Easy Garlic Bread

(This recipe was first posted in conjunction with Meijer Ad Week of 3/11/12 - 3/17/12)

Making this bread takes only a few more minutes than opening a package of store-bought garlic bread...but you might not be buying that garlic bread anymore after you taste this!  It's great with any pasta dish, or as a substitute for regular dinner rolls with any meal.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French OR Italian bread, uncut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
3/8 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut hard ends off the loaf of French bread if necessary.  Cut the loaf lengthwise.

Mix remaining ingredients together (a fork works well to smash the Parmesan cheese into the margarine).  Spread approximately 1/3 of the mixture on each cut side of the bread.

Put the cut sides back together, then slather the remaining 1/3 of the mixture on top of the loaf.

Cut the bread into slices, but don't fully cut the slices (don't cut all the way through).  Don't ask me why it took me 5 years of burned fingers and flying chunks of crusty cheese to realize that I could cut the bread BEFORE I baked it!

Set the intact loaf on a large chunk of foil, and make a foil "boat" for the loaf.  The bottom and sides should be wrapped in foil, but the top should remain uncovered so that the Parmesan cheese can bake into an Asiago-like topping.

Bake 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the top is nicely browned.  Prepare yourself to settle arguments between your kids over who gets seconds...or just settle the argument by grabbing the last piece yourself!

Options and Tips

• If you don't think your family will eat a whole loaf in one sitting, you can freeze half of it:  fully prepare the bread, but instead of baking it, put it in the freezer (uncovered) until the cheese/butter topping is hard.  Then transfer to a freezer bag or wrap and seal with another layer of foil.  When you're ready to use it, thaw it on the counter for at least four hours.  Uncover, and bake as directed above.
• Check out the half-price "We baked too much" rack at Meijer...there's almost always a loaf or two of French bread on there.  If you're using the loaf for this recipe, you won't be able to tell what day Meijer baked it.   
• If you serve this with a casserole that has to be baked at 350, the bread can be baked at that temp as well.  Just increase baking time to 20-23 minutes. 

The original recipe for Easy Garlic Bread came from Tara Koole.  I made a few adjustments to the measurements and instructions.