Pumpkin Bread

It's FALL! I love the leaves changing, cooler weather, and I am definitely ready for the holidays!!! I love holiday baking. So I decided to start with Pumpkin Bread to start off my holiday baking kick.

Pumpkin Bread

4 Eggs

3 c. Sugar

1 c. Oil

2/3 c. Water

2 c. Pumpkin

1 tsp. Ground Cloves

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

3 1/2 c. Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Nuts (optional)

Beat eggs until lemon colored. Add Sugar, Oil, Water & Pumpkin and beat well. Add dry ingredients. Mix Well.

Makes 2 loaf pans. Grease pans. Bake at 325º for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Happy Fall!!!

~Amy

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

6-8 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 diced potatoes

2 cups boiling water

12 oz corn, frozen, canned or fresh
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook the bacon and remove all grease from pan except about 2 Tbsp. Add onion to the pot and cook in bacon grease until soft. Add potatoes and water, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add corn, salt and pepper, milk and bacon. Heat well over low heat.

Makes 6 servings.


So easy and satisfying in the Fall. Especially if its served with a thick slice of this:

xo

Mrs. B.

Banana Bread

Here is the banana bread recipe I use.  There very well may be other banana bread recipes on this site already, it didn't occur to me until I was typing this very sentence that I probably should have looked if there was.  But, hey, nothing wrong with variety, right?


This recipe is from foodnetwork.com.  It's pretty good, I've made it a bunch of times.  Today, I used my Fall Icon Cakelet Pan from William's Sonoma.  Adorable little bites, aren't they?

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan, or follow the directions for baking with a specialty pan, such as the one I used.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Bon Appétit

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce

These are a huge hit here at home. Now, I'm not a fan of fish. I hardly touch it. But when made this way? I'm licking my fingers. Not the healthiest (okay...not healthy at all) but so good. Enjoy!


Batter

4 tilapia fillets
6 tablespoons of flour
Tablespoon of cumin
Pinch of salt
Cayenne pepper (Depending on how spicy you like your food, I use about 2 tsp)
2/3 cup of beer (I use Blue Moon but it doesn't really matter)
Canola Oil


Cut up tilapia fish into 1 inch cubes.
Mix all ingredients (except oil) together. It should feel thick and goopy (yes, a word!) so it can coat the fish nicely while frying. Chill for at least an hr.
Pour oil to depth of 1 1/2 inches into a deep skillet
Cook fish about 4 minutes or until done. Drain on paper towels.

Baja Sauce

1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup of lime juice
Pepper to taste

We put the sauce on a warm corn tortilla, add the fish, then add fresh salsa and guacamole. Delish!

Mimi's Cafe Buttermilk Spice Muffins

One of my favorite things is the Buttermilk Spice Muffins at Mimi's Cafe. You can find the recipe here along with some other great recipes. I am also anxious to try the Spinach and Artichoke dip and the Corn Chowder! I attempted the Buttermilk Spice Muffins and they turned out great!

Serves: 12

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Muffin Batter: 1 cup Sugar ½ cup Butter or margarine 3 Eggs 2-½ cups Flour 2 tsp. Baking soda 1 tsp. Nutmeg ½ tsp. Cinnamon ¾ cup + 1 tbsp. Buttermilk Nut Topping: ½ cup Sugar 1 cup Walnuts (finely chopped) ½ tsp. Cinnamon ½ tsp. Nutmeg Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon. Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts. Make the nut topping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly. Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimi's-size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.