Pioneer Woman Cheesy Olive Bread Mediterranean Style

Apparently this is the year that I try all the Pioneer Woman recipes I've had on my list. I started a new tradition by making her cinnamon rolls on New Years Day (you can see the photo and tweaks I made to the recipe here) and they were so much easier than I anticipated. And of course, so delicious.

Dave loves olives of all kinds, so I've been wanting to make him the Pioneer Woman's Cheesy Olive Bread since I got her book from my Grandma's stash. This bread was so easy (I made it with Iris on my hip), but it looks fancy and tastes wonderful. The perfect party snack! 

I decided to make it Mediterranean Style because we have a huge jar of Kalamata olives from Costco and I've been craving artichokes, so it was a no brainer. We had ours with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (from Costco, so delicious), would have been amazing with salad as well…or best yet, soup and salad!

I also switched out the regular French bread for a loaf of whole wheat french bread from the bakery, I'll snap a picture next time we grab some because it was really healthy and really yummy. When Dave reheated a few pieces of the cheesy bread the next day, he added sliced turkey on top. They made great leftovers...enjoy!

Pioneer Woman Cheesy Olive Bread Mediterranean Style | MALLORIE OWENS

Ingredients ≫≫
1 loaf Bread (French or Whole Wheat)
1 Can Artichoke Hearts, rinsed and drained
Kalamata Olives (1/2 of the artichoke heart can full), rinsed and drained
½ teaspoon Paprika
3/4 stick Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Just Mayo (or regular mayonnaise)
10-12 oz Mozzarella and Parmesan Grated Mix (or cheese of choice)

Directions ≫≫

Preheat the oven to 325.

Rinse, drain, and chop the artichoke hearts. Fill the empty can half full of Kalamata olives, drain and rinse. Slice the olives (I did 2-3 cuts per olive, not super thin, but not huge chunks either).

Combine the softened butter, mayo, cheese, olives, and artichoke hearts in a mixing bowl. Stir together until thoroughly combined. Mine didn’t combine as well as I liked until I put it on the second speed of my Kitchenaid mixer for a minute or two.

Spread the mixture onto the bread. Bake until the cheese is melted and browning, about 20 minutes. Check as it gets close, mine only took about 18 minutes.

Pioneer Woman Cheesy Olive Bread Mediterranean Style | MALLORIE OWENS

I hope you all enjoy the recipe, let me know if you try it, I'd love to see your photos and to know if you loved it as much as we did! You can find other recipes here.

♡ MALLORIE

Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe.

This smoothie is easy and delicious for anyone, doesn't matter if you're trying to conceive, already pregnant, or just a dude that wants a smoothie. The frozen bananas and protein powder make it taste like a milkshake, instead of the protein and nutrient packed smoothie that it is. I call it my fertility and pregnancy smoothie because pretty much all of the ingredients are known to be beneficial when trying to conceive or for pregnant women.

I made this Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie recipe pretty much every morning for breakfast after we'd been trying to conceive for a long time and now I love having it as a healthy snack in pregnancy. I've made a few changes to the recipe during pregnancy (as noted below), but will go back to the original once she's born. I know it will be a great boost while I'm breastfeeding!

I'm not a nutritionist (just someone who loves studying foods and their effects on our bodies and health), so I can't say whether this made a difference in my fertility for sure, but I can say that it's a great way to start the day and delicious too! I keep cut up over ripe bananas in a container in the freezer so they're ready to go for smoothies...or banana bread. ;)

MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES

Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe | Mallorie Owens

Ingredients ≫≫
4 Dates, chopped (great for fertility and softening cervix at the end of pregnancy!)
Almond Milk (to taste)
1 Frozen Banana
1-2 Tbsp Chia Seeds (I vary day to day)
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 scoop Protein Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Flaxmeal
1 tsp Maca Root Powder (I stopped adding this once pregnant, no studies whether it's safe or not.)

Directions ≫≫

Pulse the dates with a bit of almond milk, until it's nice and smooth. Throw the rest of the ingredients and pulse until smooth. After a few pulses I usually push everything down again and add a bit more almond milk. Pulse and blend until smooth.

See? Easy and delicious...enjoy!

Also, in case anyone is wondering, I use this Vitamix to make my smoothies. I love my it sooo much, we put off ordering one forever because of the price tag but I use it several times every single day and my only regret is not getting one sooner! And for the protein powder, I use this organic blend from Costco.

♡ MALLORIE