Spiced Pumpkin Bread

I had, close to a cup , of pumpkin, in the fridge, from a previous recipe.  I can’t count the times, I planned to use this in wonderful recipes and just did not get to it.  I wanted to use it before it went bad.  Along comes this warm and cozy bread and bye-bye pumpkin.  Alas, I did not have quite enough for the recipe.  In the fridge, was also, a delicious butternut squash/sweet potato soup, again less than a cup.  Add the two together and I had a wonderful mix of creamy smooth pumpkin/ butternut squash, sweet potato mix.  They enhanced this bread because it is the richest pumpkin bread, I have made.

This recipe did not call for nuts but hubby loves nut breads so I tend to turn most quick breads into nut breads.  At the very last-minute, I dropped, on top of the bread, a hefty handful of chopped walnuts and mixed them in.  If you are not a nut lover, leave them out, and you will still have a great autumn bread.

This is a Libby’s recipe which is adapted to the ingredients, on hand.
 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free flour mixture
• 2  teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin  (3/4 cup pumpkin with 1/4 cup sweet potato/butternut squash soup)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar 
  

  Pumpkin Nut Bread

• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

SIFT flour, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Combine pumpkin, sugar, apple juice, eggs, oil and vanilla extract in large bowl; stir well. Stir in flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon into greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Pour nuts on batter and gently mix.  I did it, at this step, because it was a last-minute thought.  If you do use nuts, mix them in, after all other ingredients are blended together.

This turned out to be a good recipe which I would make again with the soup that saved the day.  Perhaps, it was that extra sweet potato flavor that changed this recipe into an even better one.

Applesauce Filbert-Walnut Bread

Once again, we ran out of our gluten-free bread and sandwiches had to be made so I decided to bake two loaves of quick bread.  This is one and the other is a pumpkin bread.   This was very wet.  As a result, I took close to a cup of filbert, ground to a meal, and threw it in the mixing bowl

Applesauce Filbert-Walnut Bread   

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons Rice Dream
• 2 cups gluten – free flour mixture (not store-bought mix) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped  walnuts
• 3/4 cup filbert crumbs

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, applesauce, oil, egg whites, and milk; mix until well blended.
2. Into another bowl, sift flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
3. Stir into the first mixture until well blended; stir in chopped pecans or walnuts.
4. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.
5. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Peach French Toast

This week, In CEiMB, we made Peach French Toast.  I looked forward to this recipes because I love peaches and French toast has always  been a favorite of mine.  I had a half of a loaf of Cinnamon Pecan Gluten Free bread in the freezer and I decided to use it for this recipe.  This is one of maybe three store-bought loaves, we have bought in fifteen years.  I was excited to use it, thinking that cinnamon-pecan would be a winner with this dish.

 

The recipe can be found here.  I made about 3/4 of the recipe since there were only two of us eating dinner. 

 

Peach French Toast Bake                                 Ellie Krieger                          Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 6 small slices of gluten free bread (cinnamon pecan)                    
  

  Peaches Placed on Bread

• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup low fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Arrange the slices of bread in a single layer in the baking pan.

Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan.

In a medium bowl, toss peaches with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar.

Scatter the peach slices evenly on top of the bread.

Combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.                                            

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover and bake for 40 minutes.                                

Although, we did not top this with anything, yogurt or sour cream would be good with it.

Bottom line:  I must have done something wrong with the recipe. I don’t think that gluten-free bread would make a difference, so I can’t blame that.  I have no idea but the bread seemed soggy and the peaches were a separate entity, not connected to the bread, not physically but taste-wise.  I enjoyed the peaches.  I have a feeling, if made again, I would get it right but I doubt that I will do this.  Check with the other CEiMB ladies to see how this worked for them.  I am taking bets that you will find success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chili Con Carne with Cornbread “topping”

Chili Con Carne with Cornbread Topping (Made in Crockpot)  (adapted)                                    

We are cooking manly food, this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  What is manly food?  I think it is what my man likes and he likes chili.  Even better, he likes cornbread topping.  Put those together and we have manly food.

This is a recipe from Nigella Lawson who has a way with food, all food.  I have found appetizers to dessert that I like in her cookbooks and online. 

 Ingredients

Chili:                      

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoons dried or crushed chili flakes
• 1 red peppers, seeded and finely diced
• 1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce                                        
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups canned red kidney beans
• 2 turkey sausages, cut into fifths (Nigella used chopped meat.  I had sausages in the house and could not imagine why it would not improve a chili recipe and it did.  Delicious.

Cornbread:

• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder         
• 1 1/2 cups rice milk with one teaspoon vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons honey
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Heat the oil in a  large crockpot and fry the onion until it begins to soften.

Add the chili and stir well.

Add the peppers and sausage. 

Cook for one hour on low in the crock pot.

Add the chopped tomatoes, ketchup, tomato sauce, and water stirring to make a rich red sauce.

When the chili starts to boil sprinkle over the cocoa and stir it in.

Add the beans and cook for up to four hours.

At this point you can cool and freeze the chili, or just keep it in the refrigerator overnight.

I refrigerated it and then transferred it to a large baking dish. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pour the chili into a large, wide dish or keep in the pan you cooked it in if it is ovenproof.

Combine the salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and oil in a jug, and then stir into the dry ingredients mixing to make a vivid yellow batter.

Pour the cornmeal topping over the chili con carne, or blob it over to cover the top as evenly as possible.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 30  minutes or until corn bread is done.  (We took it out too soon and the corn bread was soggy.  We sneaked a little and put it back for another ten minutes.  The corn bread finished cooking.

Let the chili stand for about 5 minutes once out of the oven before cutting the cornbread top into squares or slices to serve with a helping of chili underneath.

It was spicy and delicious.

Orange Walnut Bread

Tonight,  my husband discovered he was completely out of bread and since he takes sandwiches for lunch, daily and his bread his gluten-free and it was about 10:30 at night, guess who had to solve the problem.  We decided on a quick bread rather than wait for the yeast bread.  I know his favorite is a nut bread and I went searching for a new recipe.  This is a little risky since not every recipe is a winner but I took my chances and came up with a Cranberry Nut Bread at Simply Recipes where you can always find good recipes.  Hubby did not want the cranberries so I made it with just the walnuts but I think we lost some of the moisture from the cranberries and I added a little more orange juice to the batter, probably one quarter of a cup.

Orange Nut Bread  (adapted)

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup orange juice   (I ended up using one cup of orange juice)

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Method:                                                                         

1 Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

2 Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the walnuts to coat with the flour mixture.

3 Mix together orange juice, butter, and egg. Add to flour, cranberry, nut mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.

4 Pour into a greased 9×5 or 8×4 loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 55 to 60 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).

5 Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Serves 8.

Tuna Everything Bagel – TFF

I have wanted to make Tyler’s “Everything Bagel” for the longest time.  I grew up as a bagel and lox girl with cream cheese thick and creamy.  I grew up loving bagels.  When I started watching my weight, these huge bagels piled up with goodies did not seem right for me, anymore.

This week, I decided to follow my stomach and make the Everything Bagel.  It bothered me that there was cream cheese with tuna on the bagel. How could anything match up with cream cheese like lox?  I found out the answer.  Tuna is a great match for cream cheese.  This is my contribution to Tyler Florence Fridays, TFF.  I hope others want to join us.  I love looking at how we create Tyler’s really good recipes. 

I am going to share my adapted recipe.  Tyler’s can be found here.  I know that bagels are not found all over the United States and certainly not all over the world.  In New York, bagels are pretty common, although again, not everywhere in NY.  This is an Everything Bagel.  Look closely, at his photo and see how manyu different seeds and veggies are coating the exterior of the bagel.  We can buy challahs like this, also.  They are yummy.  There is a blending of all my favorite tastes, particularly the onion and garlic.

 

 Needless to say, I cut back on the amount of ingredients in this recipe.  It calls for three cups of tuna.  I can barely eat 1 cup and that is plain, not with all the tasty additions, Tyler puts on this bagel.  I also can’t eat a whole bagel.  For those of you who may only be able to get the frozen bagels.  This bagel is about three times larger.

Tuna Salad:

• 1 cup tuna (packed in water), drained
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 cornichons, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon  dried dill
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Kosher salt and  ground black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or to taste
• 1everything bagels, sliced and toasted
• 1 tablespoon whipped cream cheese
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced crescents
• 2 slices of our garen’s vine-ripened tomato
• 1 seedless cucumber, sliced  (not a cuke to be seen)
• lettuce

 

Method:

Begin with the tuna salad. Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Take cut bagels and toast under a hot broiler until golden brown. While still hot smear the bottom with the cream cheese immediately. Top with a scoop of the tuna salad and then layer with red onion, tomato, cucumber and lettuce. Add the top half of the bagel and serve.

Typing this is causing me to salivate.  This was delicious.  I have not found tuna appealing in a while but this hit the spot.  I would make this again and again but would not eat more than 1/2 the bagel and that is a lot.  The lettuce and onions were cruchy, the cream cheese creamy, the tuna tasty and the bagel a great “container” for it all.

 

 

 

Chock Full of Pecans and Apples

 I saw this recipe, the other day, and have been wanting to make it each and every day since then.  For some reason, each time, I planned to get the ingredients out, something popped up and I did not get to it. 

Last night, after midnight, I took out all the ingredients, lined them up, measured them out, covered them and left them so I would see them, first thing, in the morning.  It worked.  I, now have tasted Praline Apple Bread, and I am so glad that I have.

This is fabulous. Taste the loose nuts that fall off the bread.  They are sweet and savory.   So good.

 Praline Apple Bread – adapted from Southern Living – September 2009

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups pecans, divided into 1/2 cup and one cup, chopped

(In 350 degree oven, bake one half cup of the chopped pecans, spread out on a cookie sheet for 8 minutes, stirring after four minutes.)

1 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces sour cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon guar gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smiths
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.
Using an electric mixer on mediumspeed, beat together the granulated sugar, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until blended.
 In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, guar gum, baking powder, soda, and salt,
Add to sour cream mixture, mixing until combined.
By hand, stir in the chopped apple, raisins and 1/2 cup of the toasted pecans.
Spoon batter into greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle with chopped pecans and press nuts lightly into the batter.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan for ten minutes.
Remove to wire rack.
In a small saucepan, melt margarine and brown sugar. 
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  (I did it in the microwave without the stirring)
 Remove bread from pan.
Drizzle top  of bread with brown sugar and margarine.
Let cool completely.  We didn’t.  We couldn’t.