Orange Cranberry Bread

Wow - that is all I can say. I initially made two large loaves of this and was going to send one with my husband to work since I doubted we'd eat both in time. I was so glad I didn't since the first loaf was gone in a day. I am now completely addicted to the orange cranberry flavors and need to go stock up on cranberries! This is a wonderful, dense bread that you can hear calling your name while it sits in the kitchen. It has quite a cranberry bite right after it is baked, but after sitting over night the flavors meld and it becomes even better. If you want to eat it right out of the oven, I would suggest putting a little glaze on it to sweeten it up (mix up some OJ, vanilla, and powdered sugar), otherwise make it and enjoy it the next day.

Now, I think I'll have to make some later today!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Grated peel of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg. Add orange juice, peel, butter and hot water. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Gently fold in cranberries. Spoon into greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Grandma's Banana Bread

Yet again, we have another banana recipe, because, if you remember, I do love bananas! Anyhow, I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, who is the bestest mother-in-law in the world. She makes banana and pumpkin bread just for me (she leaves the nuts out since I'm not a fan of nuts in my breads), and they are FABULOUS! We are both excited to think about Ruby getting older and enjoying all the baked goods we both make, as well as all 3 of us being able to bake together - we can't wait for the cookie cutter time!

This is the best, most moist, quick, and easy banana bread recipe and I see many loaves of this in my future.

INGREDIENTS

3 banana's, mashed
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 C nuts - if you want them, I don't

DIRECTIONS

Cream together bananas, butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda - mix well. Add nuts if you want. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake about an hour at 300 degrees. (Mine took about 70 minutes)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

While on the search for a dairy free Thanksgiving menu, I found a recipe for pumpkin muffins (which I used in my dressing - recipe to come) that required no substitutions. I love pumpkin almost as much as I love banana, so I not only bought enough canned pumpkin to make these muffins once along with a pumpkin pie, I bought several more cans as well to have on hand. These will most likely become something we have often especially since I can have them for breakfast, which is the one meal that seems to be the hardest without milk.

INGREDIENTS

1 can pumpkin (not pie filling)
2/3 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 C Flour

2 C Sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cloves

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Mix pumpkin, oil and eggs. Combine will remaining ingredients and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Not-Quite-Quiche Mini Muffins

Mmmmm breakfast foods! I love breakfast foods but actually don't eat them often because of the cholesterol in eggs and bacon, the sugar in pancakes and waffles, and with my husband working nights it just doesn't work well for us - but today was different. I tried this recipe last week actually and while it was okay, I knew I could do better. Plus, I'm always looking for a reason to use my mini-muffin pans or my pampered chef cookie/muffin scoops.

When originally searching, I was looking for a quiche recipe and realized I didn't have the pie crust or the patience to try and make one. I stumbled across this recipe and read the reviews - seeing that its not quite your traditional quiche, but its a quick and easy way to get something similar. I have a feeling this is going to be a recipe to stick around for a while since now only are they good fresh out of the over, they are good reheated as well - always a bonus!

INGREDIENTS

6 strips of Bacon, sliced (or half a package)
4 eggs
3/4 C Baking Mix (like Bisquick)
1 1/2 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
2 C FRESHLY shredded cheese (I use cheddar and muenster)
1/2 tsp onion powder

DIRECTIONS:

Fry bacon and drain on paper towel. (I use a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat)

Mix eggs and baking mix in a bowl. Add parsley, onion powder, and cheese. Notice the stress on FRESHLY shredded cheese, it tends to mix in better than pre-packaged shredded cheese. Add bacon and mix to combine.

Scoop batter into mini-muffin tin (do not use paper inserts). Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Do NOT over cook since the eggs will get rubbery.

We serve ours with Sirachi hot sauce to add a little kick to it. I was a little hesitant at first, but learned quickly that this is in fact GREAT, and is the only way I'll eat them now.

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

In my search for something slightly different than normal blueberry muffins, I came across a recipe for these - Blueberry Crumb Muffins - and I have to admit they are great. I made a few changes to try a healthier version, and the end result was nothing to be disappointed about.

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

2/3 C all-purpose flour

2/3 C whole wheat flour

1/3 C brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 C vegetable oil

3 egg whites

1/2 C milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C blueberries

Crumb Topping

1/3 C whole wheat flour

1/4 C butter, softened (not melted)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 C brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

Combine flours, sugars, salt and baking soda. Add oil, egg whites, milk, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Gentle fold in blueberries, being careful not to smash them.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full (into either baking cups or greased muffin tins).

Combine the crumb topping using a fork. Place a small amount onto each filled muffin.

Bake muffins at 375 for 22-25 minutes (11-13 for mini muffins).

Cinnamon Banana Muffins

I love bananas. Love them. However, I buy them and for some reason I am bad about eating them, which is crazy since I love bananas. So, I end up with a lot of very ripe bananas which means making lots of banana items. This leads to my latest - banana muffins with cinnamon chips - yummmmm.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 C flour, sifted

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C White Sugar

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3-4 ripe banana's, mashed

1 tsp Vanilla

1 egg

1/3 C butter, melted

1 C Cinnamon Chips (or chocolate)

DIRECTIONS

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended.

Add banana's, vanilla, egg, and butter - mix just enough to blend. Add cinnamon chips and again mix just until blended. (Very little mixing helps lead to fluffy muffins so take care not to over beat).

Drop by spoonfuls into either greased or lined muffin tins. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 (15-20 for mini muffins).

Becky's Banana Bread

Anyone who knows me understands I have a fascination with banana's and anything banana related, so I continue to search for the tasty banana bread recipe that won't cause me to go up a pant size everytime I make it. While I continue to make slight changes to my recipe, I still think this one is worthy of a post, so here we are. Some of the measurements are assumed since I add a dash of this, a little more than, and so on - but this should get you started none the less.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
2 1/4 C ripe banana (or about 4 banana's)
1/4 C skim milk
1/4 C reduced fat cour cream
2 eggs whites
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix sugar and butter on medium until fully blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, egg whites and vanilla. Set aside.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture and beat until well blended.

Spray pan with cooking spray and coat with a layer of cinnamon and sugar (similar to flouring a pan). Add batter and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and top with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!