You guys lately I have been missing Iowa so much in a big way!! I think it is especially because it is this fall time of year where it is so breathtakingly GORGEOUS everywhere you look in Iowa. The color scheme is just insane. There was this one drive I would go on that was on this beautiful, windy dirt road that looked a lot like this:

I would go on runs by myself or walks with my family at this little lake that was very secluded and beautiful that looked just like this:

And I miss so much driving around and looking at all the farmhouses. Most of Iowa really is what you would picture it is in your mind if you have never been there-rolling hills full of corn fields, old barns and barn houses, cattle, TONS of wide open spaces, and best of all, quaint towns full of extremely friendly people that love to chat your ear off all day.

It really was interesting to me because when you're driving around the smaller farm towns in Iowa, almost every house really is a white barn house. You feel like you're driving around in circles or something because every farm looks very similar but it is so beautiful and kind of makes you feel a nostalgic warmth in your heart thinking about simpler times.

Now, there is another thing I miss dearly with all my heart from Iowa. And that would be the cheese sticks from the Wedge in Iowa City. Ha! I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous after talking about all the other beautiful things I was talking about. But that garlic cheesy bread means more than just delicious food. To me it reminds me of eating it while watching Iowa football games with friends in our living room, of eating it late at night trying to cheer my husband up after he had a long day of studying for school and working so hard to apply for a job, doing rock, paper, scissors with my husband to see who had to go pick it up when it was -20 degrees. Or the one time we had it delivered and it snowed so hard and so fast our driver got stuck 3 times on his way to our house because there was so much dang snow (don't worry we tipped him REALLY well that time-poor guy!). I have so many fun memories from eating this cheese bread. Food can definitely do that for us, right?

So I might have taken it a bit overboard and knowing how much I would miss this place, you better believe I bought t-shirts and a keychain to remember this dear place ;) No shame here!

So needless to say, I have been on a quest to find a dupe for this amazing garlic cheesy bread that my husband and I love so dearly. And by golly, I've found it! I will post the recipe for you guys to try it yourselves. It is very easy to make and does go really great with a homemade pizza night, or the main thing my husband and I would eat with it were chicken wings. Yummo! It pairs so perfectly with it. Another thing that is so key with it for us was the most PERFECT ranch dipping sauce they paired with it. So there you are dipping your hot wings and bread sticks in this perfect ranch-it just doesn't get better than that! Sadly, I have not yet found that perfect ranch recipe. You better believe I'm going to let you know when I do though! I hope you guys love this recipe for garlic cheesy bread. Get out there and enjoy your fall colors!

Garlic Cheesy Bread

Ingredients

· 1½ cups warm water

· 2 Tbsp sugar

· 1 Tbsp yeast

· 3½ cups flour

· 1 tsp salt

Toppings

· 2 Tbsp butter, melted

· 1 Tbsp garlic salt

· 1 tsp parsley

· 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add warm water, yeast and sugar together. Stir then let sit for 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. Next add in flour and salt and with dough hook, knead for 3-5 minutes until dough forms a smooth ball. Make sure dough is bouncy and not sticky, if sticky add a little bit of flour at a time until bouncy. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using a pizza stone, place in oven while preheating and dough is resting.

3. When dough is ready knead out to desired thickness. I rolled mine out on parchment paper, for easy transfer onto pizza stone. Melt butter and add seasoning until combined. Spread on dough and cover in mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Slice and serve immediately!

4. This recipe makes a lot so I usually halve the recipe and freeze part of it.

Add Recipe to Cook'n