classic cranberry orange bread

I love fall.   This season I can't seem to get my hands on enough pumpkins and gourds- they're all so pretty and unique.  I'm trying to enjoy all the colors and flavors of fall while I can as there's only a few more weeks until the Christmas season arrives.  The flavors in this bread are marvelous.  You'll want to enjoy this bread all year long so pick up a few extra bags of fresh cranberries when they're on sale and freeze them!

classic cranberry orange bread (Ocean Spray)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.  Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir in orange juice, oil, orange peel and egg.  Mix until well blended.  Stir in cranberries and nuts.  Spread evenly in loaf pan.  Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from pan; cool completely.  Makes 1 loaf.

soft buttercream icing

My little sweetheart is turning 4 soon and her birthday party is tomorrow.  She requested strawberry cupcakes with purple icing and we're handing out star shaped sugar cookies in cellophane bags tied with purple ribbon as goody bags.  I learned this icing recipe at Ricks College when I was majoring in catering & restaurant management.  It seems like so long ago!  That's because it was.  This is a really nice basic recipe and I love it spread on top of my Grandma's sugar cookies which are always a special treat. 


soft buttercream icing (my cakes class at Ricks College)
5 1/2 cups unsifted powdered sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg white (you can omit)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring
1/4 teaspoon rum flavoring
pinch of salt
5-6 tablespoons water or milk or more until you get the right consistency


Mix all ingredients together on medium speed until light and fluffy for 3-4 minutes.

pumpkin fudge

You may have noticed I have a thing for pumpkin.  I love to cook with it.  I love the rich aroma when it bakes or in this case is cooked over the stove.  This fudge is genius.  What a great seasonal alternative to your traditional chocolate fudge.

pumpkin fudge (blog: Brown Eyed Baker)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup or 5 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the sides for easy removal.
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter and spice in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 to 240 degrees F.
Quickly stir in the white chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, pecans and vanilla extract.  Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until the chocolate chips are melted.  Immediately pour into the prepared pan.  Let stand on wire rack for 2 hours or until completely cooled.  Refrigerate tightly covered overnight.  Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Yield: 64 pieces (about 3 pounds)

pumpkin pie cake

I first tried this pumpkin pie cake when one of the third grade teachers brought it to our teacher's lounge.  (Teachers LOVE food!)  It's an updated version of your traditional pumpkin pie and I must say it's terrific and always a hit.  I have been asked for this recipe many times if you need convincing.
I made this pumpkin pie cake for my husband's birthday when we first started dating.  We'd been dating for about two months and I took this to him to break him of his incessant studying.  It worked.  He set his books aside and enjoyed a square or two and still tells me to this day that I haven't made it as good as I made it that first time.  I don't believe him.
P.S.  Look at this beautiful buck sitting in the sun in our backyard.  He sat there yesterday for hours and hours and didn't mind one bit when my husband stepped outside and aimed a camera at him.  I think he likes us.  I know he thinks our yard is delicious.

pumpkin pie cake (Roxanne Le Blanc)
1 large can pumpkin puree
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon  nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 yellow cake mix, dry

Mix the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and spices.  Pour into a 13x9x2 pan.  Pour dry cake mix over the top, spreading evenly.

topping
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1 1/2 sticks melted butter

Drizzle topping as evenly as possible over top of dry cake mix.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Refrigerate until cold.  Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream.

three bean salad

Last night we had soup and a salad bar for dinner.  I've always loved a good salad bar loaded with all the essentials.  My mom made this 3-beean salad when I was growing up and as you can see I replaced the kidney beans with beets.  It turns out my 2-year old loves beets so I'm going to have to double them next time so I get my fair share.

three bean salad (my mom)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper and garlic salt
1 can green beans
1 can wax beans
1 can kidney beans or you can use fancy cut beets
1/4 cup sliced green onion


Mix vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add beans and onion and toss well.  Cover and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight tossing occasionally.


What I have to say- I like to cut down on sugar anyway but I figured since the beets have a natural sweetness I'd omit the sugar altogether.  Without the sugar I decided to omit the salt.  I loved it this way but if you like sweet, you'll love the original recipe too.

savory garlic marinated steaks

Here's another recipe I saw and knew I would love.  My family loved it too.

savory garlic marinated steaks (blog: What's For Dinner?) 
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 beef rib eye steaks (there's enough marinade for 4 steaks)


Combine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, oil, black pepper, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, liquid smoke and cayenne pepper.
Place steaks in a shallow, nonporous dish and pour marinade over steaks (I like to use gallon size ziplock bags for marinating).  For optimum flavor, rub the liquid into the meat.  Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
Lightly oil grill rack and preheat the grill for medium-high to high heat.  Grill steaks for 7 to 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the steak registers at least 145 degrees.

stove top spinach balls

Our family had a lot of parties and get-togethers in Hershey.  One year we had a Thanksgiving party and our friends the Kemps brought these spinach balls with a honey Dijon mustard dip.  They were soooo good!  I was walking down an aisle at the store when some Stove Top just about jumped out at me so I figured it was the perfect time to pull this recipe out again.

stove top spinach balls (my friend Amy K.)
1 package (6 ounces) Stove Top stuffing mix
1 2/3 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen spinach, thawed, well drained and patted dry
1 cup 100% grated Parmesan cheese (this time I used grated Mozzarella)
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms, optional
4 eggs

john's dijon dipping sauce
mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
honey 




Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix stuffing mix, hot water and butter in large bowl until well blended.  Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.  Shape into 60 balls, each about 1-inch in diameter (I squashed mine down a bit).  Place in a single layer in two 15x10x1-inch baking pans sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake 15-20 minutes.  Serve with dipping sauce.