Hi Everyone,
Hows life? I have to say same old same old. I’m just patiently counting down the days till Christmas. I get so excited, like a little kid. My favorite part about Christmas is sitting around, listening to Christmas music and having wonderful munchies while we open our gifts. Speaking of gifts, I really need to get my shopping done!! Are you done yet?
Today I have for you my Sundried Tomato and Pesto Quick Bread. This bread is so moist, and the little bites of sundried tomato makes this bread really pop!! It’s a perfect bread to go with a pasta dinner or with a side of soup. I made this bread on Saturday and had it with my Chicken Vegetable Soup. Oh and a little tip, if you keep your sundried tomatoes int he refrigerator it will prolong the life of the tomatoes. They last practically forever!
You can use store bought pesto in the recipe, but it’s so easy to make your own, so I whipped up a quick batch of pesto. It’s not really a full creamy pesto like you buy at the store because I am adding it in the bread. I’m looking for more of the basil flavor than if I was using it as a dip. You can use the pesto recipe to make a dip, but you will have to add more basil and more olive oil to it!
Even though the bread doesn’t scream holidays, it is green and red after all, so I consider it a Christmas bread! Actually I consider this bread anytime of the year! I really love the flavor of pesto. The bread is made with Greek yogurt so it’s extra moist and I also threw in a half cup of shredded mozzarella cheese for extra flavor. This bread really has it all!!
The recipe makes one large loaf or three mini loaves. I opted for the mini loaves so I can freeze them and have them for dinner. Actually I’m giving one to my Friend Andrea who loves pesto. I hope she likes the bread.
- Pesto:
- 1 bunch basil leaves (2 oz)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp. Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- For Batter:
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup greek yogurt, plain, non-fat
- 3 egg whites
- 3 tbsp. milk, non-fat
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ Cup (2 oz) Light mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes, diced small
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Spray a loaf pan, 9x5x3 or three mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
- In a mini food processor, add basil leaves, garlic, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Process until combined.
- Stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set a side.
- In a large bowl add yogurt and pesto; mix until combined. Add egg whites and stir till combined.
- Add flour mixture to yogurt mixture and stir until combined. The batter will be thick, add milk and olive oil. Mix until combined.
- Fold in cheese and sundried tomatoes and pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes for mini loafs and 40 - 50 minutes for a large loaf or until golden brown; insert a toothpick in center comes out clean.
- Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool 30 minutes before slicing.
I am just busy, busy these days, so I must be going! I’m going to wrap some of my Christmas presents, so I don’t have to do them all in one day. Wrapping gifts are so time consuming. Do you like to wrap presents? I always make the first few so pretty with ribbons and ties and then by the time I’m half way through, I throw a bow on them and I’m done with it! lol
Have a great day!!
Toodles,
Jennifer
P.S. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway.
