A Taste of the Season

Try this one out! We think you'll love it!

SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD

*3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

*3 cups sugar

*2 teaspoons baking soda

*2 teaspoons salt

*2 teaspoons ground allspice

*1 teaspoon baking powder

*1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

*4 eggs

*1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

*3/4 cup vegetable oil

*2/3 cup water

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into three greased 8 in. x 4 in. x 2 in. loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring from pans to wire racks to cool completely before slicing. (Makes 3 loaves.)

Have fun eating!! :o)

Mmmmm

I can't remember if it was Nancy or Jen who first introduced this great little salad to our family gatherings some years ago. It was a hit right away - fresh and tasty, easy to fix ahead of time and then toss together right before serving, and full of color so it looks pretty in the food line-up too! ;o) I have since acquired the recipe and enjoy sharing it at pot-lucks from time to time! Maybe you'll enjoy it too! Here's the recipe...

Ramen/Cabbage Salad

*2 pkgs Oriental Noodles (save seasoning packets)
*Half cup butter
*Half cup slivered almonds
*Half cup sunflower seeds

*Half cup dry cranberries
*1 bag chopped cabbage
*6 green onions, chopped

*1 cup vegetable oil
*Half cup white vinegar
*1 cup sugar
*2 teaspoons soy sauce

Layout of ingredients (plus soy sauce and vegetable oil, which aren't pictured.)

Instructions
*First, crush the noodles (do not cook them according to directions on package!) and mix in the seasoning.

*Next, melt the butter in a pan.

*Add noodle mixture, sunflower seeds and almonds.

*Saute until toasted.

*Drain on paper towel and set aside to cool.

*Now, in a separate container that can be covered and shaken, mix the dressing (the dressing ingredients are italicized).

*Next, combine the shredded cabbage, cranberries, and green onions with the toasted noodle mixture.

*Finally, right before you are ready to serve, shake up the dressing container.

*Pour over salad and toss. (You probably won't need to use quite all of the dressing - I don't when I make this salad. Pour slowly so you can see where you want to stop.)

*Serve.

Hope you enjoy!

Got Spinach?

Yep, that's right. Spinach. Or kale will work too! :o)

Recently our family has been enjoying green smoothies! I have heard of the "hiding veggies" trick and we have tried it successfully for many types of meals... but I admit I was a bit surprised to find recipes that used spinach or kale as the main ingredient for smoothies!

I think these pictures will give you a good idea how we liked them!

Here's Seth showing off his green smoothie mustache (it was such a nice day we decided to bring the smoothies outside.)

The first time we made green smoothies, I actually put more blueberries in than necessary because I wasn't sure if my kids would balk at the idea of seeing green.
You can see here, however, that they have no problem with the color! ;o) (I guess the fact that my kids are quite young and still have very formitable minds works in my favor!)

Seth loves a good smoothie!

Haddie does too!

We're experimenting with lots of fruits, but we often use this recipe...

Beginner Blueberry Kale/Spinach Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, peeled
2-4 kale leaves (or sometimes we use a couple cups of baby spinach instead)
1 cup blueberries, frozen
1 cup pure water
Pour the water and toss the banana and kale into the blender. Blend. Then add the blueberries. Blend again until smooth. Enjoy! 1-2 servings

We found all of this and more on a great website of a neat gal we know. Do check it out here!!

One of our Fav's

The other day we had one of our favorites for supper,
so I thought I'd share...
"Pepper Chicken"



You'll need...
*Chicken breasts (For our family of 4, I usually use 2 or 3 of the large frozen breasts)
*1 Tbs. vegetable oil
*1 each red, yellow, and orange peppers, sliced with seeds removed (although I often use the "Birds-Eye" brand bag of frozen peppers and onions. I use one full bag because we love the peppers!)
*2 cloves garlic, minced, or the equivalent in dried minced garlic
*1/4 cup vinegar (the recipe calls for Apple Cider Vinegar, but the day I took the pic I happened to only have White Vinegar - it worked fine!)
*2 Tbs. brown sugar
*14 oz. chicken broth (I usually make it from chicken bouillon cubes or powder)
*rice (enough for your family)

1)Bake chicken breasts till done and then slice or cube them - set aside
2)In a separate pan, saute peppers in the oil for about 2 minutes
3)Add garlic and cook one more minute
4)Stir in vinegar and sugar; bring to boil and cook about 2 minutes.
5)Stir in broth, then add cooked chicken. (If you want the liquid a little thicker, you can add a few tablespoons of flour to the broth - and mix well- before you pour the broth into the pan with the peppers and chicken)
6)Pour into a 9x13 in pan or other large bake ware
7)Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour
8)Serve over rice

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!