After giving birth to my daughter last month, I was in the hospital for several days. Thank goodness for magazines because I would have been bored out of my head – I only had a temperamental television and a newborn to keep me company over the long days (and sleepless nights). And yes, she is adorable. But there are only so many hours you can spend staring at a little sleeping baby girl . . . seriously. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get out and get back to life regardless of whatever pain I was in. Of course, when I did get out I did wish a bit that I had stayed longer — it certainly was nice to have a fantastic staff ready and willing to help with anything. But that’s a topic for a different blog.

Anyway, one of the magazines I read was Woman’s Day. It’s not something I normally pick up, but I am glad that I did this time. I actually came out with a great recipe that worked fantastically and would make a nice holiday gift for someone.

And, strangely, I had all the ingredients on hand. I had picked up self-rising flour awhile back and it’s been collecting dust on a shelf ever since. For the beer, I used a lime twisted one that my husband had leftover from summer — I cannot remember the name though. It worked well. I would love to try this with a Harp or Guinness though.

If you want to gift this, let it cool completely before wrapping it up. A cellophane bag and bow could do the trick . . .

No Knead Cheddar Beer Bread
yields 1 loaf

2 2/3 cup self-rising flour
1 cup grated cheddar
12 oz beer, chilled

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Combine flour and cheddar in a large bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula (to prevent sticking). Add beer and stir until the flour mixture is completely moistened. Pour into the loaf pan and spread out as best you can.

Cook in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle pulls out clean. The top should be golden brown.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes. Then remove from pan.

How to serve? My favorite way is warm with a nice slash of butter. Mmmm.