Pumpkin Bread

I recently acquired a pie pumpkin in our bi-weekly CSA delivery, and had so many ideas of what to do with it, it was hard to decide. I love the taste of pumpkin in the fall, and typically make pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, but this time I wanted to do something different. After baking and pureeing my pumpkin, I found this recipe for pumpkin bread, and figured I'd give it a shot. This recipe is a keeper as it was quick and easy, and the bread was very moist with all the wonderful flavors of fall pumpkin and spice. You can definitely make it with canned pumpkin puree to make the process even faster. I used one regular sized loaf pan about and had enough batter left to make a mini loaf pan also. This method increased the baking time by about 15 minutes, but I will leave the recipe in its original form below. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Apple Crisp

This is my favorite recipe for apple crisp. The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com, however I made a few changes to the ingredients and amounts. Using granny smith apples keeps the taste slightly tart, but the topping sweetens it up just enough. Be sure to use cooled butter and not to over-mix in order to achieve a crisp, crumbly topping. You are sure to enjoy this recipe with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!



Ingredients:

4 cups sliced granny smith apples
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
slightly less than 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
• Place apples in prepared dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Pour water over all.
  
• In a bowl, mix together the sugars and butter, creating a crumbly mixture. Blend in flour. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.
  
• Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is golden. Enjoy!
  

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I really can't give a good enough review of these pumpkin bars. The first time I made them was over a year ago for a pot luck with some friends down here in Alabama. Over a year later, our friends continue to request these bars whenever we get together. Even my husband, who does not enjoy the taste of pumpkin, loves this recipe. On the Food Network website, this recipe received 5/5 stars based on 488 reviews... I give it a 5 for sure! This is definitely a tried and true recipe that I will be using for years to come.

Source: recipe adapted from Paula Deen (Food Network)

Ingredients

Bars

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
  
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Butternut Squash Bisque

I love seeing all of the different types of squash and fall vegetables in the produce section this time of year. I picked up a butternut squash recently, and roasted half of it for a side dish for dinner. I wanted to do something different with the other half of the squash, so luckily I found a delicious looking recipe for butternut squash bisque on a food board that I frequent. Unfortunately I no longer remember whose blog this recipe was originally posted on, but I need to give them all the credit for this recipe! It was a delicious taste of fall.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced carrots
4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
3 cups vegetable stock (I used chicken broth)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
ground nutmeg to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, stirring frequently.
2. Add the carrots and squash into the pot. Pour in vegetable stock and add all seasonings/spices. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until vegetables are tender.


3. In a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender, puree the soup mixture until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in the heavy cream. Heat through but do not boil. Serve warm with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Enjoy!