I was late in making myself some lunch today, and I ran into an advertisement from a local pizzeria for some delicious-looking cheese bread. Despite working in the pizza business for several decades, I am always a sucker for a fresh-baked pizza or cheese bread, and it took considerable willpower not to pick up the telephone and place an order.Two quick points: 1) I am trying to lose weight; and 2) I am trying to rein in unnecessary expenses so we can remodel our kitchen. Both of these goals are antithetical to the purchase of a calorie-laden cheese bread, so I decided to look around the kitchen to see what might work as a substitute for this craving.
A couple of leftover wheat hamburger buns jumped out at me, as did some two slices of low fat Provolone cheese. I baked the two at 500 degrees for a few minutes, and I substituted a little olive oil for the butter. Sprinkling a bit of Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings, and voila! Homemade cheese bread that was at least half the calories of something I might have purchased (I estimate this was about 450 calories), and I did not shell out $4-$5 on an unnecessary purchase.
The taste was reasonably close to what I imagined the commercial cheese bread would be, and I am sure that my arteries were no worse for the wear after eating this creation.
