Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

It's just another Manic Monday...

No, not really. It's an absolutely peaceful Monday morning around here. The hubby worked the night shift last night and as such, is tranquilly snoring in the bedroom. Miraculously, the dogs let me sleep until the hubby got home, so I didn't even have to drag my sleepy butt out of bed, into my winter coat, and out into the harsh, biting morning air. It's a rare day when I rise from bed to simply grab a cup of coffee and sit down to watch the news. Yes indeed, it's a blissfully slow morning around these parts.

Now, I know Thanksgiving is over and some people have packed the pumpkin away until next year. I am not one of those people. December is still a pumpkin month for me. As a child, there never failed to be a pumpkin pie at Christmas. And pumpkin pie is my favorite. Therefore, I still love that big, round, orange squash all through the Christmas season. One of my favorite pairings in the world is pumpkin and chocolate. When I was in high school, my mom started making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and I became addicted. It was always a good day when I came home from school to find the house smelling like chocolate and pumpkin. They are a perfect match. If it's good in a cookie, why wouldn't it be good in a quick bread?

You want to hear something funny? I didn't really like quick breads when I was growing up. I wasn't especially fond of banana or zucchini bread. I think for me, it's in the name. Anything with "banana" or "zucchini" in the title couldn't really be dessert, could it? I can still hear the word "healthy" rattling around my teenage brain whenever I came face to face with zucchini bread. 

That being said, this bread is not particularly healthy. Due to the sheer amount of pumpkin, I'm sure there is plenty of fiber in the bread. However, there is quite a bit of chocolate to offset that fiber. And plenty of spicy cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to make the bread taste like spice cake. It's the perfect bread for curling up with a blanket on the couch on a cold winter's day.

Something exciting happened over the weekend. And it has to do with these pictures. Some of these photos were taken in natural light, but I wasn't entirely happy with all the photos I'd chosen for this post. So, on Saturday night after the hubby left for work, I got out my photography light. This happens periodically as I'm still learning how to use it. It's been a mostly frustrating process, but any process where you are learning as you go can be infuriating. Something clicked on Saturday though. I was fresh off reading a Pinch of Yum's post about using artificial light in food photography, and I was bound and determined to get good results. And...

I did!

Most of these photos were taken in artificial light! This is a first for me, and I'm so darn excited. This opens up so many possibilities for me. It's true, I've had the light for quite a while. Due to my inexperience with it, I haven't considered it a weapon in my arsenal until now. I've now opened up hours and hours of usable photography time thanks to conquering that technique. And I'm thrilled. Ecstatic. On Cloud 9, if you will. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend, probably working on Christmas shopping. I know whenever I left the house this weekend, there were wall-to-wall people everywhere. Tis' the holiday season! :)

Have a great day everyone!

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf):

1 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly coat a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour though salt. Whisk to combine.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine pumpkin puree through almond milk. Whisk thoroughly to combine, until there are no lumps. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, folding until just barely mixed. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50 min to 70 min. If top of loaf gets too brown, cover with aluminum foil. I covered mine at 45 minutes and let it cook for 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes. Turn bread out, and allow to cool completely before storage. Store in an airtight container.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Mini Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaves

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread

Oatmeal Raisin Quick Bread

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday

25 Winter Soup Recipes

Hap, hap, happy Friday folks!

I know, I know, I told you I was either bringing you a pumpkin recipe or DIY gift idea today. Well, guess what? I lied! Both posts need more work, so I'm here with another round-up. I think I'm going to be doing round-up's once a month from now on, they have been going over really well. People seem to like them, and I'm going to keep giving the people what they want. And as we march further and further into winter, soup becomes a very popular menu item. I can't count how many times the hubby has come home from a very cold day, and been utterly delighted to find cozy soup and crusty french bread for dinner. Indeed, I think we have soup and bread at least once a week in the winter. I end up making tons of soups to freeze, and then I pretty much just pull a meal from the freezer once a week. I love it. 

Soup is one of those things that pretty much anyone can make. You don't need to be a gourmet chef. It doesn't take much technique. In fact, I've found almost every soup has a similar preparation process. For most soups, you heat a little bit of oil or butter to sauté your mirepoix. Mirepoix is French for "onions, carrots, and celery". Not every soup has that exact combination, but almost every soup starts out by sautéing some vegetables. It could be onions and peppers. Onions, carrots, celery, and shallot. Garlic. You name it. After sautéing the mirepoix, it seems everything else goes. Except if it's dairy based. I'm talking wine, broth, vegetables that aren't as hard as onions and carrots, beans, meat, spices. After you throw everything else in, you simmer for any given amount of time. Next would come the aforementioned dairy, if you are making a creamy soup. And last, but certainly not least, you would throw in any fresh parsley, basil, or cilantro you would be using. Again, if any. It's really pretty simple. Never fear the soup recipe, my friends. 

Another benefit of soup--It can be prepared early, or even a day in advance. Soup always seems to come together the day after it's made to make extraordinary flavors. 

One more thing before I go... Most of you know I link my weekly recipes at the end of the week to several different "linky" parties. All in the hopes of driving traffic. I have a near-constant goal of getting featured on said parties, and sometimes, I reach my goal. Today is one of those days! My General Tso's Chicken was the most viewed recipe of the week over on The Country Cook's Weekly Potluck! This is huge honor, as the last time this happened (for my Pecan Pie Cake) I ended up with a ton of new readers, followers on Pinterest, and FaceBook likes. For the smallest of small blogs, this is  super-exciting and keeps me in a tizzy all weekend. I'll have a smile on my face for the next couple of days for sure! :)

There you have it folks. I'll leave you with 25 scrumptious soup recipes to try. Have a great weekend!

1. Roasted Fennel, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup

2. Winter Minestrone

3. Vegetable Beef

4. Creamy Broccoli and Cheese Soup

5. Creamy Chicken, White Bean, and Green Chile Soup

6. Semi-Homemade Chicken and Dumplins'

7. Chickpea Minestrone

8. Caprese Soup

9. Chicken Soup with Egg Noodles

10. New England Clam Chowder

11. Chicken Soup with Shells and Kale

12. Chicken Taco Soup

13. Eggplant and Orzo Casserole Soup

14. Loaded Baked Potato Soup

15. Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage and Kale

16. Oktoberfest Stew

17. Pasta Fagoli

18. Skinny Potato Soup

19. Roasted Cauliflower Soup

20. Smoky Black Bean Soup

21. Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

22. Spanish Rice Soup

23. Turkey Pumpkin Chili

24. Tortilla Soup

25. White Bean and Spinach Soup

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday

Christmas Pirouettes

This is not a recipe.

Well, it kind of is. It's more of a Christmas craft, I'd say. Here's why:

I keep a couple of different sized glass jars on my island counter in the kitchen. Most of the year they have fruit in them. However, at Christmas time, I fill them with candy, christmas ornaments, and in general, red and green decor. In one of the glass jars last year, I put these Christmas decorated pretzel sticks-

I bought these decorated pretzel rods at the craft store last year. My favorite part of those sticks was that they were individually wrapped. Not so good for the environment, but definitely good for whoever wanted to stick a grubby hand in the jar for a treat. I really wanted to do the same thing this year, but they were no where to be found. I was disappointed. My first thought was to fill my jar with Christmas M&M's or other Christmas candy. Luckily, I had my problem-solving hubby with me while I was at the store. He suggested buying what he called "those long, thin wafer cookies" and decorating those. I had no idea what he meant by "long, thin wafer cookies" when he said it, but I immediately recognized the cookie upon seeing it on the shelf. All I would have to do is buy some vanilla melting candy and sprinkles. I loved this idea way more than Christmas M&M's, so I went for it. 

Not only did they turn out super-cute, but these are way more tasty than the pretzel sticks I bought last year. And they are super-easy to make. After melting the vanilla candy, simply dip one half of the pirouette in the candy, place on a piece of parchment paper (this is an important step!), and sprinkle at will.

A jar of these would make a very pretty hostess gift this holiday season. Or maybe a gift for a foodie, or for kids. All I know is, these are not going to make it the whole month that I keep Christmas decorations out :)

These are only the first of Christmas sweets to come. Next week I start baking, and then you all will be inundated with cookie goodness. I can't wait! I have yet to perfect my pie crust and pies, so you can expect pie postings soon as well. It's going to be a very sweet month on the blog, so you can expect to discover a January full of salads, fruit, and vegetables. As for tomorrow, it's still a toss up between another pumpkin recipe or a jarred foodie gift. I guess you'll have to tune in tomorrow to see what I pick :)

Happy Thursday!

Ingredients (makes 22-24 pirouette's):

1 (13.5 oz) tin of Pepperidge Farms Pirouette cookies

1 (16 oz) package of vanilla melting candy

Christmas sprinkles

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove cookies from tin, place on an empty plate.

2. Melt candy according to package directions.

3. Dip one end of cookie into melted candy. Let excess drip off, then place cookie on parchment paper. You can dip about 4 cookies before you need to put sprinkles on the cookies. If you wait too long, however, the candy will dry and the sprinkles won't stick. So sprinkle while the candy is still wet. 

4. Allow cookies to set for about 30 minutes before removing from parchment paper. Store in an airtight container. 

Printable Recipe

If you like this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Iced Sugar Cookies

Christmas Crunch Popcorn

Dipped S'mores

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

Oh, heyyyyy!

My, my, this week has gotten away from me. Isn't that how it always is during the holiday season? Between family time and the extra time required for running errands due to sheer mass of people out and about this time of year, I haven't found the time to blog. The hubby and I spent all weekend with family, while I spent no quality time with my camera. Or creativity, for that matter. Eh, it happens. I feel like I've been recovering from the weekend all week. This also happens occasionally :)

Let's talk chili. While my absolute favorite chili is my Dad's, this doesn't mean I shun all other chilies (chilis? chili's?). I like tomato-based chili, white chili, chicken chili, quinoa chili, turkey chili, etc. Well, go ahead and add Turkey Pumpkin Chili to the list. 

This is a really healthy chili, filled with vegetables and good-for-you fiber. The chili is thickened by 2 cups of pumpkin puree. I know a lot of Americans only think of pumpkin in terms of pie crust, condensed milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg... you know, dessert-y.  But pumpkin is really a vegetable, and in the squash family. It has a very mild flavor that doesn't take over the chili so you'd never know your eating a bowl full of pumpkin, veggies, and beans. The hubby gave me an awfully strange look when I first told him I was making this, as he too shares the American mentality of pumpkin as dessert. He came around at first bite, though.

By the way, here's a great article on why you should eat more pumpkin :)

I can't believe it's December already! Seriously, I feel like I was just making Christmas cookies and now I'm about to make another round. The hubby and I hit up the craft store yesterday to pick up some Christmas items. As relatively new homeowners, our strategy has to been to take small steps each year in the decoration department. So, we went a picked up a few more Christmas decorations to add to our collection this year. I also picked up my cookie tins and treat bags that family and friends will be receiving soon.

The hubby and I realized another "first" this year. It's our first year of putting up Christmas lights! We were oh-so excited about this one as we realized, in 8 years together, we've never put up Christmas lights. Well, done and done. Not only did we put up lights, we put red bows on the porch and even bought a wreath. We are 100% in the Christmas spirit this year!

Don't worry, I'll post some pictures soon!

Now, go forth and make this chili. It's perfect for the cold, miserable weather we've all been having lately. Especially if you have to go out in said cold :)

Happy Wednesday!

Ingredients (serves 6):

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup darker beer (I used an IPA)

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 (15.5 oz) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, minced red onion, chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. When warm, add ground turkey. Sauté, stirring to crumble, for 2-3 minutes, or until turkey is no longer pink. Add onion and red pepper. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add garlic to the pot, and sauté for 30 seconds. 

2. Add tomatoes through pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, stir in beans, and lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. 

3. Ladle into bowls, and serve with desired toppings. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from All You. 

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

My Dad's Famous Chili

Creamy Chicken, White Bean, and Green Chile Soup

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party