The weekend was lovely. No plans, no pressure. Long naps. The sun made an appearance and we managed to take our jackets off. We finished projects. We shut our brains down. We took it easy, and it was lovely.
But now Monday is here and it’s back to real life. People expect you to act like an adult. It’s good, and we’re grateful for it, but you can’t wear sweatpants or drink gin, so it’s maybe not quite as good as the day before. You need to have something to look forward to when you get back home. Something to immerse you back into that weekend calm again, if even for a few moments.
May I suggest cheese and carbs? Or more specifically, Cheddar Quick Bread. This recipe comes together in like five minutes then just sits in the oven and does its thing for a bit. When it’s all over, you have a dense, moist loaf of bread simply loaded with cheese.
You could quite happily shove this in your face as is, but you could also combine it with all sorts of awesomeness. I’m thinking of toasting mine in a skillet with butter then stacking it with crispy bacon, a fried egg, and a dash of hot sauce. It might also be excellent zapped in the microwave for a few seconds and then slathered with apple butter.
A few minutes of minimal effort will give you something to get excited about for several days. What could possibly be bad about that?
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9-inch loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk together flour, baking powder, and mustard powder to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together egg, oil, milk, sugar, and salt until combined.
- Ditch your whisk, pour your wet ingredients over your dry ingredients, and gently fold together as quickly as you can with a rubber spatula. Try to get everything combined in 10 seconds or less. Some lumps are okay.
- Fold in the cheese. It's going to seem like a lot. This is what makes it awesome. Try to work quickly to get it evenly dispersed.
- Scrape your batter into your waiting loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Run a knife around the edge of the loaf and remove it from the pan immediately to cool. Can be served warm or saved for later. Store in an airtight container.
