Pumpkin Bread

With fall in full swing nothing says fall like pumpkin and I've got some recipes that will put your taste buds in the fall mood. The first one is Pumpkin Bread and this one has quickly become a family favorite. In fact my wife took a loaf to work and was receiving raved reviews on it.

The recipe makes three loaves, but I made a dozen muffins and two loaves with no problems. My two year old loves these muffins for breakfast and their something quick an easy to warm up for her in the morning.

Ingredients
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree or 1 cup homemade pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water 3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake four about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For muffins bake time is about 30 minutes.

Recipe found on allrecipes.com, Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread by Laurie Bennett

Sweet Cornbread!!

I posted this recipe last Memorial Day when we had our low country boil. It was a great recipe, but I knew it wasn't quite sweet enough for my taste, so when I made it this time I was sure to make some subtle changes. I added an extra tablespoon of sugar, bringing the total to three instead of two, and added in a tablespoon of honey for good measure. The end result was spot on, and my wife who is not a big fan of cornbread had her fair share of seconds.

While this is probably not anything new to some, I found that I prefer crumbling in a piece of cornbread into my chili and soups instead of some bland saltine crackers. I hope some of you give it a try, you might just like it!

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Add the 1 tbsp butter to a 10 inch cast iron skillet or a 9x1-1/2 inch round baking pan. Place in a 400º oven about 3 minutes or until butter melts. Remove pan from oven; swirl butter in pan to coat bottom and sides of pan.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk, honey, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet or pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Banana Bread

I have never been one to do much baking in the oven; I’ve done my share of boxed goods, but nothing really from scratch. So this was a new adventure for me and I loved it. The little princess has been growing tired of her usual breakfast, so we wanted something that would make a good alternative and chose another recipe from Deceptively Delicious. Jessica, as has always been the case, gives great directions on making this tasty treat. Not only did my princess enjoy it, Mom and I have enjoyed are share of it as well.

-Nonstick cooking spray
-3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups banana puree
- 1 ½ cup cauliflower puree
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Coat a 9x5-inch loaf pan, or 2 mini pans, with cooking spray

2. In a bowl or a zipper-lock bag, mix the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, if using, Set aside

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and oil with a wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in the egg whites, banana and cauliflower purees, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes for the large loaf, 25 to 30 minutes for the mini loaves. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan to cool before serving.

Now I cooked mine in a silicone bread pan, and it took about 45 to 50 minutes and 350 degrees F., just something to keep in mind.