It was my daughter's birthday yesterday, so I took her to a local restaurant for lunch. It seems like it was only yesterday that I gave birth to her on a very hot summer day in Edmonton, Alberta. Now she is a grown woman. She is funny, smart, and I always tell her that she is my favourite daughter (my other kids are boys!). Having a summer baby meant that we spent a lot of time outside. We enjoyed taking her to parks, we always brought a big blanket and picnic basket. Since she was our first child, it was easy to take her everywhere with us.
We still love to have picnics, and I know that for many families it's a great activity to do in the summer. I sometimes like to escape from my daily routine and eat in a nice park or by the water. No matter where we go, there is always a nice place for us to explore. I like to prepare simple menus and I found that Kraft Canada has a lot of great recipes to make for picnics. I like to bring salads and sandwiches that can be prepared the night before, that way you can quickly pack the cooler the next day.
When I saw this Antipasto Loaf on their site, I knew I had to make it. Do I ever like cream cheese with pesto, topped with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and parmesan cheese! All of these flavours compliment each other so well. And since there's no meat, it's a great loaf to make if someone is vegetarian. This loaf was so good that I've already made it three times already. The first two times were in a french baguette and the third time was in pita bread. It was that good! It's the kind of recipe that you make over and over again.
ANTIPASTO LOAF
Ingredients:
1 French bread baguette (350g)
1 cup Philadelphia Cream Cheese Product
3 Tbsp. pesto
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained, chopped
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
2 Tbsp. Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese
2 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
Directions:
1- Cut the baguette in half, remove bread from centre of each half, leaving 1-inch thick shells.
2- In a small bowl mix cream cheese with the pesto.
3- Spread onto insides of bread shells.
4- Fill bottom bread shell with remaining ingredients, cover with top bread.
5- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
6- Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Disclosure: I am a Kraft Canada #WhatsCooking contributor.
