Pumpkin Cake

Happy Birthday, Beth! 

I didn't get around to taking a picture of this, which is a little sad, consider how much I know you all love the food photos, but it was just gobbled up too quickly! Instead you can look at this really cool superhero cake that Krissa's friend made for her baby shower: 

(it's relevant, right? cake?) ...

(pretty cool, huh?)

(if you think THIS is cool, you should see baby Aiden's nursery!)

(you can catch a glimpse of the theme in my present to them over at my ~Words~ blog)

... anyways, back to THIS cake!

I adapted the recipe from allrecipes.com - it was the perfect amount of sweet and spice (not too much of either!)

Ingredients:

2 c. white sugar

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 c. pumpkin puree

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 c. all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices, and set aside.  In a separate bowl, beat together sugar, oil, and applesauce until smooth. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla, then beat in eggs, one at a time.  Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until combined.  (I just kept the Kitchenaid running on medium speed while I added each step).  

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting.  Delicious!

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Apple-Stuffed Pork Chops

I forgot to take a picture of this simple and delicious dinner, but this is kinda what it looked like:

We served this with asparagus and mashed potatoes: quick and hearty! Thanks to Matt for the recipe!

Ingredients:

4-6 thick-cut pork chops, sliced in half (I didn't cut through so that I would have a pocket)

1 small onion, diced

1 medium apple, peel and diced

2 cloves of garlic

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Saute the garlic in oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add in the onion and apple and saute until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.  

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.  Fill the chops with the onion-apple mixture (I used a spoon, which worked great).  Sear the chops, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer the pan to the preheated oven, and let cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pork is no longer pink.  

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Test Kitchen Pumpkin Bread

In my personal, unprofessional opinion, this bread had the best texture... so moist and dense! The crust was perfect, though this loaf may have had more dough than most people like (I credit that to my finicky oven).  I made two loaves, one plain and one with chocolate chips for the hubby.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 (15-oz) can pumpkin (make sure its unsweetened, NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 c. white sugar

1 stick (8 Tbs) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. pecans/walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (I omitted these in one loaf, replaced the with chocolate in the other)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prep a 9 by 5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger together in a large bowl.  Whisk the pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a separate bowl until frothy.

Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Fold in the nuts (if using).  The batter will be very thick.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.  Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes.  

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

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Obsession

I have an obsession with cinnamon rolls.

Sweet dough, slightly undercooked.
Brown sugar and cinnamon.
Butter. Lots of butter.
Cream cheese frosting.

Who wouldn't be obsessed?

Granted, I think I can blame the obsession on my husband who's answer to "What do you want for breakfast" is always... you guessed it, "Cinnamon Rolls".  Every holiday, birthday, special day is celebrated with cinnamon roll indulgence.

If you don't believe that I'm obsessed, just look at how many recipes I've posted for cinnamon rolls:
Grandma Johnson's
Test Kitchen
Apple Dumpling Version
Mary's
Pioneer Woman's

I've also made cappuccino cinnamon rolls, but can't seem to find the recipe on the blog. There's one to post!

All that to say, I've found a new recipe to try... it combines cinnamon rolls with my other fall obsession: pumpkin.  It donned on me yesterday that it's mid-November, Halloween has passed, and I have yet to make ANY pumpkin recipes!  That changed quickly; 4 cans of pumpkin puree later, and plans to make my own in the near future, there are 2 loaves of pumpkin bread filling my house with its spicy aroma.  Pumpkin scones are next on the agenda, then these:

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  Welcome, autumn flavors!!

Check out this recipe and let me know if you try it!

http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/09/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html

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