Pumpkin Cranberry Quick Bread

I bought a bag of cranberries with nothing in mind, so I had to go searching for recipes.

Scott told me this is the best quick bread I have ever made, so I’m glad I found this recipe.

I wasn’t sure what the cranberries would do just folded into the bread batter, but they made pretty cooked berries that give you a tart little burst of flavor in this yummy sweet and spicy bread.

(This is a different recipe than the one mom used to make)

Pumpkin-Cranberry Quick Bread

Recipe taken from food.com #329550

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

5 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups sugar

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil (I used half applesauce to cut down on some fat)

1/2 cup orange juice or 1/2 cup apple juice

1 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees F

2. Grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans (I did 1, 9x5 and 3, mini loaves)

3. In a large bowl combine flour with pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another bowl combine sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, oil, and juice. Beat using an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined.

5. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just moistened (do not beat)

6. Gently fold in cranberries

7. Spoon/divide batter between the pans

8. bake for 60-65 minutes or until the loaves test done

9. Cool in pans for 10-12 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely

soft whole-wheat breadsticks

I got a cookbook from the library called Cooking with Food Storage Made Easy. It is filled with lots of good tips and recipes and I decided to try this recipe out.

The breadsticks were good. The thing I liked best about them is that they were faster to make than other breadstick recipes that I have made. The only changes I made was that I used 1/4 cup pf melted butter instead of a 1/2 cup, and I left off the cheese. The butter seemed like enough, but if you don’t care about the extra calories I am sure the extra butter would make them even better.

Soft Whole-Wheat Breadsticks

1 Tbsp. yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup butter

Garlic Salt

Italian Seasonings

Parmesan Cheese

Sift first 3 ingredients together with 2 C. flour. Add hot water and beat until well blended. Mix in remaining flour. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise 15 minutes. Knead on lightly floured surface. Spread dough evenly on sheet-cake pan. (I used a 10x15 and it was perfect) Using a pizza cutter, cut lengthwise down center and then crosswise every 2 inches to make breadsticks. Spread melted butter over tops. Sprinkle with garlic salt, Italian seasonings, and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Zucchini Bread

I love this recipe because it doesn't use butter or oil but it is still moist.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini squash

1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together. Set aside.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Fold in the sour cream, oil, and zucchini.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the cinnamon chips. Do not continue stirring.
4. Pour the batter into two well-greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until done. Cool for ten minutes on a rack before removing the loaves from the pan.

buttermilk biscuits

I am not going to say that these biscuits will melt in your mouth or are like eating a cloud or any of the other things I have read about biscuits, but I will say they are pretty easy, pretty healthy, and pretty tasty. They are a lot better for you than those other biscuits that have shortening as a main ingredient so you can enjoy them more. At least I do.

It gives us a yummy bread addition to dinner, and gives me something to make with my cookie cutters besides cookies.

I tweaked a regular buttermilk biscuit recipe until I came up with this.

One more thing, when I use 100% whole wheat in a recipe it is whole wheat from hard white winter wheat as opposed to red. It is much lighter and better tasting than the red wheat.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour (I use whole wheat)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup applesauce (instead of oil)

1 cup buttermilk (I always make sour milk made with lemon juice and skim milk)

Mix dry ingredients. Mix applesauce and buttermilk together in a separate bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients. barely moistening. Carefully roll out 1/2 inch thick; cut and bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes. The less you handle the dough the lighter and fluffier the biscuits will be.

dinner rolls and chicken salad

These are two of my favorite recipes.

These are my go-to rolls that I make about once a week. I started using this recipe because it didn't call for shortening or butter. This makes a great all-around dough that I have used for rolls, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, etc.

I make the chicken salad less often, but when I do make it I think, "I should make this more often." Its pretty basic salad recipe, but the dressing makes it delicious.

I got both of these recipes from a cookbook from our college ward.

Dinner Rolls

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. rapid rise yeast

1 cup warm milk

5 Tblsp. vegetable oil

6 Tblsp. sugar

1 Tblsp. salt

1 egg

6 cups flour ( I use 4 cups wheat and 2 cups of white)

Mix water, sugar and yeast. Set aside

Mix milk, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and egg. Add yeast mixture. Add flour.

Mix it all together until it forms a nice dough.

Let it rise until double. (one hour)

Punch it down and divide into rolls. (I get exactly 2 dozen in 2, 9X13 pans if I plan it well)

Let it rise another hour.

Bake for 10-20 minutes (depends on size) in a 350 degree oven.

Chicken Salad

10 boneless chicken breasts or 3-4 cans of chicken

1 can water chestnuts

1 lb. green or red grapes

1 cup celery slices

1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits

Dressing:

1 1/2 cup mayo (I always use light mayo)

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Cook chicken and shred it.

Mix together mayo, soy sauce and lemon juice.

Mix dressing with all other ingredients.

Refrigerate overnight. (It really is better when you do this)

Serve on rolls or croissants.

Irish Soda Bread

I made this for the first time this St. Patrick's day after a search for a great recipe. I don't know how this compares to other recipes, but it was DELICIOUS so I don't think I'm going to go searching for any others.

It has a thick crispy/chewy crust and a dense moist middle. It was very sweet and good. This would be a perfect bread for a brunch and I will be using for much more than St. Patrick's day.

The recipe came from allrecipes.com submitted by penguin lady.

Irish Soda Bread

1/2 cup white sugar

4 cups all-purpose flour (I believe I substituted whole wheat flour for half)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

3 cups raisins (that is A LOT of raisins. I put in 2 cups and that made it packed with raisins still.)

1 tablespoon caraway seeds (left that out)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round cake or springform pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour (reserving 1 tablespoon), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins, and caraway seeds.

3. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened.

4. Knead dough in bowl about 10 t o 20 strokes. Dough will be sticky.

5. Place the dough in the prepared skillet or pan and pat down. Cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. Dust with reserved flour.

6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 65-75 minutes. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack.

Here's a phot of our St. Patrick's day spread:

Brown Soda Bread

I made this loaf to go with some homemade chicken soup. The loaf was down to these last two pieces before I found my camera to get a photo.

The recipe came from Cooking Light. It is a dense a hearty bread that was easy to throw together so it is a perfect pairing for a soup.

Brown Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup steel-cut oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg-beaten

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2 Coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray

3. Combine flours through salt.

4. Combine buttermilk with egg and add to the flour mixture.

5. Stir until just combined.

6. Spoon mixture into pan.

7. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

8. Invert on wire rack.

homemade tortillas

Did you guys know how easy it is to make your own tortillas?

I just found out.

My kids like tacos, but they ate even more of them when I made these.

And my kids usually wonder why I had to go mess things up by turning it into homemade.

(I also have tried a different recipe using all wheat flour, but it didn't go over quite so well. I'll let you know when I work that one out.)

Flour Tortillas

(from recipezaar)

3-4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup shortening

1- 1 1/2 cups warm water

Combine the 3 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.

Either by hand, or with a pastry blender, work in the shortening until crumbly.

Slowly add water. (start with 1 cup and slowly work in more as needed)

With your hands, knead vigorously for 2 minutes, until a nice dough ball forms.

Cover and let sit 15 minutes. (this makes the dough easier to roll out)

Take a ball of dough (golf-ball sized for a small tortilla)

Roll in flour to cover.

On a floured surface, roll out dough evenly and very thin. (a thicker dough will give you more of a pita bread or thicker wrap which, in fact, I like)

Place each tortilla on a medium hot cast iron skillet. (I used a regular fry pan)

Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side or until it no longer looks doughy.

(ingredients can be adjusted to get the right dough consistency)

Healthier Banana Bread

I was trying to find a better alternative to my favorite banana bread recipe which is scrumptious, but contains a whole stick of butter.

I found a muffin recipe that I thought might work. I also reduced the sugar in it, substituted wheat flour for part of the white, and added vanilla. Really there wasn't a noticeable difference from my other banana bread recipe as far as taste or texture go, and my family ate a whole loaf in one sitting.

Healthier Banana Bread

(adapted from a muffin recipe in the Favorites cookbook)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and oil well. Add eggs and mashed bananas and beat. Add flour, soda and salt. Pour into greased pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes for small loaves (it baked 3, 7x3 1/2)

(It would probably make 2 medium loaves or 1 large loaf. Increase bake times accordingly.)

(also makes 18-24 muffins, bake for 18-20 minutes.)

(UPDATE: I just made this again the other day and substituted applesauce for all of the oil. It was a little more dry, but still very yummy.)

Sticky Buns

Okay since we are putting on our favorites from and pretty much comfort food I will put the recipe on that helped me win the YM/YW cookoff back in my mutual days. No I am not putting the Toxic Waste Jello Salad (but that would be pretty cool since tomorrow is Halloween), I posting Stinky Buns. This is one of the easiest (obviously since I can make it) and yummiest (I won the cookoff and my gourmet minded friend wanted to know how much time and effort went into these delicious little marvels because she loved them soooooo much). So here we go.

• 12 frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls (you could make the rolls yourself, but why really)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine melted (one stick)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 package cook and serve butterscotch pudding

Place the rolls in a bundt pan (I use my Pampered Chef Stoneware Fluted Pan and it is perfect.)Melt the butter (I have found the least messy way is to put it in the microwave on defrost for a while. You all probably know this little trick, but since I am the least domestically inclined of all us, I thought I would share this superb trick.) Mix the brown sugar and pudding into the butter and drizzle over the top of the rolls. Cover pan and let sit over night to allow the rolls to raise. Then I just follow the baking instructions right off the Rhodes Rolls package, it is just perfect. Here is to happy cooking and more delicious seasonal recipes!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

These were very simple and very yummy. I made them mini-muffins because I love smallness. I got the recipe off of recipezaar because I had some bananas that were past their prime.

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup ripe banana, mashed (about 2 bananas)
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 egg

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 400.

2. 2

   Grease a muffin pan.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda.

4. 4

   In another bowl stir together oats and yogurt, stirring in banana, oil and egg.

5. 5

   Stir mixture into flour mixture and stir until moistened.

6. 6

   Put in muffin pans and bake for 20- 25 minute until done.

Lemon Bread

1/2 Cup Butter softened
1 Cup Sugar
2 eggs
2 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cup Flour
1 Tsp. Baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk

Glaze: 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, 1/2 Cup powder sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, lemon juice and peel. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture alternately with milk. ( I used the blender instead of stirring and it turned out) Pour into greased 8x4x2 inch loaf pan. bake at 350 degrees for 45 min or until bread tests done. (I ended up cooking it for 55 min) Combine ingredients, remove bread from pan. Immediately drizzle with glaze cool on a wire rack. Makes 1 loaf

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c. sugar
1 c. finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 c. cooking oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel (optional)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Grease loaf pan; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; set aside
2. In another medium mixing bowl combine sugar, shredded zucchini, cooking oil, egg, and lemon peel; mix well. Add dry mixture to zucchini mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts.
3. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or till a wooded toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan. Cool completely on the wire rack.
4. Enjoy!!