Pumpkin Bread

Quick breads are easily one of my favorite things to bake. They can be breakfast and dessert all at once and are so quick to throw together, considering I almost always have all the main ingredients on hand at all times. Today is Halloween and I've been cooking up a storm, including a moist and tasty pumpkin bread inspired by closet kitchen.

Here's what I used:

1 and 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin purée
3/4 brown sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup chocolate chips


1. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.


2. In another bowl mix the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, oil, and yogurt.



3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, then stir in chocolate chips.



4. Poor in greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.


Now...I really should have added chopped toasted pecans to this bread. Two separate co-workers have given me a bag of pecans from their yards, but unfortunately I wasn't able to crack or toast any in time for the making of this bread.


Mmm! Pumpkin bread and coffee for breakfast this week. Next week I'd really like to try this new apple and cinnamon oatmeal bread recipe from the same blog.

My first Chicken Salad Experience

Ever.
Chicken Salad always grossed me out because of the ingredient of mayonnaise. Sorry, but mayonnaise disgusts me. When I saw a chicken salad recipe on We Are Not Martha that didn't use mayonnaise, I knew I had to try it.

What you'll need:

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (3-4 cups)
1 cup red grapes, halved




Cook onion and garlic in oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened--about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook for 2 more minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook on medium-high heat until sauce is just thickened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt, cilantro, and chicken.



Cool to room temperature and enjoy!

Strawberry Bread

A co-worker of mine had a birthday on 10-10-10, so I decided to make strawberry bread for her. I had made this bread once before probably about a year ago, and I had forgotten how freaking good it was. I should have been baking this bread all strawberry season. Instead, I was bad and bought 2 crates of california strawberries for one last taste of summer.

Here's what you need:


1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tspn cinnamon
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
2 heaping cups sliced strawberries

Here's what you do:

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl
2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl
4. Add 1/3 of the dry bowl to the wet, then add 1/2 the yogurt to the wet mixture, followed by a second 1/3 of the dry mixture, the last half of yogurt, and finally the remaining dry mixture.
5. Gently mix in the strawberries and pour into a lightly greased 9x5 loaf pan

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

This bread is like dessert when fresh from the oven, and a healthy filling breakfast sliced up and cooled. I found myself wanting more after giving most of it away as a birthday present.

Carrot Raisin Muffins

For breakfast this week, it's carrot raisin muffins! Sound really healthy? I think they are pretty healthy. Sound not so yummy? Wrong there. They taste pretty damn good. I was a little afraid myself, but the result was quite satisfying. Think mini carrot cakes with raisins (minus that wonderful cream cheese frosting.)
I followed the recipe pretty much all the way through, adjusting the flour as usual, and I substituted the canola oil for applesauce.
Here's what you'll need:

2 cups whole wheat flour (or 1 cup regular and 1 whole wheat)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon (I only used 1 since my applesauce had cinnamon, but if I did it again, I'd use the full amount)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup applesauce (or canola oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 medium apple, peeled and shredded--here, I used a red delicious, probably my least favorite apple, just because that's what I had. If I make these again I'll probably try a sweeter apple.
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat your oven to 350 F

1. Mix your dry ingredients (flour through baking soda)


2. Mix the eggs, buttermilk, apple sauce, vanilla, and add in the carrots, apple, and raisins.

3. Mix the two together until just blended.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Of course they are amazing warm out of the oven, but they are also perfect for a little breakfast with my coffee at work throughout the week.


Even better, the recipe I got this from included some caloric information, which is always helpful:

230 calories per muffin
5g protein
7g fat

Enjoy!