The Flavors of Fall

I just can't seem to get enough of the flavors that Fall brings. (It must be in my genes, my brother is a pumpkin addict.) It is a good thing that you can buy canned pumpkin all year round because there are just some recipes I can't do without, even after October & November come and go. Like pumpkin waffles and pumpkin cookies. Here are a couple of recipes that I recently tried out on my family that we all really enjoyed. The muffins stayed moist for days and were even good cold right out of the fridge. And the soup . . . oh, the soup . . . Let me just tell a quick story.

When I was at BYU I came home for the holidays and somehow got roped into being in a play, "A Christmas Carol," at the last minute because someone dropped out. It turned out to be OK, I had a small, simple part and basically just had to die on stage dressed in a flowy white nightgown. It happened to be President Howard W. Hunter's son's family who was putting this play on and after one of our performances we went to their home for a little social. Sister Hunter served the most delicious pumpkin soup - it was a little sweet, but not too sweet, and it was one of the most delicious things I had ever tasted. Stamped on my memory, I have not forgotten it all these years later. I have been on the hunt (no pun intended) for a recipe that would come close to the flavors I remembered in that pumpkin soup. As soon as I tasted the Butternut Squash soup, my first thought was that this is as close as I have ever come. If you could put the holidays in one bowl this would be it! It would make a perfect appetizer to a beautiful holiday dinner.



Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C oil
2 C finely grated peeled apples

Streusel:
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cold butter

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the apples. Fill paper lined or sprayed muffin tins 2/3 full. In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon for the streusel. Cut in the butter until it is crumble. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Makes 18 muffins.

Notes: These are pretty sweet muffins! Cake really. I might think about increasing the salt a little next time and maybe even decreasing the sugar a touch.




Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

2 Tbsp. butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 C peeled and diced butternut squash
2 large apples (any kind) peeled, cored and chopped
3 C low sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 C fresh apple cider (NOT apple juice)
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves

Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Stir in onions, cover and, cook 10 minutes. Add squash, apples, broth, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low; simmer, covered, until the squash and apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. While the soup simmers, pour the cider into a medium skillet. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 5 Tbsp. Set aside. Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Spoon the solids into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Stir back into remaining liquid. Add the reduced cider. Reheat soup and stir in the brown sugar and spices.

Notes: I used one granny smith apple and one honeycrisp. I will consider adding a little garlic next time too. This soup is divine but may be a little too sweet for some. Taste it before you add the brown sugar and decide if you want to add both Tbsp. And I would definitely NOT serve it with the muffins, just in case you were thinking of overloading on the flavors of Fall. This soup needs something truly savory to accompany it. Enjoy!

No More Monkeys Jumpin on the Bread

I have caught my little monkeys making mischief on the top bunk several more times since my last post. We need to take some serious precautions to keep the littlest monkey out of that room! What do you do when you can't be cooking dinner AND watching kids at the same time?!!

Although, I have to take one teeny minute to brag on that little one, AVH. He put a pair of shorts on all by himself today for the first time! We have been working on dressing skills and he has understood the concept for a while now. (I haven't been up-tight about teaching this skill 'cause I'm sure he'll eventually get it - I mean I know he won't be twenty and still needing me to pull his shirt over his head, right?) Anytime he would find someone's clothes of ANY kind laying around he would pick up the item and wrap it around his neck. He knew it was to be worn and he did his best to put it on. But just in the last couple of weeks he has gotten much closer with the pants . . . sit down . . .one foot in at a time . . . stand up ... and then pull them up. Well, he walked into the family room tonight with AAH's soccer shorts mostly pulled up - that big padded bum in a diaper was the only hurdle getting it all up around his waist. It is sometimes silly the things we cheer about at our house.

Now, speaking of monkeys - I have a friend who asked me for my recipe for Monkey Bread recently. It had been about 9 years ago that she ate some with me in my little apartment in Tucson. She said she's always remembered it as being one of the best versions she's tasted and she mis-placed her copy of the recipe. She was having a craving and needed me to send it to her again. I was surprised that she remembered it from that long ago, but it is pretty tasty stuff.


Since it was on my mind I decided that Monkey Bread would make the perfect General Conference breakfast. Good home cookin' and Conference are two things that are inseparable in my book. My family would agree but they would also say it is like torture having to wait for something yummy to come out of the oven. I have to admit we devoured the whole thing before the first session of Conference was over. You just can't stop yourself from plucking off a little piece here and there - before you know it, you've eaten the whole thing!! Beware!!!!!


Monkey Bread

3 cans buttermilk biscuits
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 C white sugar
1 stick butter
1 C packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan well and set aside. Mix the white sugar and the cinnamon together in a plastic bag. Cut the biscuits into quarters and shake in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat. Put the dough evenly into the bundt pan. Melt the butter and the brown sugar together in a small pan on the stove and bring just to a boil. Drizzle the mixture over the biscuits. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through. Turn out onto a plate and enjoy!

Notes: Kitchen shears work perfectly for cutting the biscuits up. And I always kind of dig down a litle to check the dough in the middle and make sure it's cooked - don't worry about making it ugly, you're going to flip it over!

Broccoli and Cheese and Corn Bread, Oh My!

I wish I could say I took that picture, but no. On the other hand, get a pen and paper out to jot this down 'cause this recipe is a keeper.

It is nice to have your good old standby corn bread to slather with butter and honey but it is also nice sometimes to have corn bread that is full of cheese and green chiles and good stuff. This recipe has a little bit of everything in it.

I made this last week but I didn't want to have it with soup or chili so I opted for a Southern style meal with a BBQ beef roast, ranch beans, and coleslaw. (The roast was a new recipe and it was a keeper too - I'll post that one later.) The bread was a perfect addition to this Sunday supper - actually everything else was the perfect addition to my bread because I planned the whole meal around IT. Ha.

This makes a huge pan of thick yummy bread, so you may want to invite your neighbors over when you make it! Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Corn Bread

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter, cubed
2 packages (8-1/2 ounces each) corn bread/muffin mix (Jiffy)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
1 package (9 ounces) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
2 tablespoons canned jalapeno slices, chopped
Directions:
In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender; set aside. In a large bowl, combine corn bread mix and shredded cheese. In another bowl, beat the eggs, cottage cheese and onion mixture. Stir into corn bread mixture just until moistened. Fold in the broccoli, corn and jalapeno.

Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned and edges pull away from sides of pan. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Notes: It calls for a lot of butter! I think you can cut it down by at least 2 Tbsp. Make sure you drain your broccoli well. Canned corn works just as well as fresh or frozen. And lastly, I used a small can of green chiles instead of the jalapeno - my kids are wimps.

Leslie's Bread Recipe

I caused a little bit of a stir with my previous bread post. No pun intended. Some of you asked for the bread recipe and I have no problems sharing it. I asked my MIL for her recipe and she said, "Oh, sometimes I put a little of this, or a pinch of that . . " Well, that isn't so helpful, so finally I just told her I was coming over to watch her bake - I ended up writing down what she put in her bread on that particular day. This recipe makes 5 loaves of bread. I know it seems time consuming to many of you - it did to me. But now that I don't really go anywhere anymore, it is easy to fit in a mix here, a punch there, in between my laundry and therapy. So if you are planning a day at home soon, don't be afraid to add a bit of bread baking to your to-do list. Your husband will thank you for it!

Here it is:

Set aside:
1 C warm water
a sprinkle of sugar
2 Tbsp. yeast - sprinkled on top of the water

In a very large mixer (I use a Bosch - not sure my Kitchen Aid could do it) combine:
5 C warm water
1 egg
1/2 C oil
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C regular oats
1/2 C cracked wheat (I use a 9 grain cereal that I got from an emergency preparedness place)
1/2 C wheat germ
1 C rolled wheat (in cellophane bags in the organic section of Fry's - the wheat germ too)
7 C bread flour

Add the yeast mixture alternately with 3 cups of bread flour. Add 4-5 more cups of bread flour just until the dough leaves the sides of the mixing bowl. Knead in the mixer 3 minutes. Put dough in a large bowl greased with shortening. (Leslie kneads the dough a little on the counter to smooth it out before she puts it in the bowl.) Let rise for 1 hour covered with a damp towel. Punch down and rise again for 30 minutes. Grease 5 loaf pans with shortening. Form your bread and put in pans. (Leslie puts the smooth "top side" of the dough face down in the pan first to get some grease on it and then she flips it over.) Let rise again, covered. When the dough is about an inch above the lip of the pan, start heating your oven to 380-385 degrees. (I usually do 385.) Bake the bread for 35 minutes. Take bread out of pans immediately to cool on racks.

This dough is great for scones too. Use it after it has risen. Just put a little veg. oil in a pan and fry small pieces of dough that you have flattened out. Eat with ooey gooey butter and honey. Yum-O! Enjoy.