Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Icing (& How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree)

This week I pureed one of the pumpkins from my garden.  I was so happy with how easy it was and how great the flavor was.  I used a medium sized pumpkin and got about 11 cups of puree!

With the fresh pumpkin, I made a couple of loaves of pumpkin bread.  Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors, especially for this time of year.  This bread was delicious and moist.  The cream cheese icing added a little more sweetness, but you could definitely eat the bread without it.  Either way, it will make you think of Autumn!

Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Icing
adapted from: Better Homes and Garden

1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1/3 c. shortening
1 c. flour (again)

For the icing:
1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk

Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a loaf pan and set it aside.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves and stir it well.  Add the pumpkin, milk, eggs and shortening and beat it on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.  Add the 1 cup flour and mix it until it is blended.  Pour the batter into your loaf pan and bake it for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  In the meantime, make your icing by mixing together the softened cream cheese and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in the powdered sugar and then the milk and mix it well.  Drizzle the icing over the top of the hot bread, or slice it and then drizzle it.

How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree

I consulted a number of websites, trying to figure out the best way to puree my pumpkin, and they were all very similar.  I will give the quick version of how to do this.

First: Wash your pumpkin, cut off the stem and cut the whole pumpkin in half.  Scoop out the seeds and pulp.

Second: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Rub a little canola oil on the cut surfaces of the pumpkin (inside).  Place the pumpkin face down on a cookie sheet (one with sides, in case it drips a little).  Roast the pumpkin for anywhere between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.  Mine cooked for almost 90 minutes.  When you can easily stab a fork into the top (outside) of the pumpkin, it is done.  Let your pumpkin cool for 10 minutes, or until you can handle it.

Third:  Peel the skin off of each half of your pumpkin.  I was able to do this using my fingers.  A knife helped to start the peel, but then it peeled away pretty easily.

Fourth:  Puree the cooked pumpkin in a food processor or blender until it is smooth.  Most websites said to strain some of the water out using cheesecloth.  Store the puree in airtight bags in the freezer, or make some yummy pumpkin bread right away!

Coconut Crusted French Toast

When Nicole visited last April, we thought it would be fun to make something different and delicious for breakfast on Easter morning.  At that time I was going through a coconut phase (still am, a little bit) and so this was an obvious choice for me.  It has taken me a long time to post it, but I have actually made it a couple more times because it is so delicious.  It definitely works best with a thicker bread, but is also yummy with regular bread.  We served ours with buttermilk syrup and fruit.  Mmmm. (P.S. this is Carolyn posting :)  

Coconut Crusted French Toast

adapted from: twopeasandtheirpod.com

3 eggs

3/4 c. coconut milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1 c. shredded sweetened coconut

6 slices french bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices (texas toast bread would work great, too) From the pictures, you can see that we used a thicker, regular bread, but I have also used french bread.

Heat a griddle or frying pan.  In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla and salt.  Pour the shredded coconut into another shallow dish.  Dip both sides of the bread in the egg mixture, then dip both sides into the shredded coconut (to coat the bread).  Place the bread onto your griddle or frying pan and then drizzle a little of the egg mixture over the top.  It will take a little more time to cook than usual.  When it is done, serve it with syrup or fruit, or both!

5 Minute Artisan Bread

I grew up on homemade bread, but somehow I completely missed that talent.  I have never been able to bake very edible bread.  I heard about this a while ago and how easy and foolproof it is, and have been wanting to try it.  I finally decided to, yesterday, but didn't have enough time!  Don't let the name of this fool you.  It actually is going to take you a few hours, initially.  The work itself probably only totaled about five minutes, but there is time needed to let it rise.  And a great thing about this is that you can make it, one loaf at a time, and then keep the rest in the fridge for another day.  You can have fresh baked bread daily!  And it is super delicious!  Next time I'm going to try it with whole wheat flour and honey, or oats on the outside.  I'm sure if you know anything about bread (which I do not) you could come up with some creative ways to make this recipe (cinnamon bread?).

5 Minute Artisan Bread
from: www.food.com

3 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt or other coarse salt
6 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl, combine your water and yeast and stir it a little.  Don't worry about it getting completely dissolved.  Then add the salt and flour, all at once.  One tip that food.com said was to not press down into the flour as you scoop, or you'll throw off the measurement.  Gently scoop it up.  I went ahead and believed them, as I have not had a lot of success in this department.  Mix it with a wooden spoon or with a kitchen aid type food processor until the flour is completely mixed in.  FYI: This took a few minutes and when it was done, it was pretty moist, not at all dry.  Next, cover your bowl loosely and allow the dough to rise until it is about double in size, anywhere from 2-5 hours.  Mine pretty much quite rising after 2 hours, even though I left it another hour.  At this point, you can use the dough or put it in the fridge for another day.
When you are ready to use the dough:
Prepare your baking apparatus.  I used my baking stone and was really happy with how it baked.  Sprinkle the top of your dough with flour.  Grab a large handful of dough (about a grapefruit sized amount) and cut it off, using a serrated knife.  Holding that dough in your hands, add a little more flour to the outside surface so that you can handle it better.  Form this dough into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough and turning it a little at a time, while you bunch up the dough on the bottom (Does this make sense?  If not, go to food.com, as they have a very detailed description of this step).  Rest the dough and let it rise on a baking sheet or on your stone for about 40 minutes.  After about 20 minutes, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  When your dough has had sufficient rest, wake it up by first dusting it with flour and then using a serrated knife to slash it across the top, multiple times (hmm, that ended up sounding a little creepy.  Sorry.).  Then put it in your hot oven.  Also put in a roasting pan (or something like that) with about a cup of hot water and quickly close the oven door.  This will make it nice and steamy while it cooks.  Bake it for about 30 minutes, or until it is a nice golden color and firm to the touch.
The rest of the dough can be refrigerated for up to two weeks and when you want fresh bread, just follow the "When you are ready to use the dough" instructions.

No Bake Cookies, or Haystacks

These cookies are filled with memories for me.  I know them now as "no bake cookies" but I grew up calling them "haystacks".  I remember eating them with school lunch.  I never made them at my own house because my mom is completely anti-peanut butter (and even though these don't even taste like peanut butter, if she knows it is in a recipe, we never made that recipe!).  I do remember making them at my best friend Julie's house, however.  And when I pulled out my recipe card, it is written in Julie's handwriting!  How fun for me.    

Haystacks (No Bake Cookies)
adapted from: Julie and foodnetwork.com

2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. peanut butter
3 c. oatmeal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and milk, stirring constantly.  Bring it to a boil and boil it for 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and peanut butter and stir it until it is smooth.  Add the oatmeal and mix it well.  Drop it by tablespoon full onto wax paper and let it cool and harden.

Citrus Marinade

Lately, I haven't wanted to cook very much, unless it is on my grill.  I don't know if it is the heat, or just wanting to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  But because of that, I have been able to try out some new marinades.  This one was delicious.  A little citrus-y, a little mustard-y.  The recipe said to marinade it for eight hours.  I never remember to do that, so this got about 30 minutes.  And it still tasted great.  I marinaded chicken, but I bet this would be great with pork, too.  Sorry that the pictures aren't great.  I keep forgetting to take pictures until the last minute, or we've cleaned up dinner, or all I have clean is a Blue's Clues plate.  Don't let that deter you from this recipe.

Citrus Marinade
adapted from: food.com

1/4 c. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. mustard
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 lime, juiced 
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. oil
pepper, to taste
chicken breasts or pork chops

In a shallow bowl, mix all the ingredients together.  Marinade your meat for up to eight hours.  Then grill it until it is cooked through.  

Easy Chicken Teriyaki

Dustin made this for our family on a Sunday evening.  It was delicious and pretty low maintenance.  (Actually, very low maintenance for me!)  

Easy Chicken Teriyaki
adapted from: allrecipes.com

2 chicken breasts, cut into thirds
1 Tbsp. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp. ginger (we used slightly less than 1/2 Tbsp)
2 cloves garlic, minced
vegetables, sliced 

Pour the oil into a large skillet.  Add the chicken and cook over medium heat until it is no longer pink in the center.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.  Pour half of your sauce over the chicken and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add the sliced vegetables to the pan and the rest of the sauce and cook it all until the vegetables are tender.  Serve it over rice.

Chicken Roll-Ups

My mom made these a lot when I was growing up.  Then I had them at a church function a few years ago and liked the changes that the lady made.  They felt a little more "adult" to me.  I like the added mushrooms in the chicken and especially like coating the rolls in something crunchy.  I also doctor up the sauce quite a bit.  They are still a chicken stuffed roll, so most of my kids will eat them (I usually end up leaving mushrooms out of half of them).  They have a really "homey" taste to me (not like gangster homey, but like comfort food homey).

Chicken Roll-Ups
adapted from: Elaine from my old ward in Logan and my mom, Lynne'

3 c. cooked, shredded chicken
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can drained sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
dash curry powder
dash onion powder
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 package stuffing, crushed (or italian bread crumbs or panko)
2 cans refrigerated croissant rolls

Sauce (to pour over)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can water
1/2 can milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash garlic powder
dash onion powder
dash parsley flakes

In a large bowl stir together the softened cream cheese, garlic powder, curry powder and onion powder.  Add the mushrooms and chicken and stir it to combine.  I cook my chicken by cutting it into large chunks, covering it with a paper towel and then microwaving it, a few minutes at a time, until it is no longer pink in the center.  Then I stick it in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle and then put my kids on the task of shredding it.  This has saved me immense amounts of time on boiling my chicken for shredding.  You can also use canned chicken.
Separate the rolls and lay them flat on a baking sheet.  Spread the top of each with about 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture.

Roll up the rolls with the mixture inside, starting at the bigger end of the roll.  Try to seal off all edges.  This will keep the insides contained a little better.  Dip the rolls in the melted butter, then roll them in the stuffing crumbs (or whatever you are using).  Bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  While they are baking, in a small saucepan combine the cream of chicken soup, water, milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley flakes.  Stir while cooking it over a medium low heat until it simmers.  Then reduce the heat to low.  Serve it over the cooked chicken roll-up (let each person add their own sauce).