"Chocolate" Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

So I had my usual recipe for Pumpkin Bread lying around and gave it to a neighbor. Then, that neighbor posted on her facebook saying "Thank you Lisa for the Chocolate Pumpkin Bread recipe!"

Immediately following were many comments asking for the "Chocolate" pumpkin bread recipe, so I thought I should deliver.

"Chocolate" Pumpkin Bread

5 eggs
1 Big can of pumpkin
3 1/2 C. sugar
1 C. oil
1 C. applesauce
4 1/2 C. Flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. soda
4 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
12 oz. chocolate chips

ADAPTATION to make it CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN BREAD:
12 MORE oz chocolate chips and 1/2 C. heavy cream.

Mix all wet ingredients, then in a saucepan over a warm heat, melt the chocolate chips* and cream together till smooth. SLOWLY pour into the pumpkin mixture and incorporate quickly as to temper the eggs... now your batter is chocolate pumpkin!

Then mix in all dry ingredients then the OTHER bag of chocolate chips and bake at 350. Small loaf pans call for 45-50min, and large loaf pans call for 60-70 min. Fill about 2/3 full. It's trial and error, as everyone's ovens are different and they fill the pans up different amounts. So use the "knife in the middle" method and when it comes out dry they should be done. DO NOT OVER BAKE!!

Good luck.

*you could use 3/4 of the the bag of the chips to melt and mix into the batter, and use the rest to sprinkle on top of a couple of loaves....

Peanutbutter-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

This is what happens when people don't eat banana's. I take a perfectly healthy snack, and turn it into something that isn't. But dang, it sure tastes good.

PB& Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1/2 C. Peanut butter

1/2 C. butter, softened

1/3 C. brown sugar

2/3 C. white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

4 ripe banana's, mashed

2 C. flour

1/3 C. cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 C. milk

1. cup chocolate chips

Coarse raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the butter, pb, sugars and egg. Add vanilla and banana's, mix till fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients. Mix till well blended. Add the milk to make the batter a good, bread batter consistency. Add chips. Pour batter into pans, and top with some coarse sugar.

Grease bread pan. (or pans, I made mini loaves..)

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until knife comes out dry. (My mini loaves took 45 minutes.)

Serve warm with milk no less than 2% fat. :)

Orange Rolls

I do NOT like oranges. Never have, never will. But I LOVE these orange rolls! I know, I'm weird. I think the reason why is because the "orange" part of these rolls doesn't even come into play until the glaze, which I have complete control over how much "orange" I use. I think I ate at least 5, just today! Also, I am not a great bread maker. Some people just have the knack....I don't. So if I can make these rolls, all of you can too!

ORANGE ROLLS
(recipe given to me years ago by Paula LeSueur)

First: scald 2 cups milk, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup shortening in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside and let cool completely.

Second: in an electric mixer with a dough hook place 1 cup warm water, 2 tblsp sugar, and 2 tblsp yeast. Let dissolve, then add the cooled milk mixture and mix well.

Third: Add 4 beaten eggs and then 9 cups of flour, one at a time until well mixed and sides of bowl start to come clean.

Cover and place in fridge overnight. Roll out dough at least 3 hours before baking.
****I actually just make the dough in the morning, then shape the rolls a few hours later****

Fourth: roll out the dough into a large rectangle on a buttered surface! (yes butter, NOT flour... and don't be afraid to use butter all over your hands too, it helps you work with the dough.)
Spread more butter all over the rectangle then roll it up like you would for cinnamon rolls. Slice the big roll in 1/2, then each of those halves in 1/2. Then cut each of the 4 sections into 12 slices. Place in greased muffins pans and let rise for 2-3 hours. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Another option: once you have it rolled into a large rectangle, cut it horizontally in the middle, then slice it vertically into several strips (see photo above). Use these strips to tie knots with the dough. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise/bake just as above. A fun variation in shape that the kids love!

Orange Glaze:
2 tblsp. orange juice concentrate, melted (I use a little less)
2 tblsp. softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
grated orange rind and juice from an orange to desired consistency

Mix all the above together and spread on warm rolls.
(I actually half the roll recipe and keep the glaze amounts the same. So double the glaze for a full batch of rolls if you like them well frosted!)

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ok Lisa, you are an all star when it comes to posting lots of recipes. After we made this meal on New Year's Eve, I have had some recipe requests, so here is my first contribution to the food blog!

When I go to Olive Garden, I can never decide what to get and I inevitably end up ordering the delicious soup/salad/bread option. Yum! Once I tried the Zuppa Toscana soup (a spicy potato flavor), I could never go back. I have searched for a similar recipe and this one takes the cake. We often have Olive Garden flavor at home now with this recipe, though I make changes to the recipe in effort to be healthy. I added my variations in the recipe.

Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream (I use half and half)
  
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients. (Or do it the night before)
   
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious! (I stir in the sausage, wait for the grease to rise to the top, and then skim it all off before adding in the kale)

Yum! We also make a copycat Olive Garden salad. You need:

Lettuce
Red Onion sliced into rings
black olives
sliced tomatoes
croutons
banana peppers
Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian salad dressing

Toss together and enjoy!

And, if you want to add some tasty breadsticks to the meal, I have enjoyed this recipe from the fabulous Real Mom Kitchen for delicious breadsticks, though I did add more salt in the dough then the recipe called for which enhanced the flavor.

Divine Breadstick Recipe found here:
Yum. Now I am hungry!

French, French Toast

It really should have been expected.. when you make bread there tends to be a lot of it. So this morning when Jack asked for toast, a little light bulb lit up and I grabbed one of the two loaves left over from last night. This french toast was really, really good. Like, better than restaurant french toast. (Than again, I haven't been too impressed whenever I order french toast while dining out..)

French Toast

2 eggs

2 T milk

1/8 tsp vanilla

Dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and orange rind

1 T orange juice (preferably squeezed from actual orange)

French Bread

Toppings: powdered cinnamon sugar, butter, syrup

(for a REAL treat, and I didn't have any, otherwise I would have used it, you crush almonds and after dipping the bread in the batter, you dip it in the finely crushed almonds before grilling.)

Whisk eggs, milk and spices together, then add orange rind and juice to complete batter.

Dip the thick slices of french bread in the batter, then grill.

Serve with delicious oranges.

Croque Monsieur

OH my heavens. I certainly didn't intend the first recipe to be so intimidating. But in reality, it was very very easy and was absolutely delicious. I saw this on "It's Complicated", the movie with Meryl Streep, she cooked it for Steve Martin and when he bit into it I had it in my head to google this dish and have it on my table. There are so many ways to change it and make it your own. So feel free to tweak it if you feel so inclined.

For some reason I was ultra-motivated and I made my own french bread. It could be the new Kitchen Aid I received for Christmas, or just my desire for bread, I love it. But you don't need to bake your bread for heavens sake, just buy it. But if you are up for some self confidence, bake THIS bread.

I even made a baby Croque Monsieur for Jack, just his size. He ate it.

Croque Monsieur

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste

6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)

8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread12 ounces ham, sliced

Dijon mustard

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.

3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.

(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)

4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.

5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

*Photo credit, me

*Recipe credit, "Simply Recipes"

*Bread recipe credit, "Confessions of a Bake A Holic"