Perfect Holiday Pastries

For Thanksgiving breakfast, we had two of my favorite holiday items...Pumpkin Coffee Cake and Cranberry Orange Scones. These flavors are perfect for the holidays and go wonderfully with any item on the table or just a good cup of coffee! We also enjoyed many other tasty dishes, but I'll get to those another day :-)

Cranberry Orange Scones

(http://www.cooking.com/)

2 cups flour

7 tsp sugar

1 tbls orange zest

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup cold butter

1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 half-n-half

1 egg

1 tbls milk

Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tbls orange juice

orange zest

Combine flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, cream, and egg. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

On a floured surface, gently knead 6-8 times then pat dough into a circle or rectangle, depending on what size you want your scones. Cut into triangles or wedges, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush scones with milk, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. Cool, then add glaze.

We ate these with regular orange marmalade and they were so yummy! Definitely a favorite. The only thing I did differently was the orange zest in the glaze!

Maple Glazed Pumpkin Coffee Cake

(http://www.seasonalrecipes.com/)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I always use golden)

2 eggs

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

orange zest (my addition)

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbls sour cream

1 tbls maple syrup

1 tbls orange juice (instead of lemon)

orange zest (my addition)

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, syrup, orange zest, and vanilla; mix on low until combined. Add dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula. Pour into a greased 6 1/2 cup capacity ring mold. (Honestly, I don't know the capacity of the one I used, so I'm sure as long as it's big enough to hold the cake, it'll work.) Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes then invert onto a wire rack placed over wax paper. The directions say to glaze the cake while it's warm, but I prefer to do it after it cooled completely. It seems to stick better that way.

As you can see, orange is a popular flavor in my house right now. I discovered this recipe last year and just made some changes to it this year. It's quite yummy and I'm sure it'll be around for awhile!

Hope you enjoy :-))

Cranberry Coconut Bars

Wow, what a whirlwind of cooking and baking I just completed...now it's time to get those recipes up! Thanksgiving breakfast was a success! I think everyone left with happy tummies and just a few leftovers to deal with. There are several recipes I want to share, but I'll have to post them just one or two at a time...too much for one post! Here though, is a recipe I found from someone else's blog (Thanks Wonder Woman), but of course, I didn't have all the ingredients so I had to improvise. I'm calling them Cranberry Coconut Bars because, what would a baked good be from my Krazy Kitchen without some coconut???

Cranberry Coconut Bars

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup coconut (my substitution because I did not have almond meal)

1 cup cold butter

1 egg

1/4 tsp cinnamon (which I added to the cranberry mixture instead of the crust)

zest of 1 orange (my addition)

juice of 1/2 an orange

4 cups fresh cranberries (I only had 1 package, so I improvised and used 2 cups Craisins as well)

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbls cornstarch

Mix together sugar, flour, coconut, salt and baking powder in a food processor or use a pastry cutter until crumbly. Add the egg and mix until it all comes together. Pat half the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, or line the pan with foil that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. I used the flat bottom of a glass to help pat the mixture down.

Next, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon. Add the cranberries. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.

Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool completely and chill in the refridgerator until ready to cut. Store in the refridgerator.

I will definitely be making these again before Christmas, but I may try adding coconut to the cranberry mixture or perhaps almond extract? We shall see...:-)

Bread Bonanza!

So, I had a request to post some bread recipes for the holiday season. Two of these are regulars that I make all the time and two are new ones that I just came up with for this purpose. I love quick breads because they are easy to make, perfect for freezing, and make excellent gifts! I have fun playing around with the ingredients to get just the right flavor! And, my little children love them so they are great for pulling out of the freezer now and then for breakfast!

Cranberry Orange Bread with a Citrus Glaze

(I created this recipe from a basic muffin recipe out of the book Mad About Muffins.)

2 cups flour

1 tbls baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup orange marmalade

2 tbls fresh orange juice

zest of one orange (about 1 tbls)

1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)

Combine the dry ingredients; add the remaining items and mix just until blended. Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Makes 3 mini loaves or probably 1 large loaf if you prefer.

Glaze

fresh squeezed orange juice

powdered sugar

lemon zest to taste

Squeeze the remaining juice from the orange you used and add powder sugar until you get the consistency you like. I wanted something to freshen it up so I added lemon zest until it tasted just right. It's not rocket science, really, just a preference of taste. I would have preferred orange zest but I was only able to track down one orange, so I improvised!

a> Zucchini Carrot Bread

(adapted from Kitchen Keepsakes)

As is often the case when I bake, I cannot leave well enough alone, so this next recipe I added a little something extra to help use up some of my garden produce. Both the zucchini and the carrots came from my garden.

3 eggs, well beaten

2 cups sugar

3 tsp vanilla

1 cup oil

2 cups shredded zuccini, unpeeled

1 cup shredded carrot

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

(I often add a cup of shredded coconut or apple as well)

Beat eggs until fluffy; add sugar, vanilla, and oil. Stir in the zucchini and carrots. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until blended together. Fold in coconut or apple if you wish. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans, either 2 large or 5 mini, and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Green Tomato Bread
(This recipe is a real treat, but I cannot take credit for it. A friend of mine passed this along to me, which came from her mom, when she had an abundance of green tomatoes. I truly look forward to the end of tomato season just for this reason!)

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

1 tbls cinnamon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup oil

1 tbls vanilla

2 cups finely chopped or ground green tomatoes (I use my food processor)

Combine the dry ingredients; add the remaining items except tomatoes, being sure to stir just until moistened. It will be thick until you add the tomatoes. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans, 2 large or perhaps 4 mini, and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Pumpkin Pear Bread

(This is another recipe that I adapted from a book, called Too Many Cooks, and it is super delicious! Perfect for the holiday season!)

1 cup oil

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup water

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup grated pear (from my mom's tree!)

Mix oil, sugar, and eggs until smooth. Blend in water, spices, pear and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Pour into prepared loaf pans, 1 large or 2 mini, and bake at 350 for about an hour for large pans, 30-40 minutes for mini loaves.

I wanted to show you what I did to get as much of the glaze onto the loaves as I could. When you glaze things, much of the first and second coats end up on the wax paper under the food, rather than on it. So, I decided to scrape all the fallen glaze into the center of the wax paper sheet, fold it up and pour the remaining glaze onto the loaves. I did this about three times, moving the cooling rack with the loaves on it between two pieces of wax paper. Tedious, maybe, but that glaze was GOOD!

Besides, it left a really cool design on the wax paper :-)
You probably noticed that I use mini loaf pans a lot. I find that I get a better product in less time, because it cooks all the way through. When I use a large loaf pan, I always feel unsure about the doneness of the bread. Also, mini loaves are perfect sizes for gifts or a quick snack.

I have two more recipes I want to share, but haven't gotten around to baking them yet. But keep your eyes peeled, cause I'm sure to do some baking during this stormy weather comin' our way here in the Pacific Northwest :-))

Double Duty Dinner

Double dinner? No, I didn't eat dinner twice, I cooked dinner twice!! Once for us, and once for the local Young Life leaders. Why you ask? hmmm...well, it wasn't supposed to be that way, but Sunday's plans for meatloaf got pushed to Monday, and I already had plans for my Balsamic chicken salad for the Young Life leaders, so heck, I could pull off double duty, right??? Here's how it went:

First, I cooked the chicken that had been marinating in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and minced garlic. I would not recommend doing this in a nonstick pan, as the balsamic vinegar leaves quite the cooked-on mess!

Then I remembered that I wanted to make homemade french bread (so delicious!), and I got that started. While it was being kneaded in the mixer with the bread hook (yes, this is legal!),

I thought a list might be good...

I mixed up the gluten free brownies ( one of the Young Life leaders is gluten-free, which is why I had to make two different dinners...meatloaf with bread crumbs would not have worked!) and put them in the oven...

I picked the lettuce and got it soaking. If you grow your own lettuce, you understand!

The finished product!

Balsamic Chicken Salad

A bed of greens

Sliced Apples

Mandarin Oranges

Craisins

Red Onion

Goganzola Cheese

Cooked Chicken (marinated, of course)

Sliced Almonds

Dressing: 1 part balsamic vinegar, 3 parts extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper

Not only is this salad gorgeous to look at, it's like music in your mouth! So delicious!!

On to the meatloaf!

While the bread loaves were rising and the children were busy being 2 year olds, I diced up the veggies for the meatloaf.

After they went down for a nap, I sauteed the veggies and let them cool. Meanwhile, my sister Tori stopped by with a Starbucks Ice Tea Lemonade (bless her) and helped out by washing up the lettuce. I worked on the meatload....Assembled and almost ready!

Now, doesn't that look good??

Meal is complete with garlic mashed red potatoes and sauteed green beans with butter, bacon, and garlic.

What were the children doing you ask? "Helping", of course!

Italian Meatloaf

(This is my recipe that I adapted from a couple I looked at.)

2 lbs. ground beef

1 red pepper, 1 sweet onion, 2 carrots diced

1 cup spaghetti sauce (reserve 1/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. garlic salt

2 eggs

A few slices of bacon

Sautee the veggies until soft, let cool; mix beef, herbs and seasoning, 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce, and parmesan cheese with the cooled veggies; add eggs and bread crumbs, mix just until blended together. Form into a loaf pan, spread remaining spaghetti sauce on top, then cover with bacon slices. Bake at 375 for approx. 1 1/2 hrs. (internal temp. of 160). Let rest for at least 5 minutes to allow for slicing and serving.

The beautiful thing about meatloaf is that after the eggs and breadcrumbs, you can pretty much make it any flavor you want. Next time I'll try a mexican flavored meatloaf and use corn bread crumbs instead :-)

This day in the kitchen was krazy for sure, but the delicious food at the end of they day was worth it. We even dimmed the lights and burned a candle during dinner. Very relaxing...well, as relaxing as it gets with four children! Tim, the little girls and I really enjoyed the meatloaf...Megan and Andrew ended up with yogurt! Hey, it makes a great substitute!

Until next time...go ahead and get Krazy!!