Recipe: Pumpkin Bread

It is mid-October and pumpkin food is everywhere you turn. A friend made the comment that she was making pumpkin bread and from the moment I heard her say that I have been craving pumpkin bread. I've never made it so I searched around on my cell one day on my lunch break (well I don't get breaks so I searched while eating and teaching, bad confession!) and decided I'd make time to bake today. I am a busy lady, so busy that I felt the need to multi-task while attempting to bake and totally screwed up the recipe. It is baking now, smells so amazingly yummy, but it certainly is not what I set off making. I hope it tastes good otherwise I wasted all the ingredients and time on nothing! Lesson learned: take time to relax! If you can't even follow a recipe for bread you are doing too much and need to carve time for the simple things in life!

*Update: Dear Lord that bread was simply amazing!! I will make it the wrong way every single time I bake it! It is so moist and has a very subtle pumpkin flavor. Alex begged for pumpkin bread each morning for breakfast. A slice of this tasty bread with a cup of greek yogurt and a banana has been his breakfast of choice all week! We cleared the entire loaf and I need to make more tonight if I can muster up the energy!

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel (I omitted this)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or homemade

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Since you are making this my "messed up way" just mix it all together!! Seriously, I mixed the cream cheese, one egg, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour together until it was really creamy and set it aside. Then I sifted together the rest of the ingredients into a bowl. If you want to follow the “Melissa Way” just dump the pumpkin mixture into the cream cheese mixture and make sure you blend it together well. Then place it all inside a lightly greased loaf pan and bake on 350 degree for a very long time...this is where I wondered what the hell I did as the bread wasn't baked in the 45 minutes I had written down. I bet this bread cooked for a good 90 minutes! Keep checking on it to make sure it isn’t burning. This pumpkin bread is seriously addicting! Enjoy!

I'm always looking to make recipes healthier. I plan on making this bread this week, but I will sub local honey for the sugar, all natural applesauce for the vegetable oil and I'll do a "half and half" mixture of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. If I make the bread I'll update with results. 

It's Fall Y'All!

Autumn is officially here!! I have such a love/hate relationship with this season. I hate the fact that my beloved summer days are long gone. No more flip flops or lazy days in the pool or hot summer nights with a cool drink in hand. No more summer vacation...booooooo! I hate seeing the dark come earlier and earlier each evening (the boys like to play outside and this cut into play time!). I hate this season because it bring on asthma flair-ups, colds, viruses and the flu. I loath super cold temperatures and icy weather. Most of all, I hate this season because it is when I lost my father to cancer.

Despite all of my dislikes, I truly love this season for so many reasons. I love the absolute beauty of the rich colors around me. The trees turning bright hues of blazing orange, fire red and hazy yellow can bring a smile to my face. I love walking through crunchy fallen leaves. The boys love making piles of leaves and jumping in them. Apple picking and pumpkin picking at the local farms are always a family hit (we visit several farms during the season because I am so in love with farms!). I don't know about you, but sitting around a warm bonfire with a cold beer in my gloved hand is a favorite past time of mine. And pumpkin, let's not forget how many wonderful pumpkin items you can indulge in this time of the year! Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin beer......YUM! Of course we always celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving, with Thanksgiving being one of my favorites. My birthday is on Thanksgiving this year! I don't want to get another year older, but I sure do like a whole day to indulge! I love Thanksgiving because it is a time to truly reflect on just how very blessed we are. The smells of autumn are some of the best around: apple crisp, cinnamon, burning leaves, frosty air, vanilla. When it is just too cold outside for a bonfire we light up the fireplace and snuggle in warm blankets and jammies. While I love my flip flop I also love slipping into my boots (Although this year I am not going to wear my heeled boots due to my broken foot. Guess I need to shop for some flats!). Knowing that my father is gone rips my heart in two, but this season also brings me some quiet times to stop, remember and reflect and for these moments I am grateful for the season that makes me slow down and think.

Here is to another season of natural beauty. Enjoy what the Earth gives us!

Around Town

Believe it or not, my summer is quickly coming to an end. Next week is my last full week of summer vacation, then it is back to school meetings on August 2nd. This summer went by too damn fast for me!! I want to rewind to June and replay my summer in slow motion!

As much as I hate to admit that my summer is slipping away, I cannot help but think about what lies ahead  (it is the teacher in me!). Before we know it, the boys and I will start back to school and our lives will fall into that mundane Monday-Friday schedule. I decided to create family fun weekends around town in an effort to not only break up the busy work/school week, but to also make awesome family memories with the boys.

We are very lucky to live in such a great state. Missouri has so much to see and to explore and many of the attractions are free or low cost. With the boys older, we can drive father distances and they can engage in a lot more than in years past. I cannot wait to start our little "go and see it" activities! So far I have planned:

1. Big Cedar Lodge: We've never been here before, but I seriously cannot wait to get here! There is everything from horseback riding to hiking to campfires to fishing to stargazing. Even if they didn't have a single event available, the pictures alone of this place would have sold me! Several friends have stayed here and said it was worth every penny spent.

2. Elephant Rock State Park: Elephant Rock is part of the Missouri State Parks. I remember going here with my parents when I was a little girl; my brother and I had great fun climbing over and in between these giant boulders. There are trails and hiking, something the boys really enjoy. I want to go here when the leaves are at their peak colors so we can capture some great pictures.

3. Lambert's Cafe: I really want to go here, but I need to call and check about food allergies first. Fingers crossed that we will be able to eat here! This is the famous "home of the throwed rolls" restaurant. Bryan has been here with his family many years ago and would love to return. The menu is a very southern style menu offering massive amounts of food such as fried chicken, BBQ ribs, country ham, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, fried okra and black eyed peas. And of course, throwed rolls!

4. Endangered Wolf Center: Alex is obsessed with wolves and coyotes. I happily discovered the Endangered Wolf Center offers an evening event called "Campfire Wolf Howl". During this time visitors walk 1/2 mile around the center and try to get the wolves to howl back plus you get to hear stories around a campfire. Alex is going to LOVE this, I cannot wait to take him!

5. Apple & Pumpkin Picking: We always visit several farms such as Centennial Farms, Eckert's Stuckmeyer's Farm and Thies Farm. I cannot get enough of the autumn activities so I try to visit as many of these local farms as possible!

6. Haunted Hayride: Eckert's offers a kid friendly haunted hayride on Friday and Saturday nights from mid-September through Halloween. The boys love Halloween so I think they will really like this event.

7. Camping: We try to go camping each year. I am not into camping, in fact I usually only last about 16-20 hours, but I am trying! I like camping at Klondike Park in Augusta because it is close to home so if we need to return it is a quick drive down 94. I love the little trails in Klondikes, we always have great fun exploring. I hope I make it to the 24 hour mark this year!

8. Haunted Alton: OK, this is one a kid-free event! There is a local author named Troy Taylor who has written several books on the history of cities and states. I've read a few of his books and I just love them. I am a history nerd so these books are right up my alley. In addition to history, Troy talks about the local legends of ghosts and hauntings. He offers ghost tours in Alton, IL and I want to go this year! I went on a haunted tour two years ago with some work friends and we had a blast! This time I want to try Troy's tour with a big group of our friends. There is nothing better than starting off the Halloween season with spooks and scares!

I am still working on finding some more fun things to do on our weekends. Luckily Brennan is not playing fall ball so we are not committed to any games or leagues this year. While I never want to wish my summers away, I cannot help but feel a bit excited for what lies ahead of us!!