Pumpkin Banana Bread with Cinnamon Swirl

 During autumn this the perfect bread recipe-it's not only healthy because of all the spices but it's moist and in the oven it gives the whole house a warm inviting aroma due to the cinnamon, allspice etc. While you wait for it to cool to put the glaze on its soooo hard to wait because the aroma wraps around your nose and gives it a big kiss.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

3/8 teaspoon allspice

3/8 ground cloves

pinch of cardamon [optional]

2 eggs, room temp.

8 oz of canned pumpkin [1 cup or half of 15 oz can]

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup water

1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed

Cinnamon Swirl

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 9X5 loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In medium bowl, sift together, salt, soda and flour.
3. Add all the spices to flour mixture and whisk together until blended. Set aside.
4. In small bowl mix together cinnamon swirl and set aside.
5. In large bowl mix together banana, pumpkin and eggs.
6. Add both sugars and beat until blended.
7. Add water, vanilla and oil and mix together.
8. Slowly add flour mixture and beat with electric beater until smooth.
9. Pour half of batter into pan. Sprinkle cinnamon swirl mixture evenly over the batter. 
10. Pour remaining into loaf pan, completely covering swirl mixture. 
11. Bake for 1 hour, or 10 extra minutes if its not done yet if toothpick doesn't come out clean.
12. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. 
13. Whisk together glaze and drizzle over bread. 

Caffeinated Sugar Cookies

 What is the perfect combination [in my opinion] on a day when you need a dosage of caffeine and cookies-CAFFEINATED SUGAR COOKIES!!! I wouldn't recommend sharing these with your kids on the count of they might be bouncing off the walls from the sugar and caffeine. They are a good pick me up.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coffee granules

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

Instructions

1. In bowl of stand mixer or with hand operated mixer cream butter and sugar together.
2. Once it is nice and fluffy beat in egg, coffee and vanilla.
3. Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in soda and salt.
5. Mix in flour slowly until it's just combined.
6. Remove and wrap dough in plastic wrap, place in refrigerator for at least 12 hours. 
7. Preheat oven to 350 F.
8. Form dough into 36 dough balls [about a heaping teaspoon each] and place 2-3 inches apart from each other on lined cookie sheet.
9. Bake 12-13 minutes or until edges are nice and golden brown. 
10. Allow cookies to slightly cool before transferring to cooling rack. 

Out And About

Greetings again! My camera batteries have died so I must wait to get rechargeables to upload my recipe. So here are some more photos I took; some are from when I was at the lake.

More Photos!

Another post viewers in the same day! Lately I haven't had my camera so I am pretty back up with photos. Also it seems that portfolios cost money which I don't have online and there isn't much choices for me to get my work known out in the world let alone to make money from it... So forgive me for the back up of photos....incoming!

Coffee Sugar Cookies

I am sorry my viewers I neglected my page but I will try to do some more food blogging if I can remember to. Autumn is here so I am have baking like crazy with pumpkin everything and it hits me today that I should blog again! I started to use Pinterest and I always find delicious recipes and there were two I recently found that I could do. So it was either Coffee Sugar Cookies  or Pumpkin Coffee Cake [of course].. I chose the cookies...

I'm not much of a coffee connoisseur, more tea so I would usually find cookies that has tea leaves in it. But I tried once coffee shortbread cookies and they were alright so without further delay...caffeinated cookies!!!

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp fresh ground coffee [or you can use also instant crystals or powder]
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar.
2. In small bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and coffee until incorporated.
3. In separate bowl add together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. Slowly incorporate egg mixture to the butter mixture until well combined. Next slowly add flour mixture until fully combined, do not over beat.
5. Chill dough for at least one hour or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. 
7. Roll out dough on floured solid surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Using circle cookie cutter, punch out circles and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
8. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges turn golden. Allow cookies to cool completely before covering in icing.

Now I don't have any cookie cutters nor did I roll it out on a floured surface; which probably would have been helpful otherwise my hands were covered in dough. Nonetheless despite the abstract shape of the cookies they turned out yummy and see the pretty specks of coffee.

I haven't been adding photos lately since I have been focusing on recipes. Lately I haven't been cooking or baking so I will add some photos!

 

What's Cookin'?

So I decided to try cooking since at the time I was deeply in love with someone. Since I am living with my sister she is letting me cook once a month; unless otherwise. If you watch The Pioneer Woman you'll love these.

Quesadillas

Ingrediants:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds skinless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons of taco or Cajun seasoning mix
1 large onion, halfed and sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into slices
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into slices
12 tablespoons butter, for frying
12 large flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups grated cheese (Monterey Jack is best)
Pico de Gallo, for serving

Pico de Gallo:

12 Roma tomatoes (slightly under ripe is fine)
3 red or yellow onions
2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
2 to 3 jalapenos
1 lime
salt

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, 

pepper and taco seasoning. Add the chicken to the skillet and saute over medium-high heat 

until done, about 4 minute per side. Remove from the skillet and dice into cubes. Set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet over high heat. Throw in the onions and 

peppers and cook until the peppers have a few dark brown/black areas, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Remove and set aside.

Sizzle 1/2 tablespoon of butter in separate skillet or griddle over medium heat and lay flour tortilla in skillet. Then build the quesadillas by laying grated cheese on bottom of tortilla, then arranging the chicken and cooked peppers and onions on top. Top with a little more grated cheese and then second tortilla on top. 

When bottom tortilla is golden on the backside, carefully flip quesadilla to other side (I placed a plate over the top and carefully flipped it), adding another 1/2 tablespoon butter on skillet at the same time. Continue until second side of tortilla is golden. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fillings.
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Pico de Gallo

Dice up equal amounts of tomatoes and onions. Roughly chop up the cilantro.

Slice 1 or 2 jalapenos in half. With spoon scrape out the seeds (if you like it a little spicy leave some of the white membranes). Dice up the jalapenos very finely; you want a hint of heat and jalapeno flavor but don't want to burn your mouth. Now dump the four ingredients into a bowl. 

Slice lime in half and squeeze juice from it onto the ingredients. Sprinkle with salt until combined.