Cheesy Olive Bread

   Courtesy of Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman

Servings: 8

My oh my!  This stuff is soooo good!  I first tasted this wonderful bread when I was invited to a friend's home for a summer supper and it was love at first bite.  So I just had to make it for myself!  It's incredibly easy and so very tasty.  If you happen to be feeding someone who doesn't like olives, then just omit the olives because the cheese spread is really good.  But if you're an olive lover,  you'll think this is heaven sent.  I think this also has possibilities for variations... i.e., peppers, tomatoes, zucchini... 
And, by the way, this sort of reminds me of pizza and I AM a pizza lover... In the past three days, I have enjoyed this bread for two dinners as a side dish and one lunch as my entree!  So, you see it's indeed a "keeper".

Sliced into smaller pieces, this would also make a really good appetizer!

INGREDIENTS:

1 6-ounce can chopped black olives, drained

One 6-ounce jar pimento stuffed green olives, drained and chopped

2 stalks green onions

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup mayonnaise

12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded or grated

1 loaf crusty French bread, sliced lengthwise

DIRECTIONS:

·       Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

·       Roughly chop the black and green olives.  Slice the green onions into thin pieces.

·       Combine the butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl and stir together until thoroughly combined.

·       Spread the mixture on the French bread.

·       Bake until the cheese is melted and browning, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Note:  the mixture can also be refrigerated (up to 2 days) and used as a dip… great with crackers!