Pumpkin Banana Bread

Colleen's take: "I have altered this recipe into my own version, it's a complete hit in my house, my husband always wants it around so that he can eat it for breakfast every day! It's perfect for this Pumpkin filled October, the spice cake adds so much flavor and the moisture comes solely from the banana and pumpkin (no oil or eggs here), the added chocolate and nuts add the perfect crunch!" 

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• box of Spice cake mix
• can of pumpkin puree 
• 1 cup of chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup nuts (we use pecans & walnuts)  

Directions:

In a stand mixer blend together bananas, puree and cake mix. After all the ingredients are mixed together stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Line a cake sheet pan with wax paper and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. Refrigerate the leftovers if you aren't going to eat them within the first few days.

Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake {Annah}

This is amazing!!! It is fall in every bite, making it the perfect October breakfast! It is not hard to make however you will end up using a few utensils and bowls. Overall I think this recipe was worth the time. 

I will say that my cake took longer to cook then it was listed. It was done on the sides and still not cooked in the middle. The only problem with this is the sides are a little dry/over cooked, and the middle is moist and tasty.

Give this a try to get your pumpkin fix this week!

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces 

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

Directions:

Make topping: In a bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add butter and combine with fingertips until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate while making batter.

Make cake: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla and both sugars until well mixed. Whisk in eggs. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Pour batter into cake pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool in pan on a wire rack at least 20 minutes.

Original recipe from: Myrecipes.com

Pumpkin Cream Cheese {Annah}

Well this might not have tasted good because of me. I was heavy handed with the cloves. This cream cheese is more savory then sweet. I like a sweet cream cheese, and this did not do it for me. Which of course means it is healthy for me = don't like as much. I tried to sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, and that still did not make it taste great to me. This was a failed pumpkin recipe.

Ingredients: 

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whip it up till smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use!
Try not to eat it straight out of the bowl with a spoon while your bagel is toasting.

Original recipe from : Budget Bytes

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes {Annah}

 The cool winds have blown in and it feels like fall here. I don't think the weather could be any nicer. If only I had a fire pit to enjoy these chilly evenings. What is next best thing. Pumpkin anything! This is the first of at least 3 pumpkin recipes, but expect many more!
  These pancakes had a really good flavor. I thought that the pumpkin taste was a little hidden with all the spices. However, Tyler thought that they had a very strong pumpkin flavor. I definitely recommend putting the cinnamon sugar on top, it gave it a wonderful flavor. I have never thought to do this before, I have only seen it with powdered sugar. If you are in the mood for a fall recipe and like pumpkin make these this weekend for your family, what a treat!

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
1 cup milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or melted butter

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and spices and stir with a fork to combine.  Mix together the milk, pumpkin puree, egg and oil or butter in a liquid measuring cup.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together just until combine.  (The batter may still have a few lumps – that is okay.)
Preheat the oven to 200° F.  Have an oven safe plate or serving dish ready.  Heat a greased skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Once the skillet is hot, add a 1/3 cup scoop of batter to the pan.  Let cool until bubbles begin to form on the top surface.  Carefully flip with a spatula and cook the second side until golden brown, a couple minutes more.  Transfer the cooked pancake to the oven safe dish, and place in the oven to keep warm.  Repeat with the rest of the batter until it has all been cooked, regreasing the pan as needed.  Serve with cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, and/or whipped cream.

Original recipe from Annie's Eats 
Source: adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Martha Stewart

Costa Rican Breakfast {Annah}

    Hello Blog Friends! Sorry I have been absent, I was on vacation to Costa Rica last week. Tyler and I went to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. Until I get my butt in gear and start writing post I will leave you with photos of food we had on our trip. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and had 4 mornings of deliciously prepared meals.

Costa Rican coffee with milk already added.

Pancake with fresh slice of pineapple, watermelon, and papaya.

Fresh fruit served before our eggs.

Oops, I started eating before a photo was taken. Fried egg with toast and guava marmalade , tomato, and queso.

Toast with butter and marmalade, and an omelet with cheese, tomato, onion, and red pepper. Tyler had ham in his

Finally a true Costa Rican breakfast! Toast, fried eggs, rice and beans, tomato, and queso.

Blueberry Pancakes {Annah}

I Love breakfast for dinner. I got two pounds of blueberries for free Woo Hoo, and I knew exactly what I was going to make with them, blueberry pancakes. I will admit I usually use a Bisquick mix or pancake mix when I make regular pancakes. There is no better time then today to make from scratch blueberry pancakes! 

We both really enjoyed these pancakes, the flavor was delicious. As you know from past post I am particular about textures of food. The flavor of these pancakes were spot on, but the texture was a little off. I enjoy soft fluffy cakes and these were a little more chewy/dense. Tyler thought I was crazy and thought that they were great the way they were. I guess I am a little bit of a pancake snob because I grew up with my dad making pancakes that were always delicious and fluffy.

If you have a large amount of blueberries I highly recommend making these.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed

Preparation:

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; add milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth and stir in blueberries. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake on hot greased griddle.
Makes 12 pancakes.

Spiced French Toast- Rachael Ray

Annah's Take: "This Recipe is out of the April issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. I really enjoyed this recipe it is a fancier take on your usual french toast. There are a couple more spices in this version then french toast I generally make, but I enjoyed the stronger spice flavor. What really made this recipe stand out though is the bread. Challah or brioche bread is very sweet and delicious all on it's own, and it stands up even after being soaked in the egg mixture. This called for the french toast to be drizzled with honey, I tried it and didn't love it. I put syrup on it and it was much better. All in all I will be making this again and I would love to serve this for company that is staying with us."

Spiced French Toast

Serves 2

Ingredients4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt
4 thick slices brioche
2 tablespoons butter
honey, for serving

DirectionsWhisk eggs, milk, vanilla, spices and salt. In a shallow dish, soak bread on both sides in egg mixture. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook bread until golden on both sides, 5 minutes. Drizzle with honey.