eat other than pizza. Neither my husband nor I are corned beef fans, however, the finished product photo from Best Yummy Recipes looked so delicious, that I just had to taste this bread! My braiding wasn’t too successful, I had to open a separate can of crust to patch holes, but other than that, this recipe was a cinch! The original recipe calls for Pillsbury Recipe Creations seamless dough sheet, which my grocery didn’t have, so I used Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza. I purchased two cans, just incase one wasn’t enough, which it wasn’t. I also substituted the 2 red potatoes for 1 baking potato, because that’s what I had on hand. I’m not a huge fan of caraway seeds, so I negated them from the ingredients.

Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza dough sheet
6 ounces sliced corned beef
1 cup cooked fresh spinach
1 large baking potato, boiled, cooled and sliced
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon olive oil
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
Cooking spray

Directions

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Prepare your potato before beginning this recipe to allow for potato to cool. I peeled my potato, boiled whole for about 10 minutes, allowed to cool and then sliced thin.
1. & 2. In a pan heat olive oil, add spinach, cook stirring continuously.
3. Spray cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray, unroll pizza crust onto sheet and add corned beef down the center of the dough.
4. Top corned beef with cooked spinach.
5. Top spinach with potato.
6. Top potato with shredded cheddar
7. & 8. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut 1-inch wide strips on long sides of dough (cut the same number of strips on each side) to within a 1/2-inch of the filling. Fold in short sides, then alternately cross strips over the filling to make a braid. (This is where I fell short, my braid started off well, but then began to not be as tight towards the middle and end. I had to open the second can of pizza crust to ‘patch’ the various holes.)
9. In a small bowl beat an egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush egg wash on top of bread. ( if using caraway seeds, this is when you should sprinkle them on top of your bread.)
10. Bake bread at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the bread is a lovely golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting with a sharp knife.

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I missed a hole on the side of my loaf, so a small amount of cheese leaked out of the side…no biggie;)
Even though my daughter didn’t want to even taste the bread, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Give it a try, you’ll be glad that you did!

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Creamy Tomato & Spinach Pasta

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I adore simple recipes. And I love them even more, on days that my daughter doesn’t nap. BudgetBytes has been a lifesaver over the past few weeks.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
freshly cracked pepper to taste
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ lb. penne pasta ( i used almost a full box, minus around 15 pieces)
½ (9 oz.) bag fresh spinach ( I used 6 ounces)

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender (7-10) minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander.

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While waiting for the pasta to cook, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium-low heat until softened and transparent (about 5 minutes).
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Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste and a ½ cup of water to the skillet and stir until the tomato paste is dissolved into the sauce.

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Turn the heat down to low. Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and then add them to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Use a whisk to stir the sauce until the cream cheese has fully melted in and the sauce is creamy. Add half of the Parmesan to the skillet and whisk until it is melted in. Add the remainder of the parmesan and whisk until melted in again.

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20140318-212758.jpgAdd the fresh spinach and gently stir it into the sauce until it has wilted (3-5 minutes). Add the pasta and stir until it is well coated in the creamy tomato sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm. Reagan ate around the spinach…but she ate;)