Velvet Pumpkin Bread

12 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Freezer, Prep-Ahead, Freeze then Cook, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags: ,

The weather has gotten so nice and cool this week-high 70s during the day, low 60s at night-a great change from the super-humid hot weather we had for the past few weeks. So the air conditioning is off, the windows are open and it feels great-in other words the fall bug has bitten me. I was looking through some of the cookbooks that I’ve picked up for my Kindle and came across the Gooseberry Pumpkin Cookbook that I’d purchased last year- link.

This recipe made 2 gorgeous delicious loaves of super-moist, amazingly tasty pumpkin bread and they were really easy to make. Wow did my house smell amazing while they were cooking too!! I left one loaf at home and brought one to work for my co-workers to enjoy today.

(Next fall when I make this I’d like to try using greek yogurt instead of the oil. I’m not sure of the conversion amounts though-I will have to find out and put an alternate ingredient on this recipe.)

Velvet Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1&1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin (one 16 oz can)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2 9″x5″ loaf pans with non-stick baking spray.
  2. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon 3 times and set aside.  In a large bowl combine oil and sugar and mix well then blend in flour mixture. Add the eggs and pumpkin and mix well.  Pour batter into the 2 prepared pans and bake for 1 hour.

Makes 2 loaves.

Turkey Burgers with Asiago Cheese

11 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Prep-Ahead, Freeze then Cook Tags: ,

Last night I had a pound of ground turkey, a few peppers, onions and pita bread–and I always have a ton of cheese-on hand. I felt like having a burger for dinner so this was the result.  A light, tasty burger with crunchy peppers, tangy and melty Asiago cheese and a flavorful burger.  Ideally I would’ve eaten this on a hamburger roll or a portugese roll but since I had one pita bread in the fridge to use up-that’s how it ended up. These burgers would also be great topped with other cheese(s) and veggies-but I used what I had on hand.  I cooked these on my awesome Breville panini press-it makes the best crisp outside, I then topped with cheese and let the top plate hover over the cheese (not touching-but very close) to melt the cheese.

Turkey Burgers with Asiago Cheese

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 red pepper sliced very thin
  • 1 green pepper sliced very thin
  • 1/2 red onion sliced very thin
  • 1 clove garlic, minced very small
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 packet Goya Sazon seasoning
  • 5 pita breads or rolls or bread
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 slices of Asiago, or more if you’d like

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl mix the turkey and Sazon until combined. Make 5 patties. Set aside.
  2. In a medium pan over low-med heat add the oil. When hot add the peppers and cook until they start to become a bit soft. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softer but still crunchy.
  3. On a panini press or grill cook the burgers until almost to 165 internal temp. Top with cheese. When cheese is melted and burgers have reached 165 remove from heat.
  4. Warm the pita or rolls and top with the burger and pepper topping.

sparksfromthekitchen.com original

Marinara Sauce 2

10 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags:

I was over at my girlfriend Michelle’s house on Saturday night working on making these delicious appetizers and she was also making a big pot of sauce which smelled absolutely magnificent. A super delicious, easy to make sauce that is very versatile. She made it to use later in the week in baked ziti but it would also be great with spaghetti or other pasta…..

Michelle’s Magnificent Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup red wine (she used cabernet)
  • 3 28oz. cans crushed san marzano tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dried parsley-small palmful
  • dried oregano-small  handful
  • fresh oregano-1 tsp chopped small
  • fresh basil-1 handful-chopped small

Instructions:

  1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat cook onion and carrot in olive oil until soft. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours.

Sparksfromthekitchen.com original via friend 🙂

Barbacoa Beef

13 Aug 2012 3 Comments

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags:

 

You know why this is a crappy photo? Because for 4.5 hours I’d been smelling this beef cooking in the oven. Quite frankly I was in such a hurry to eat it that I didn’t care how the photo came out. I took a bite and took a picture. That should give you a clue about how awesome this smells. I have to tell you-it tastes even better.

Image

Barbacoa Beef

Ingredients: 

  • 3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 1/2 lime, juice
  • 1 chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground oregano
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 cup fat free beef broth

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 275f.
  2. Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, chipotles and cloves in a bowl and use immersion blender to liquify (or use blender or food processor).
  3. Trim all fat off of meat, cut into 4 large chunks. Place dutch oven on stove over med-high heat with 1 tsp oil and brown meat on all sides.  Add liquified spices, bay leaves and beef broth. Cook, covered, in oven 4 to 5 hours, checking every once in a while to make sure there’s enough liquid. Once cooked shred it with two forks, discard bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes to let the liquid thicken.
  4. I served mine with warm tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese and guacamole to make the tacos and Gina’s cilantro lime rice and corn salsa on the side. Perfect!!!  My husband made some awesome tacos with the rice, salsa and all of the toppings. It was delicious.

Slightly adapted from awesome Gina at SkinnyTaste

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