Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

This is a sweet fattening dish, and thus delish! (I have not liked any other pumpkin bread as much as this one since!) Eat at your own caloric intake ;0)
Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
Mix together;
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 large can of pumpkin puree
3 mashed bananas
5 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup of chocolate chips (opt)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes 5 small loaves or 4 large loaves.

Breadstick Fingers and toes

These were fun to make and got a great response to the Halloween event I was at. Get the halved almonds and paint with red food coloring, set aside and let dry. Breadstick;
2 cups warm water
1 Tblsp yeast
1 Tblsp sugar
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg

Set lukewarm water with yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 mins. Stir in 1 cup of flour on low speed, then add 1 salt and slowly add the rest of 3 1/2 cups of flour. Beat until dough pulls away from bowl (might need to add a little more dough). Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 min, until smooth. Transfer to a greased bowl and let rise until double, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450 F. Bring a pot of water to a boil, roll out dough and cut into strips, roll in fingers until round, put into boiling water for 1 min. Remove and place painted almond on an end, then brush with egg on top of finger dough. Place on a grease sheet and bake for 12 to 14 mins. So Fun and real looking! This is a close up, they were about finger sized.

Better Banana Nut Bread

Better Banana Nut Bread (Adapted from Peggy Palmer, my mom)

2/3 cup shortening, 1 cup sugar-Cream together well
4 eggs -Beat in eggs

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1 TBL baking soda -Stir together in separate bowl
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp sea salt -Add alternately to creamed mixture with bananas

4 mashed bananas(2 cups), 1 cup chopped nuts- Fold in nuts

Bake in 3 small, greased loaf pans. Bake 350 F 45-50mins. Cool 10 mins, Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly, wrap and store.

Summer Vegetable Strata

Have you ever brought a loaf or two of fresh french bread and then forgot you had it? Then the next day it is crispy! This is a great recipe for the day old french bread.

Summer Vegetable Strata
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cut a loaf of french bread in 1/2 and put into the bottom. In a bowl mix 3 cups of milk, 8 eggs, salt, pepper, garlic and basil leaves.


In a frying pan heat up about 3 Tbsp of Olive oil, add 1 small finely chopped onion and cook for 1 min. Then add 2 to 3 medium Zucchini slice into quarters and then sliced again. Cook about 5 mins. Take off the stove and stir in 3 seeded tomatoes that are chopped coarsely. Spread evenly over french bread and then pour egg mixture over top. Top with grated cheese and bake in oven at 350 F for 45 mins. Even my three neices ate it up, having never had it before!

Newell's Reubens!

So this not on my food list, (and not healthy)but they are fun and different! When Newell(my husband) first made these after we were married, I thought they were very strange and wasn't sure if I would like them. At first they were okay, but now, I am hooked and can't get enough! Newell's dad made these when he was younger. The picture is one of them cut in half.

Now we make them for friends and family and they get hooked! My mom craves them once in a while too, so when we go visit, we will plan on making Reuben's one of the nights we are there during Spring Break!

Make any basic roll dough recipe- One of my Favorite's is my Uncle Gaylen's Roll recipe;

3 1/2 cups warm water with 4 tsp sugar and 2 Tblsp Yeast, let sit for 10 mins. Meanwhile warm 4 cups milk and 12 Tblsp butter together then add 2 1/2 tsp salt, (2 eggs this is not in the roll recipe, but it helps with elasticity of dough),12 Tblsp sugar and yeast mixture 10-12 cups of flours. (I usually add wheat or this last time buckwheat 1-3 cups)

Mix and let rise for at least 1-2 hours.

Filling Ingredients is (here we go, I know weird but, a blend of flavors)

Chopped green olives, Sauerkraut, Sliced "light" Spam (less greasy), and a thick slice of Mild or Medium Cheese.

First you place the spam on rolled out flat dough, then thick slice of cheese, then heaping sauerkraut, and finally heaping green olives. Fold dough over top and underneath, now the trick is to seal it well enough that nothing leaks out! Good Luck, that is tricky! But non the less still tastes fine if they "leak" cheese. Bake at 350 for at least 1/2 hour or until golden brown on top. Your taste buds will enjoy this interesting blend! These are great re warmed up or eaten cold as well. Family and Friends have tried to see if they can add or change ingredients and some of them taste just as great, but nothing compares to the original ;)!

Cucumber Deli Apetizer

Ingredients for this are;

1-Fresh hard cucumber, scrubbed well and peeled in stripes. Then thinly slice.

2- a little loaf of rye deli bread (I have used a whole big rye bread and cut it in fourths. (the little loaf is just easy and bite size!)

3- Plain cream cheese with an dry Italian dressing pkg and 2 Tblsp of butter. Blend well (I have used veggie cream cheese before)

4-Dry dill

Put bread on pan, generously spread cream cheese mixture on top of each bread piece. Then place a sliced cucumber on top and sprinkle a dash of dill. Cover with clear wrap and refrigerate at least a few hours or overnight. This is a surprising blend of flavours.

p.s. I made Caitlin's cookies with my different flours and xylitol and they were yummy!

(I am on a wheat/sugar free diet for a few months)

Two totally different Bread recipes!

So I am having fun trying out new recipes with different flours and such. Here is my first try and it was tasty:). Other flours are very nutritious and pricey to, so I started out by getting a little at a time. Yeast and Sugar free Bread-
1/2 cup of white rice flour, 1 cup of buckwheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour.
4 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of tapioca starch (flour)
1 tsp of Nutritional Yeast(different from regular yeast)
1 tsp Sorghum flour
1 tsp sea salt
Mix dry ingredients together. Then add;
1 1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup olive oil
Mix until moist and not sticky. I ended up using a little less water. Shape into a flat ball, put on baking stone. Lightly score an X on top (to prevent splitting of the crust). Bake at 400F for 40 mins. (It is more crumbly than regular bread)

This is a recipe of my Aunt Leona's bread, I have changed just a couple things.
Aunt Leona's Kitchen Aid Mixer Bread-(Can be done by hand)
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp Yeast
Mix in a glass bowl and let sit 10 mins.
Meanwhile in mixer add;
2 eggs
1 whole cube of melted butter
1 cup of 5 grain cereal
2 tsp sea salt
Then I add the yeast mixture and then
1-3 cups whole wheat flour
5-8 cups white flour
Knead in mixer for 5-8 mins. Then let rise until double (about 1 hour) Then punch down, shape into 3 loaves and let rise to desired amount (about another hour) Then bake at 350F for 40 mins. This is sooooo yummy!

Best-Ever Corn Bread

I have made my own personal adjustments over the years to this recipe and it has always been our favorite! This makes a 9 by 9 square size, but I always double the recipe and put it in a 9 x13. 1/2 cup real butter 1/3 cup of fructose (if you don't have fructose you can use 2/3 cup sugar). Melt butter and and blend in sugar. Add two eggs and beat. Combine 1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, regular milk with a Tablespoon of lemon juice) and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Add to mixture. Combine 1 cup of corn meal, 1/2 cup of white flour, 1/2 cup of soy flour and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. (We converted to sea salt when we found out that regular salt is processed with chlorine). Stir just till blended. Bake in a greased pan at 375* for 30-50 mins. Poke knife in middle until it comes out clean. Lightly golden on top. For some reason this recipe really varries on cooking times. Here is a list of the ingredients w/out instructions;

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup fructose

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup corn meal

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup soy flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

*Never add more than 1/2 cup of soy flour into recipies, this makes it too beanny flavored, so when I double my recipe, I add more white flour only. (1 1/2 cups)But you can double the corn meal.

Homemade Bagels and Creamy White Chili

These homemade Bagels are yummy and easy.

1 1/2 cups water, 2 Tbs yeast, 3 Tbs sugar, 2 tsp salt, 4 cups flour
-Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Let sit about 5-10 mins. Add salt and flour. Knead 5 mins. Shape into balls flatten into a small pancake and poke hole in center. Cover and let rest 10 mins. Drop into boiling water for 10 seconds. Bake on top oven rack for 10 mins at 450 degrees.

Now you can get really creative with these. You can add dried fruits, different flours, dried veggies, chocolate chips, nuts, spices, etc... Our favorite blend is dried cranberries with chopped pecans. Another family's favorite is after they take them out of the water they roll them in brown sugar. So use your imagination. I will warn you I tried frozen blueberries once and it made quite the mess and made them all soggy. So dried things are best.
This recipe has both beans and some fun spices.


Creamy White Chili

1 lb cubed chicken
1 medium onion
1 tsp salt
2 small minced garlic cloves (can use garlic powder)
1 Tbs oil
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 (14 1/2 oz) Chicken broth
2 cans Great Northern beans rinsed and drained
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream (I have used just milk)
-In a large sauce pan saute chicken, onion and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add chilies, broth, beans and seasonings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer fro 30 mins. Remove from heat stir in sour cream and cream. This is a little spicy but even my kidlets love it.

* And the tip for this week is about Soy flour. It is great to add in sweet recipies and bread. (Muffins, cookies, sweet bread, regular breads, cakes, etc...) The dough is not all that tasty but it makes the food item sweeter so I usually use less sugar and it has great protein in the soy flour. I only add about 1/2 cup per recipe.