Pumpkin Banana Bread

I found this recipe in "Country Home" magazine this month and thought it sounded good. It turned out great! It's very moist and full of fall flavors. I added 1 cup of toasted walnuts instead of the dried cranberries and used apple juice in place of cider or water. I also used all-purpose flour, but I think the white whole-wheat would be good. I just didn't have any ground up. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 4 large loaves.

Pumpkin Banana Bread
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. apple-pie spice or mix of 1 1 /2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2/3 cup apple cider or water
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1 medium ripe banana, mashed (1/2 c)
1 6-oz. pkg. dried cranberries (optional)

Grease four 7 1/2 x3 1/2x2-inch or two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl with an elcetric mixer on medium speed beat sugars and oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, soda, salt, and pie spice. Alternately add dry mixture and cider to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in cranberries, if using.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes for small pans or 50 to 60 minutes for larger pans or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. If necessary, cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent oerbrowning. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 4 small loaves or 2 large loaves (32 servings).

Make ahead: Seal cooled bread in an airtight freezer container or plastic freezer bag; freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator or 6 hours at room temperature.

Apricot Squares

These are so easy to make but look and taste like something super special! The dried apricots and white chocolate chips are what make these so different. Tory LOVES these treats!



Apricot Squares

1 (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds (I used sliced because that's all I had)
1 cup coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (I used the fat free kind)

Combine cake mix and butter; press into a lightly greased 15 x 10 inch pan. Evenly sprinkle apricots, almonds, coconut, and white chocolate morsels over the top; pour milk over cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Cut into squares. Makes 32 squares.

Potato Corn Chowder

I love a good bowl of potato soup on a cold evening! This is a healthier rendition without all of the cheese. Still nice and thick and creamy with lots of flavor!

Potato Corn Chowder

10-15 small red potatoes (I use about half of a 3 lb. bag)

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 can chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups milk (I use Soy milk)

1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 c. crumbled bacon or real bacon bits (if desired)

salt & pepper to taste (I like to use Lawry's Garlic Salt-coarse ground with parsley)

Wash potatoes and cut into small cubes. (I like to leave the skins on but if you prefer to peel them go ahead.) Boil until soft-about 20 min. Sauté onion and garlic in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Set aside. When potatoes are done, drain just a little over half of the water. I transfer my potatoes to my Kitchen Aid mixer and beat them with the wire whisk until about half mashed. Leave some potatoes big and chunky. (Or you could just use a masher and mash them right in the pot.) Place back into cooking pot. Add broth, milk, corn, beans, onions and garlic, and seasonings. Heat until warm. If too thick, add more milk or broth. Sometimes I like to add 1/2 c. salsa to change up the flavor. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, chives, and/or bacon if you'd like.

Quiche

Since we have to limit dairy in our home I decided to make up a quiche that didn't need cheese and instead of milk I use soy milk. You could easily use regular milk instead and even sprinkle in some cheese if that's how you like it! We like to have our quiche with a big tall glass of fresh fruit smoothie.


Quiche


1 cup Jiffy Baking Mix
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2-1 cup frozen broccoli, chopped (I like to use a lot!)
chopped fresh tomato
chopped onion
bacon bits, ham, chicken, etc. (if desired)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4. tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash-Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning
dash of hot sauce


Mix baking mix with eggs until well mixed. Add milk. Mix until smooth. Add vegetables, meat, and seasonings. Pour into a sprayed 9 inch pie dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes with Honey-Pecan Butter

These are some of our favorite "special occasion" pancakes. They are so delicious and perfect for Fall! Very moist-almost like a muffin! The last time I made them I decided to use the waffle iron. I actually think they were easier to cook this way. Just make sure you spray the waffle iron with some nonstick cooking spray.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes with Honey-Pecan Butter

Mix:

2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. EACH of nutmeg and allspice

3/4 cup sugar

1/8-1/4 tsp. salt

Mix:

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine the dry and wet ingredients. It will be a thick batter. Pour 1/4 cup scoops of batter on hot griddle; cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook other side. (Or cook on a waffle griddle that has been sprayed with cooking spray.) Serve hot. These are very moist!

Honey-Pecan Butter:

1/2 cup pecans (I use walnuts instead sometimes.)

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/4 cup honey (I usually use maple syrup instead)

Spread pecans on a baking sheet and toast in 350 degree oven for 8 minutes or until browned. Stir occasionally. Finely chop toasted nuts. Beat butter and honey together until smooth. Add nuts. Serve with Pumpkin Pie Pancakes. Makes one cup. A little goes a long way!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies on Picky Palate but had to do some variations due to missing ingredients. They turned out pretty good this way and very nice and simple. Probably not as rich, chocolaty, and peanut butter-y but still very tasty! I didn't have any Reese's peanut butter cups so I omitted them. I didn't have chocolate chips so I left out that step as well. I also used Mini Reese's Pieces baking pieces instead of the Mini M&Ms. As you can see they ended up to be quite different but very yummy! I will now call them Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies. Try them both ways if you'd like! They are very easy to make. You don't even need flour!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

12 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

36 mini marshmallows

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup mini M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place peanut butter, sugar and egg into a large bowl and mix until well combined. Scoop dough evenly into a 12 count mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin pan. Cook for 13-15 minutes until almost done. Remove from oven and press a peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie until flush with cookie top. (This was the step I left out. I baked them until completely done then topped them with the marshmallows.) Top each cookie with 3 mini marshmallows and return to oven for 2-3 more minutes or until marshmallows are puffed. Remove and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Place chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted smooth. Stir in 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream until silky and smooth. (I left this step out, too. No chocolate in my version.) You can return back to microwave for 15 seconds to get a thinner consistency. Spoon chocolate over top of puffed marshmallows and sprinkle with mini M&M's.

12 cookie cups

Bayou Brownies

Blond brownies with a nutty crust topped with a soft cream cheese layer. Creamy and oh so sweet! Not for the faint of heart. A little square goes a long way with these babies! I didn't have pecans when I made these so I substituted 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup chopped almonds.


Bayou Brownies

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 (18.25-oz.) package yellow cake mix
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) package powdered sugar (almost 4 cups)

Combine pecans, butter, 1 egg, and cake mix, stirring until well blended; press in bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 cake pan. Set aside.

Combine remaining 2 eggs, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake mix layer.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until cheese mixture is set. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares. (They're pretty tasty warm, too, if you just can't wait!)
Yield: 15 brownies

REAL Crannberry Sauce

My husband makes a really good Cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and anytime you enjoy a turkey.

1 bag of Cranberries
3/8 cup of Sweetner (We used Agave Nectar)
1 cups water

You mix the water and sweetner to a very light boil then add the cranberries. (Cranberries will pop) Stir until thickens. Let it cool until room temperature, and then refrigerate. Serve Chilled. We usually make ours the day prior.

Hope you enjoy!