Butternut Squash Bread

I definitely have a DRIVE to try new recipes, especially if they offer a different 'twist' than others.

And I SO get into a baking 'mode' when fall comes around.  I long to make soups, and dishes with apples and pumpkin BIG TIME!  *-*

I'm hoping to post a few extra times during the months of Oct. and Nov.
just because I have so many wonderful fall recipes and I love sharing with you.

I found this recipe at My Baking Addiction  - check out her blog and recipe at this link.

I was very pleased with the results of this bread, though I tweaked it just a tad.

I took it to a ladies Bible study and had many good comments about it.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.  It's MMMM good!

Actually, I made 2 loaves - the picture below is of the one with chocolate chips...

I added craisins to the other and they were both very tasty.

And if you like cream cheese even a little bit, this bread is fantastic topped with cream cheese. 

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD

1 cup butternut squash puree

2 eggs

(I used 1 TB. ground flax seed meal and

3 TB. water to replace one egg)

1/2 c. vegetable oil

(I used 1/4 c. applesauce +

1/4 c. oil)

1 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1-3/4 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cardamom

(I replaced with pumpkin pie spice)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour one 8" X 4" X 2" loaf pan.

In large bowl, mix together the squash puree, eggs, oil, water and

sugars until thoroughly combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice.

Stir in the dry ingredients into the squash mixture.  Combine just until

incorporated; do not overmix.  Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 55 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center

of the loaf comes out clean.

Add any 'extras' you'd like...dark, semi sweet, or white chocolate chips,

nuts, craisins, etc.

Enjoy surprising your family & guests with a 'hidden' ingredient!

I LOOOOOVE RASPBERRY ICE TEA! DO YOU??

(Hmm....I just found this draft in my posts...my intention had been to share it earlier in the summer, but I figured 'better late than never', so..  Even though it's a bit late, I hope you will enjoy it - you can use raspberries from the freezer if you prefer).

Raspberries are my favorite all-around fruit - any way they're served.

credit: K. Kendall

When we go out to eat, I love to order raspberry tea - this recipe for tea is simple to make right at home. Hope you enjoy it often....

Feel free to sweeten it with Splenda....YUM! Click on the
link for the recipe - it's printable at that site.



MAKE-YOUR-OWN RASPBERRY ICED TEA

"Homemade" Pumpkin Puree

I'm SO excited because I finally found canned pumpkin on the grocery store shelf today. (9/23/10).

I was aware that there had been a shortage as I haven't been able to find any ANYWHERE for months!  And had recently heard that we would have it available for the holidays.  Hurrah! 

I love pumpkin and use it for many things.

It's a great substitute for oil.  I will share some pumpkin recipes soon, but for now, I want to share with you how I recently made pumpkin puree  for my freezer.

I purchased some smaller 'pie pumpkins' from a local vegetable/fruit stand a few miles from our home for $1 each.  They are 'meatier' than a regular larger-sized pumpkin, which contains a lot of water.  (I know - I've baked them up in the past and can testify that these smaller pumpkins produce much more of the solid pumpkin.) In the picture above, I got all that puree in the bowl (about 4 cups) from one small pumpkin that size!

I cut them open, cleaned out the 'gunk' inside, and layed them upside down on a foil-covered cookie sheet, added about 1/4 c. water and baked them for about 1-1/2 hrs. or until tender.

I baked 2 pumpkins together with a large butternut squash. I had baked 1 smaller pumpkin the day before. I let them cool and the peel came right off the fleshy meat.

I put the 'meat' in my food processor, about 3-4 cups at a time, and whirred it until it was the right consistency - butternut squash mixed in with the pumpkin, for color, texture and flavor too. (Did you know the two can be interchangeably used?) I actually added water when needed to make a smoother texture.

And the best part was - I spent $3.50 for 3 small pumpkins and the butternut squash, and ended up with 16 cups of pumpkin!

I placed it in freezer containers then will let it thaw in the fridge for a day before I'm ready to use it.

Isn't it just beautiful!??

Oh my!  I'm thinking...

Paradise Pumpkin Pie...Pumpkin Cake Roll...Pumpkin Sheet Cake...

Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Dump Cake,

Chocolate Cake Muffins...Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread...and MORE!

Stay tuned for upcoming holiday recipes - you'll

have a hard time choosing which ones to try.

Or maybe you will be like me, and try them all!

Especially now since pumpkin is available once again!

Mini Meat Loaves from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms Cookbook

OK - try saying that 3 times in a row huh?  All I can say is...MMMMM!  *-*

Meatloaf is one of my all-time favorite meals and I guarantee this one is tasty! I recently made this recipe while at my daughter Deb's and the house smelled divine while they baked in the oven.

More MMMM!  MMMMini Meat Loaves!!!

photo: Jane Doiron

Actually, I made meatballs and browned them in the oven. After they cooled, I put them in the freezer for Deb to make something later.  They tasted divine!

The author of this great cookbook, Jane Doiron, has become a special email buddy. She has done much to help me get things set up at Facebook and my blog, to spur more traffic. She's a busy school teacher, mom & wife. I certainly appreciate her sharing her expertise with me.

Check out this delicious dish and then check out many others she shares.  She has wonderful recipes and great ideas for cooking ahead. Her cookbook is available online at

Amazon.com - click Here

Mini Meatloaves

Tag...I'm it! (And I'm so tickled to be!)

I have a lovely new friend Mandy at Mandy's Recipe Box  She's playing a game...and I've been invited to play. How fun is that?

The game is called Eight to the Eight to the Eight...ever played?

The idea is that I'm supposed to answer Mandy's eight questions, then pose eight of my own, and tag eight people to answer those. And so on and so on...

I am excited to do this and see who plays along with me. I think it lets people get to know the bloggers. So here are the questions Mandy asked me......and my answers!

1. What is your cooking tool/gadet that you can't live without?
I would probably have to say my spatula scrapers - I have several...curved, colored, smaller sized...and when I'm busy in the kitchen I use nearly all of them.


2. What is something that you can't make unless you are sharing it, otherwise you'd eat it all yourself?
This was easy!  Definitely PAYDAY Bars - WAAAYYY too good, and I could eat the whole panful if left alone in the kitchen.  I must know who I'm going to share them with before making them, or I'm in real trouble! (Recipe is on page 81 of my cookbook=)

3. Favorite cooking memory growing up?
I'm tickled to get such an easy question!  I wrote about this memory in my recent cookbook.  Favorite memory is coming home from school and seeing the kitchen counters and table covered with many kinds of cookies. Mom would spend a day in the kitchen during the winter (oh how special to think of those fogged up windows!) to bake cookies to entertain guests or to go in the freezer for lunches.  She gave me much freedom to do cooking, unaided, while I was growing up. She'd be so proud if she was here now.

4. The one recipe you love from someone who inspires you? (Mom, Grandma, friend, etc.)
Apple dumplings from my mom - the recipe card is covered in smudges/grease and it's a real memory-jogger to think about the times mom would bake all day on a Sat., making pies, and dumplings, and we'd get dumplings for dinner.  We had no clue how spoiled we were!

5. Where would you love to visit if money was no object, and why?
I would love to go back to St. Kitts in the Caribbean.  My brother and wife own a villa there and blessed me greatly by allowing me to take 4 girlfriends along and spend a week there this last Feb!!  It's a very beautiful place, and being there reminds me of how spoiled we Americans are, and that's a good thing. I absolutely love sunshine & water!

6. Why do you blog?
Mostly because my daughter insisted I begin one.  =)  I love cooking and sharing great recipes, and I love getting to know other bloggers - just like doing this fun game.
Sharing recipes is a natural passion of my heart.  

7. What is your favorite book?
I truly love reading autobiographies the best, but any Chicken Soup for the Soul
book is a favorite!

8. Who would you love to have dinner with who is dead, alive, or famous?
After my mama - Paula Deen!

My questions to pose to others:

1. How many new recipes would you say you try (on average) in a week's time?

2. What's your favorite kitchen tool or appliance?

3. Who is your favorite Food Network personality?  Why?

4. What is your favorite movie?  

5. What/Who inspired you to begin blogging?

6. What dish is your family's 'most often requested'?

7. What's your favorite recipe ingredient? 

8. Share your favorite childhood memory connected with food..

9. What do you order most often when eating out?

10. Where did you go on your most favorite vacation?

OK - I've tagged these bloggers...


1. Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms


2. Fun Foods on a Budget!

3. The Pioneer Woman

4. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

5. The Queen Mommy's Cafe

6. Mommy's Kitchen

7. Eat At Home

8. A Feast for the Eyes