Light Cheese Bread and Blueberry Crisp or Carbohydrate Heaven

We had a nice, relaxing dinner at my mother and father-in laws house tonight. My wonderful in-laws (Bruce and Rosie) watched our daughter for a few hours so my husband and I could both take our son to his art lesson. I thought it would be nice to take dinner to my in-laws house for us to all share together. I took it easy on the main course and made soup from a package. After the hours I was in the kitchen last night I needed a break. I did however make a loaf of bread to accompany the soup and my daughter and I made the dessert together. I was excited to try a recipe for cheese bread I found in The Best of America's Test Kitchen Best Recipes and Reviews 2011. I bought this magazine around a month ago and want to try almost every recipe, they all look so good. I really love the convenience of "quick" breads, there is no kneading or waiting for the dough to rise.

Light Cheese Bread

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on the large holes of a grater. (2/3 of a cup)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I was out of cayenne pepper, so just used 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (3/4 cup)
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 1/4 cups low-fat milk and let it sit for 10 minutes before using)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bread loaf pan (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch) with non stick cooking spray. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese evenly over the bottom of the pan, and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, mustard, cayenne, and black pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons more Parmesan and the cheddar, breaking up any clumps. In a large bowl whisk the buttermilk, oil and egg together until smooth. Fold the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. The batter will be extremely thick, be sure not to overmix. Put the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving. The bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes one 8-inch loaf

Coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.

Cheese bread batter.

Ready to cook.

This was a very tasty loaf of bread, I hadn't planned on making it so I was glad I could throw it together with ingredients I had in the house. I had enough of the bread left over to make sandwiches for my kids to take to school tomorrow, that will be a nice change of pace for them.

For dessert my daughter and I made blueberry crisp. The kitchen was a wreck when we were done (four year olds are not the neatest) but we had a good time together.

Blueberry Crisp

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, washed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
Non stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the blueberries and white sugar into a large bowl and mix. Spray a 9 x 13 inch dish with cooking spray, then pour in the blueberry mixture. In a medium bowl mix the oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the blueberries. Bake for 35 minutes.
Serves 6

Blueberries and sugar.

Ready to bake.

Wow the blueberry crisp was delicious. This dessert was really easy to make and was gone in seconds.  I think the only way this could have been any better would have been if we had served it with vanilla ice cream. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Till tomorrow...