Pumpkin Spice Banana Cake

We got snowed in today and it inspired me to do some baking.  I made bread to begin with and then decided to make a cake to use up some bananas that were getting pretty ripe.  It's extremely easy, and so delicious!

PUMPKIN SPICE BANANA CAKE
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (4 serving size) box of pumpkin spice flavored instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a bundt pan with oil and set aside.

Connect your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and in the bowl add the peeled bananas that have been broken into chunks.  Whisk for a few seconds to roughly mash.

Into the mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and whisk on low for 2 minutes.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a plate and allow to finish cooling.  Eat as is or decorate it with frosting in any way you desire.

Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Our pets are our babies.  They are four legged ,furry members of our family.  They just adore it when we make treats for them, of course, they adore any sort of treat regardless of where it comes from.  I like making treats for them as that way I know what they are getting.  Some of the mass producing treats seem to be not much better than bone shaped cardboard.

I signed up to join in this peanut butter challenge and they way it works is that you have to come up with a recipe using peanut butter and another ingredient voted on each month.  This month the extra  ingredient to be used is pumpkin.  Also, it is supposed to be a dessert but I've been playing with this recipe for a little while and since it's a treat for our dogs, I consider it their dessert.

PUMPKIN AND PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS (Printable Recipe)

1 quart home canned pumpkin chunks (or a 15 oz. can pumpkin puree, not pie filling)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 cup oats
3-4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs and peanut butter.

Add the oats and flour until a dough forms.

  It will be sticky but you want it to be fairly firm.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to around 1/4" thick.  You will need to keep your hands and rolling pin well floured.  Use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out the treats.

Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet and lay the treats on the paper, leaving a little space between each treat.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

#‎peanutbutterbash‬

An InLinkz Link-up

Huckleberry Buckle Recipe

These huckleberries surprised me when they popped back up in my garden this summer.  I planted some seeds for them last year and didn't even pick them as I didn't really know what to do with them.  I learned later that they can't be eaten raw and must me cooked with added sugar.  So after I found them this year I decided to work on a recipe to use them in.  I found several that sounded good, but finally decided on combining several ideas from each and coming up with my version of a buckle.

 INGREDIENTS (Printable Recipe)

Topping
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
6 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Batter
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 lb. huckleberries (you can use blueberries if you can't find huckleberries)


1. Heat oven to 350˚. Butter and flour a 9" springform cake pan; set aside. Make the topping by mixing all the ingredients together in a medium bowl, set topping aside.

2. For the batter, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set flour mixture aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and egg and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and milk and mix for 1 minute.

Add the huckleberries and, using a rubber spatula, fold them into the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan

and sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of the buckle comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

Let cool before serving.

SERVES 8 – 10

Easy Breakfast Burritos

I had grand plans of making a mountain of these scrumptious breakfast burritos and freezing some for later use.  This particular cooking session didn't result in any being left to freeze.  They were so delicious we gobbled them all up.

It's a very simple recipe and you can make it vegetarian my omitting the sausage.

EASY BREAKFAST BURRITOS

Ingredients:
Whole wheat 8 inch flour tortillas
6 eggs, scrambled
1/2 pound sausage, cooked and crumbled
Shredded cheddar cheese
Salsa
Sour cream

Before assembling, spend a few minutes to cook the scrambled eggs and place in a serving bowl.  Cook the sausage, drain and move to a serving bowl.  Add the cheese to a serving bowl, as well, to make for a speedy assembly process.  Leave the tortillas in the bag, open it and microwave for up to a minute.  This will soften the tortillas so they won't crack when rolled.

For each burrito, place some of the scrambled eggs down the center of the tortilla, leaving an inch or two empty on the bottom edge.  Then layer on the sausage, if using,  then the cheese.  Wrap the burrito by folding the bottom edge up over the filling slightly.  The roll tightly.

Continue until you have used up all the filling ingredients.

If the eggs and sausage are warm still, the cheese will melt from that heat, but they can also be popped in the microwave for up to a minute.  This recipe made 8 burritos.  Serve with salsa and sour cream on the side, if desired.

If you want to freeze some, wrap each burrito, after assembly, tightly with plastic wrap and store in a freezer grade zip top baggie in the freezer.  Remove when wanted and microwave for one minute, then check for doneness and heat up to another minute. 

Noodle Doodle Pudding

There is no real reason for the word doodle to be in the title of this noodle pudding, but I liked the sound of it so it stuck.

The grocery store I use most often has carts and racks set in various places throughout the store for clearance items.  I buy a lot of items at clearance prices that I might not normally purchase if it was full price.  Perhaps it's because it's a higher priced name brand or something that is not ever on my shopping list.  The noodles I'm using in this recipe I got for a steal in one of those bins.  I tried making them as just noodles in chicken broth with a little butter but we didn't really care for them.

Something made me think of a traditional Jewish dish called noodle kugel, also knows as noodle pudding.  I guess I could have called this recipe Noodle Doodle Kugel, too.  That actually has a good ring to it! 

The recipes I could find online didn't really match exactly what I was thinking of wanting this dish to be, so I used ideas from several different places and came up with this deliciousness I share with you now.

NOODLE PUDDING

Ingredients: 
1 pound medium egg noodles
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs, well beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
16 ounces sour cream
16 ounces small curd cottage cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1 sleeve cinnamon graham crackers
 (Printable Recipe)

The noodles I had were in 12 oz. packages so I used my handy-dandy to measure out the 16 oz. needed, and put the rest in a ziptop bag for some other use later on.  I also used the scale to measure out the 1/2 pound of butter since I buy it in a one pound block.  I did the same with the cream cheese to get the 4 oz. from the 8 oz. brick.

Cooking Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Apply spray oil to a 9" x 13" pan and set aside.  In a large pot bring water to a boil then add the noodles and return to a boil and cook for 7 minutes.  Drain and leave in the strainer for a few minutes.

In the now empty pot add the remaining ingredients, expect the graham crackers, and turn on the heat enough to melt.  The order I did it in was the butter and cream cheese first, then the cottage cheese and sour cream.  Then the sugar, vanilla and beaten eggs.  Stir well to combine and turn off the heat.  Add the noodles and continue stirring until they are thoroughly combined.

Pour the noodle mixture into the prepared pan.  Using your spatula move the noodles around so that they get into the corners and they look like they are spread fairly evenly.

Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the graham crackers into crumbs.  There are several ways this can be achieved, this is the easiest way I've found to do it.  Take a sleeve of crackers and start pounding on it lightly with a rolling pin.  Don't pound too heavily or it will break open the seals on the package.  Turn the crackers to one  side, pound, turn, pound, and so on until they are nothing but crumbs.

After 30 minutes remove pan from oven and cover the top with the graham cracker crumbs.

  Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

Note:  This is even more delicious than I thought it might be.  This is going to be my go to dish to take to potlucks.  It's perfect just the way it is, but you could make it lighter by using fat free or reduced fat ingredients, and replace the 6 eggs with 1 1/2 cups egg whites.  Some of the recipes I looked at added raisins, and we wouldn't care for that ourselves, you could add about 1/2 cup of raisins before baking.  

No Knead Pizza Dough Using A Stand Mixer

This recipe for pizza dough is made even easier because you can do all the mixing and kneading with a stand mixer.  I have a KitchenAid brand, but others should work equally well.
This recipe will make enough dough for 3 pizzas.

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 T. of dry yeast
- 2 cup of warm water
- 4 cups of bread flour
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 T of sugar
 (Printable Recipe)

Add the warm water into the mixer bowl, sprinkle the dry yeast and sugar and mix it. Let it rest for about 5 minutes and your mixture will be foamy.

With the hook attachment on start the mixer on slow speed and add olive oil and salt, mix it for about 1 minute and start adding the flour.

Once it is all combined let your mixer do all the work kneading this dough for about 10 minutes (you might need to add a little bit more flour, not too much), this dough will be elastic and a extremely sticky.

Grease a clean bowl with olive oil and pour dough into it.

Cover your bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough and it  is ready to be shaped. Oil your pans and your hands very well to keep the dough from coating your skin and so they will come easily off the pans after baking.

TO MAKE INTO PIZZAS:

Preheat oven to 425° F.  Separate the dough onto three well greased pizza pans or baking sheets.

  You can line the pans with foil to save on dirty pans afterwards.  Using your well greased hands, spread the dough out to the thickness you desire.  The dough will thicken some as it bakes.

Bake just the dough for about 7 minutes.  Remove and add the toppings you prefer

and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese melts and is bubbly.  Slice and enjoy.

Pepper Pillows

We were gifted with half a bushel of banana peppers a few days ago by our neighbor and I've been coming up with as many recipes as I can to use them all.  Luckily, for me, they are not very hot, but they are full of flavor. When I make this recipe again using these same peppers, I'll add a splash of hot sauce.  They are delicious as they are, but a little more heat would be great, too.  Also, feel free to use the peppers you prefer.  If you don't like any heat, use bell peppers.  If you like more heat, then use jalapenos would be a good choice.

PEPPER PILLOWS

8 oz. cream cheese (I used reduced fat, but fat free or original would work just as well)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz.)
1/2 diced fresh banana peppers (or others of your choice)
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
1 can (16.3 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 egg
Water

Preheat oven to 350° F.  In mixing bowl, stir together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, peppers, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until well combined.  Set aside.

Using a rolling pin and some flour to dust, roll each biscuit into an 8 inch circle.  Place one heaping Tablespoon of the filling in the center of the dough.

  Bring the bottom up and pinch together to seal.  Place upside down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

Beat the egg with a splash of water and brush the tops of the dough.

Sprinkle the tops with a little more salt and pepper.  Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until browned.  Serve warm.

 

(Printable recipe)