Roasted Chickpeas with Bacon

Chicka-BOOM! I'm back from a nice little blogging rest. Now I am full of great new ideas, and ready to share. Today I was reading the new Bon Appetit Magazine and it reminded me how much I love roasted chickpeas! Roasted chickpeas- with BACON! Yup might as well do it up! This is a great side dish or for a lite snack. Lets face it once you start eating them it will be hard to stop. Trust me. And when it's this simple to make you'll be surprised how often you crave them.

Roasted Chickpeas with Bacon
(2) 15oz cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed
4 slices of bacon chopped
1-2 pinches Cayanne Pepper
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
2 pinches Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
1 TBS Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 400
Pour olive oil on a 4 sided sheet pan, place sheet pan in the oven. Let the pan preheat for 5 min.
In a bowl combine, chickpeas, bacon, and spices. Stir to combine. Pour onto the hot pan, and shake to even out. Bake for 30- 40 min, checking every 15-20 to stir and shake the pan. They are done when the chickpeas are crispy. Let cool for a bit, and enjoy!

Bacon and Cheese Pull apart Bread

I am obsessed with savory bread. I don't make a ton of bread, but whenever I do I want to add cheese, and sometimes Jalapenos. Then the thought occurred to me that I should make this a breakfast bread and add bacon! WOW oh WOW was this bread worth the wait. It is a yeasted bread so it takes time to rise, 2 rises to be exact. Making bread in the warmer months is less frustrating. Since the house is already warm/hot it's easy to get the bread rising quickly. But it is a double edged sword, cause then to bake the bread you have to turn on the oven.  If this is started early in the day it will be ready for dinner, or start it late and bake at night when it's a little cooler. Then the bread will be ready for breakfast! So here you go. Really it's not that hard Just jump in and make it!

Bacon and Cheese Pull apart bread:
1  cup flour
3/4 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 TBS sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 envelope)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
16 oz Pepper jack cheese, grated
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 pound bacon diced and cooked- fat drained

In a bowl add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour with sugar, salt and yeast, and stir to mix. I would use the bowl of a mixer. In a small pan heat milk and butter over low heat until butter is just melted, then set aside for 1 minute and add water. Add milk mixture to the flour and with the  dough hook min till combined.  Then add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined.  Add in half  of the pepper jack and mix until cheese is incorporated. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough. It will still be sticky but  don't add more flour.

Set dough in a oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then set in a warm place to rise for one hour. After one hour, punch the dough down and either refrigerate for later/tomorrow use, or use it now. Lightly flour the counter and  roll the dough into a giant rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter then covered with the rest of cheese and all the bacon.
Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough from top to bottom into 6 even strips – they do not have to be perfect. Lay the strips on top of each other and then cut into 6 pieces again. Butter and lightly flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Layer the square slices into the loaf pan cut side down  Cover the dough with a towel and let rise for another hour. Once it's done rising it's time to bake and enjoy!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set the loaf pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.