4-Star Pumpkin Bread

I made this yesterday and it was....delicious. I highly recommend.

3-1/2 C flour
2 t baking soda
2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground ginger
3 C sugar
1 C vegetable oil
4 eggs
15 oz pumpkin
2/3 C water
1-1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° and grease 2 loaf pans.

Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through ginger) in a medium bowl. In a large bowl or standing mixer, combine the sugar and oil. Add the eggs to the sugar/oil mixture, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the bumpkin and stir until smooth. Add to the sugars mixture approximately 1/3 of the flour mixture and a little of the water, stirring until smooth. Keep adding the flour and water, stirring after the additions, until all ingredients have been added.

Pour into loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hr 15 min, or until the top is nicely cracked and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Naan Pizza

I have been wanting to share this recipe/idea for almost a year now, but have been really lazy. At long last, here it is!  I had never tried naan until moving out to NY, but it was, no joke, love at first bite - what amazingly tasty bread! Then while shopping at our local (and beloved) Wegmans, I saw a recipe idea, using naan as a pizza crust, and simply topping it with your favorite things. So while any toppings can be used, here is my favorite variation:

Preheat oven to 400

Use 1 piece naan per person

Chop several fresh basil leaves

Drain and chop roasted tomatoes in olive oil (sundried tomatoes are also good)

Slice as much fresh mozzarella as makes you happy

Place ingredients on bread, I put the basil on the bottom so the leaves don't burn, and the cheese on top so that it melts into everything, but so long as everything is there, no worries. 

Bake pizza for 10-15 minutes, or till cheese is melted and edges are brown. I cook it on the rack, with a pan on the rack below to catch dripping cheese, but if you prefer a softer crust you can place it in the pan before cooking, and shorten your time in the oven. 

Slice it up, sit back and enjoy the yum :)

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This was an awesome idea Christy! Right now I'm still dealing with a new baby and all the lack of time and sleep that goes with that so I've taken a bit of a cooking hiatus. In fact I signed up for the E-Mealz menu service Auburn posted on her blog (hopefully you got credit for my referral Auburn since I linked through the banner you put up) so I can't really post any of those recipes but I do have an amazing 100% whole wheat bread recipe to share. Even with the new baby I still manage to find to bake some almost every week because it's just that good and I can't bring myself to go back to store bought bread after being spoiled for so long on homemade. It's actually really easy to make and while it does take a fair amount of time from start to finish most of that time is rise time where all you need to do is let it sit while you do something else. Very little actual effort is required.

100% Honey Whole Wheat Bread
3/4 C Hot water
2 C Milk
1/4 C Olive oil
1/3 C Honey
1 T Salt
4 t Yeast
1/2 C Vital wheat gluten
4-8 C Whole wheat flour

1.  Preheat oven to lowest setting and then turn oven off. Meanwhile combine all ingredients (start with 4 C flour) into a stand mixer with a dough hook or bread machine (I do not recommend attempting to knead the dough by hand). 
2. Use the lowest setting on your mixer to knead the dough. Slowly add more flour 1 C at a time until the dough forms a ball and doesn't stick to the sides of the mixer. Allow the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes. 
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then a clean dish cloth and place in the warm oven to rise until double original size, usually a little over an hour (You can skip this step if you like but the dough will be slightly less soft).
4. Punch the dough down and divide into 2 equal portions. Shape each piece into a cylinder or rectangular shape approximately the size of the pan. Try to make sure the tops of your loaves are relatively smooth and even. Spray 2 bread pans with cooking spray and place the loaves in the pan.
5. Return the dough to the warm oven and cover the pans with a clean towel until the bread has risen to 1- 1 1/2 inches above the top of the pans (The original recipe says to let it raise at least 2 inches above the pan but I've never gotten my loaves that big. Maybe because I usually only need 6 C of flour or less).
6. Carefully remove the towel and turn the oven on to 375. After 15 min reduce heat to 350 and cook for an additional 18-20 minutes. Allow bread to sit a few minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Watermelon Granita

So, we need more fruit in our lives. And by "we", I mean a certain 3-year old. One by one, foods she used to love have been dropped from her list of approved foods. One has "dirt" in it (pepper), another has the cheese and meat mixed (how dare it), that one looks funny (even though we devoured it just last week). Basically, bread and cheese are okay. And anything else is highly suspect. I know, I know. We should not be surprised. But we can still try a few things, you know?

And so we tried Watermelon Granita. And we all fell for it. It was super easy, so we might try another fruit soon.

Ingredients
1/2 whole seedless watermelon, cut into chunks (about 8 cups)
4 TBSP lemon or lime juice (originally calls for fresh lime, but we aren't that coordinated and subbed lemon juice)
1/3 cup sugar (to taste)

Process
Put half the watermelon, half the juice, and half the sugar in a blender. Unless you have a super sized blender. Process until smooth, and pour into a pan or large flat tupperware.

Repeat with the other half of the ingredients. The pan/tupperware should only be half full (use a second if needed).

Freeze for a couple of hours, and lightly scrape the top/edges with a fork or spoon. Return to freezer, and continue scraping in another couple of hours. Repeat until the entire mixture is shaved. Cover the containers with lids or plastic wrap.

Tell 3-year old it is red "ice cream" or "slushy" and enjoy.

Next Best Thing To...

This is not a fancy dessert, but it's sooo good. I hadn't eaten it in years, and when I ate it this summer, I remembered how awesome it is. Try it.

1 C flour
1/2 C butter
1 C chopped pecans or walnuts
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
8 oz Cool Whip, divided
1 large pkg (6-serving size) instant vanilla
pudding mix
1 large pkg (6-serving size) instant chocolate
pudding mix
3 C cold milk
grated chocolate

Mix together flour, butter, and pecans until crumb-like. Press into bottom of 9" x 13" pan and bake at 350°F until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and half the Cool Whip. Spread over the cooled crust. Then mix the pudding mixes with the milk and mix until smooth and thickened. Spread over the cream cheese layer. Spread the remaining Cool Whip on the top and garnish with grated chocolate. Keep refrigerated.

Anyday Sundae

Food processing frozen bananas results in a surprisingly ice cream like texture. This is tasty!

1/2 C skim milk
2 C frozen banana slices (~2 medium bananas)**
4 t chocolate syrup
2 t chopped nuts

Pour skim milk into blender. Blend on high for about 15 seconds. Add frozen banana slices and blend on high for about 4 or 5 seconds. Stop and stir with spoon as needed.

*Freezing overripe bananas works best. Cut them into slices before freezing.

Sweet Potato Souffle

I'll take this over pumpkin pie any day.

3 C fresh mashed sweet potato
1 C sugar
1/2 t salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 stick butter
1/2 C milk
1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients, pour into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover with following topping:

1 C brown sugar
1/3 C flour
1 C chopped pecans
1/3 stick butter

Bake 35 minutes at 350°F.

Alison's Bundt Cake

Super easy, very tasty. If you wanted to make Auburn's day, you could add dried cherries and use super dark chocolate chips. Just don't overbake it.

Mix together:

1 devil’s food cake mix
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C oil
3/4 C water
8 oz sour cream
1 bag chocolate chips
4 eggs, each beaten in separately

Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350°F.