Garlic Bread

Any time I make a pasta dish for dinner, I usually make garlic bread to accompany it.  However, it seems that the garlic bread takes over and is the star of the meal.  Of course, garlic bread (at least the way I make it) isn't low in calories by any means, but I think that in this case, the calories are worth it.

Garlic Bread
1 1-lb loaf French bread
1/2 c. butter, softened
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of Italian seasoning
2 tsp. Parmesan cheese (I prefer freshly shredded for this), optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.  I like my bread really garlicky, so I add just a touch of garlic powder, too.  

Slice bread into 1-inch pieces, being careful not to cut all of the way through the bread (I cut through everything but the bottom crust).

Liberally, spread butter mixture on one side of each slice of bread.

Wrap bread in foil and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Open foil up and bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and slice the bread the remainder of the way.

Note: The pictures in this post don't show the quantities of ingredients listed in the recipe above, as I was only making enough bread for my husband, daughter, and me.