Pumpkin Banana Bread

Fall means lots of pumpkin treats!  I love baking with pumpkin, so I picked up 2 cans during my last grocery trip with plans to do something with them this weekend.  I had 3 overly ripe bananas I needed to use up, so I decided to try a twist on regular ole banana bread and make some pumpkin banana bread.  This was so delicious!

Pumpkin Banana Bread
A Hudocks to Haddocks Original Recipe
  
Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup of butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 8 oz canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 4x8 loaf pan with butter and flour.
2. In a large bowl, beat bananas and butter until smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in pumpkin and then sugar.
4. In a coffee mug, beat egg with vanilla and cinnamon.  Add to mix and beat well, for about one minute.
5. Whisk together baking powder and flour, and slowly add into mix, beating with a mixer on medium speed.  Beat until all flour is dissolved.
6. Hand mix in walnuts.
7. Bake for 1 hour, or until tester comes clean.

Ham & Cheese Skillet

Sundays for us usually meant breakfast at a local restaurant, but as of late, we've been having breakfast at home. One of my husband's favorite breakfast meals is a skillet with hash browns, cheese, veggies, some kind of meat and eggs on the top.  So I decided I could make my own.  He has an appetite for 2 and I did have leftovers.

Ham & Cheese Skillet
A Hudocks to Haddocks Original Recipe
Yields: 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato (or 2-3 small potatoes), peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 small onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 lb ham of the bone
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Seasoned salt
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and add in potatoes, onion and green pepper.  Cover and allow to cook over medium heat until potatoes become soft and brown (around 10 minutes)
2. In another skillet, spray with non-stick spray and sear ham for about 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat and cut into bite-sized pieces
3. In another skillet, prepare eggs (we like ours over easy or sunshine side)
4. Add ham and cheese to potato mix, mix well.
5. Place eggs over potato mix and serve immediately.

Fiery Chili

I love fall cooking.  Just when the temperature drops enough to enjoy a nice hot bowl of chili.  I've completely switched over to ground turkey so this was my first ground turkey batch and it was excellent.  I highly recommend adding the WoodChuck Amber Apple Cider, I feel like it brought out a lot of the flavors.

Fiery Chili
A Hudocks to Haddocks Original Recipe
-         2 lbs ground turkey

-         1 (28 oz) can of Brook's hot chili beans in chili sauce

-         1 packet of hot chili mix

-         1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes with jalapeños

-         1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings

-         6-10 stalks of celery, diced

-         2-4 large green peppers, chopped

-         1-2 small onion, diced

-         1-3 tsp chili powder

-         2-3 tsp crushed red pepper

-         1-2 tsp cumin

-         2-3 tsp ground black pepper

-         1 bottle of your favorite beer

1.  Sauté onions in a hot oiled pan, add in ground turkey and cook until browned.

2.  Add all your ingredients to your crock pot and mix well.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours, until all vegetables are soft.

Notes:

-         I like to season it slowly.  I add in maybe 1 tsp of each seasoning, let it cook for a good 2 hours, taste and then season more to taste.

-         I used Woodchuck Apple Cider Amber for my beer and it gave it an amazing flavor

-         To make chili mac, add ¼ cup of shells or egg noodles to bottom of bowl before adding chili.

-         Makes 8-10 servings

-         Optional garnish: shredded cheese, sour cream, chives.

Banana Bread Cookies

 

Banana Bread Cookies

Adapted from: With a Cherry on Top

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Flour
• 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/4 Tsp. Salt
• 2 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Oats
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 3 Bananas, chopped

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until it resembles a crumbly texture (about 1 minute).  Add in the egg and vanilla and continue beating until mixture becomes smooth and creamy (about 1 minute).  Add in half of the flour mixture and blend in at a low speed.  Add in the remaining flour mixture and continue blending in on low.  Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips; mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.  Carefully mix in the banana pieces. (I just very ripe bananas and ended up smushing them a bit into the mix)
3. Using a tablespoon, drop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake until the edges are lightly browned (about 15 minutes).  Carefully remove from the oven and let cool on pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

Peanut Butter Cup Layer Cake

Peanut Butter Cup Layer Cake
Adapted from My Tiny Little Kitchen Creations

Cake:

• 1 box triple chocolate fudge Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cup of water

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease bottom and sides of 2 8” round pans.
2. Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
3. Pour evenly into both pans, bake for 35-37 minutes until tester comes out clear
4. Allow to cool before icing

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

•  8 oz cream cheese, softened
•  ¾ cup of peanut butter
•  2-3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted (I didn’t measure)
• 1-2 tsp of vanilla (I didn’t measure)
• 1-2 tsp of almond milk (I didn’t measure)

1. Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until creamy.
2. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, scraping sides, until well blended
3. Add in vanilla, beat well
4. Add in almond milk, beat well

Assembling the cake 

• ¾ bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures, halved and chopped

1. Remove one cake from pan, cut off top to make flat.  Flip upside down and put onto cake platter.  Frost, leaving ¼ - ½ inch space around the edges.
2. Place 2^nd cake (right side up) on top.  Frost – start by putting large amount of frosting on middle and work your way to get it even across.  Frost edges.
3. Using around 12-15 halved cups, place around border of cake.
4. Chop remaining cups and place on top.
5. Enjoy!

Brown Butter Toffee Blondies

Brown Butter Toffee Blondies

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• ½  cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3  teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces)
• 1 ½ cups milk chocolate heath toffee bits
• ¾ cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line pan with foil; butter and flour.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown; remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. In a coffee mug, beat eggs and vanilla.  Add to mix and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat until combined.  Stire in walnuts, toffee bits and butterscotch chips. Mix until thoroughly combined, and pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before turning out of pan onto a cutting board. Peel off parchment paper; cut blondies into 3-inch squares. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Notes:

• I went to go make this recipe and ended up not having enough butter, so I used 3 sticks of margarine.  After about 25-30 minutes of boiling, it was not turning brown so I gave up.
• I added ½ tsp more of baking powder and ½ tsp more of vanilla. 
• The original recipe calls for you to add in the eggs and then the vanilla.  I prefer to beat my eggs with the vanilla before adding them.
• The original recipe calls for 1 cup of toffee bits and 1 cup of chocolate chips, I switched it up for a different flavor.  Next time, I will add 1 cup of coconut too!
• This mixture was thick, so I was not able to pour it into my pan.  Instead, I “scooped” it up with a spatula and spread it onto the pan.
• Mine baked for around 45 minutes.  I let it cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then pulled the foil up to remove it from the pan.  I placed it on the counter and let it cool another 30 minutes, or so, before cutting into it.

Turkey Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza

I have recently starting making my own pizza.  It's been amazing, but I've been cheating with a Boboli pizza crust.  I decided it was time to concur my fear of yeast and give homemade pizza dough a try.  It was delicious, despite the thickness of it!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  
3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Notes:

·        I used a rapid rise yeast so it only had to sit over about 10 minutes with the towel over it. 

·        I had a hard time shaping it, so I left it as one large pizza crust.  It was very thick, like double dough.  Next time I will cut in half or just half the recipe to make enough for 1 thin crust.

·        Because I had a hard time forming it, when I finally got it, I placed it on a pizza board and covered it with a towel for a couple hours before I made it.

·        Once I was ready to make my pizza, I flipped it over and “folded” over a bit of the dough to form a crust.

·        Mine ended up cooking for closer to 25 minutes.

Topping your Pizza:

Ingredients:

• 2-4 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 link of hot turkey sausage, casing removed
• 8 oz of turkey pepperoni
• 1 pound of part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

• Brush olive oil along the crust of your dough.  I actually brush it over the entire dough.  Top with basil, oregano, crushed red pepper and garlic salt.
• Top with 4 oz of pizza sauce, spread evenly
• Add 1 layer of turkey pepperoni
• Top with ½ the cheese you are using
• Remove casing from sausage, break into small pieces and place on pizza
• Add remaining cheese and top with pepperoni

Notes:

• I don’t measure any of my ingredients, I just eye ball it.
• This pizza is moderately spicy.  To add more kick, add additional layer of crushed red pepper to the top of the pizza.  To lessen spice, use regular turkey sausage and omit crushed red pepper.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS VALUE: I cut this into ~20 squares.  1 square = 3 points