Red Pepper Corn Bread

We have Native Americans to thank for the corn bread.  Its humble beginnings can be traced back to the Indians that European settlers came in contact with when they first arrived in America. 

Sour Cream Chocolate Loaf with Chocolate Butter

The Olmec Indians are believed to be the first to grow cocoa beans as a domestic crop. 

Pineapple Banana Bread

The plant is indigenous to South America.

Southwestern Corn Muffins

Chelsea Milling Company is operated by a family whose roots in the flour milling business date back to the early 1800’s. They have been milling flour here in Chelsea for over 120 years.

Banana Nut Bread

This a very interesting food to research. Bananas have been around since the beginning of time. Sweet nut breads and cakes were eaten by the ancient Roman and Greeks. Who decided to combine these two foods? According to the food historians, banana bread is a relatively is a recent phenomenon. In the early 20th century bananas were very popular and were used in many recipes. Nut breads (also sometimes known as tea cakes, muffins) were likewise popular. The earliest banana-nut combinations recipes we find are for salads! 

Guest Post ~ Lithuanian Bacon Buns

No food history today. I'm excited to introduce a special guest post from one of my favorite food bloggers, and I know he is one of your favorites too. Peter from http://thekitchennoob.blogspot.com/ is a great cook. I have been a fan of Peter since I found his blog. Peter's blog is worth checking out. Now I hand my blog over to Peter.

I'm thrilled to be doing a guest post for Christine's Pantry! Of course, I wanted to present something special, and with the holidays coming up there are plenty of great dishes to choose from.

It's amazing to me, looking back, that what I remember most fondly about the holidays during my childhood is not the toys and presents, which at the time were at the top of the priority list, but the food and family gatherings. As the cook/chef in the house and as a father, I want my daughter to have similar fond memories, not of plastic toys, but of family fun and especially the food.

This will be my third year including these Lithuanian Bacon Buns as part of a new family holiday tradition. My dad's side is mostly Lithuanian, and my wife's mom's side also had a substantial Lithuanian heritage as well. Maybe that's why we like these so much, it's inherent.

We start off with a pound of bacon and a large onion, both chopped, in a heavy skillet and barely covered with water. At medium heat, boil off the water until you have a rich, brown filling.

We roll out the dough after 2 risings and cut out circles that will be our buns.

I still have yet to master the rolling technique. As seen in the picture of the finished bun my bacon filling always ends up off-center. I think I need to do more pinching and less rolling. We let these buns rise again for another hour before baking them for a quick 20 minutes. Then they're finally ready!

These buns are a savory treat, and everyone who has ever sampled them has absolutely loved them. I especially make sure to send a small batch over to my neighbor every time I make them. It's sort of a nice Thanksgiving gift too.

Thanks for reading everybody, and thank you Christine for inviting me over for a guest post! I hope you all enjoy and have wonderful holidays coming up.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Award

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Growing up, mom often made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. She would use white bread and American cheese, which was good. But I decided to make my own grilled cheese sandwich. I have a few variations on grilled cheese. This time I used 12 grain bread with pepper jack cheese. I always make my grilled cheese with butter. The Pepper jack cheese melts well. And you can't go wrong with cheese and bacon.

Award... I am very excited and honored to be awarded. I would like to take a moment and thank www.manusmenu.com for this honored. Please take a moment and visit her blog... great blog!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Award

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

4 slices bread, I used 12 grain, or use your favorite bread

4 slices pepper jack cheese

2 tablespoons butter

4 slices smoked bacon, cooked and broken into pieces

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place 2 slices of bread on a plate and butter the top of each bread. Place 2 slices of bread buttered side down in the skillet. Place 2 slices of cheese on the bread, sprinkle bacon on top of cheese. Top with 2 remaining slices of bread, placed buttered side up. Cook until bread browns and cheese slightly melted, about 3 minutes. Turn the sandwiches. Making sure cheese is completely melted and bread is brown. Enjoy!