Banana Cake with Orange Icing Serves: 25 approx

1 lb. approx . . . → Read More: Summertime Banana Cake with Orange Icing Recipe]]>

While we tend to make these and eat them anytime of year, they are the perfect summertime treat or dessert. My children love these and after you have made them you can freeze them. An easy dessert to pull out in time for unexpected company or extra kids.

Banana Cake with Orange Icing
Serves: 25 approx

1 lb. approx margarine or butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

6 eggs

2 cups (5 large) overripe bananas, mashed

4 cups flour

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Icing:

3 1/3 cups icing sugar

2 1/4 tsp margarine or butter, softened

1/3 cup orange juice

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease two large square cake tins and line with baking paper. Beat the margarine and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mxing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Stir in half of the flour, then half of the mashed bananas. Repeat with remaining halves. Pour the mixture into prepared tins. Bake for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time. Cake is baked when skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in tin for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. When cold, spread with icing.

To Make the Icing:

Melt the margarine in the microwave. Add icing sugar, using the orange juice to form a slightly runny paste. Pour over cold cakes, letting the icing run down sides. Decorate with chopped nuts if desired.

Tip - Can be cut into individual servings after they’ve been iced and can be frozen. Reheat in microwave. The icing kind of melts to form a glaze not dissimilar to a microwave pudding!

Frozen Cherry Salad

1 can pitted dark . . . → Read More: Frozen Cherry Salad Recipe]]>

Another delicious summertime recipe. This tastes great at a BBQ and is one of my most often requested dishes for such. The kids love it, adults love it and it goes fairly quickly. Make several batches at a time in a freezer cooking session and you’ll always have one on hand.

Frozen Cherry Salad

1 can pitted dark cherries

1 sm. can crushed pineapple

2 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

1 carton sour cream

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 c. black walnuts

Drain fruits; bring juice to boil. Beat in cream cheese until it has dissolved. Add the other ingredients. Freeze; cut and serve.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home. Photo by Taste of Home.

Pumpkin Custard Recipe

2 c. . . . → Read More: Pumpkin Custard Recipe]]>

It’s no secret that I am terribly excited that the Autumn months are full upon us, because it just means more pumpkin recipes which come only second in nature for me to gingerbread recipes. This amazing pumpkin custard recipe is actually pretty simple to make and tastes great on a cool fall evening.

Pumpkin Custard Recipe

2 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. soft bread crumbs
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c. sweet milk
1 c. sugar
3 Tbs. melted butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. orange extract
2 Tbs. sugar

In a large bowl combine canned pumpkin and soft bread crumbs. Add the egg yolks (reserve the egg whites). Mix well. Add the sweet milk and sugar and mix well. Add the butter, salt and orange extract and mix well. Pour into an oven proof baking dish. You can also pour into individual little custard cups. Bake at 325 degrees until the mixture thickens and browns. Then, beat the egg whites until stiff. Stir in 2 Tbs. of sugar. Spread on top of the custard. Place under your oven broiler until golden brown. Delicious!!

We made this recipe up ourselves one evening in the kitchen when we had a can of pumpkin and we were making our french toast casserole recipe. We decided for a fall treat, it would be nice to make it pumpkin pie french toast and so this recipe was born. I’ve tried it a couple of . . . → Read More: Pumpkin French Toast Casserole Recipe]]>

We made this recipe up ourselves one evening in the kitchen when we had a can of pumpkin and we were making our french toast casserole recipe. We decided for a fall treat, it would be nice to make it pumpkin pie french toast and so this recipe was born. I’ve tried it a couple of different ways since we first made it, but this is the easiest and tastiest way to make it. This makes one casserole, but we double it to make two. (remember I’m feeding three teenagers and two preteens)

Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

1/2 C Butter

12 slices White Bread

1/2 C Brown Sugar

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 – 1/2 c.  pumpkin

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

5 eggs

1 1/2 c Milk

Melt the margarine and pour into a 9×13 pan. Mix the brown sugar and the pumpkin spice seasoning. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk & vanilla together.
Spread a thin layer of pumpkin (as if you were buttering a piece of bread) on six of the slices of bread. Layer the bottom of the 9×13 pan with all six pieces. Next, sprinkle half of the brown sugar and pumpkin spice mixture over the top of the pumpkin that is spread on the bread. Spread a thin layer of the pumpkin over the next six pieces of bread the same way. Pour the egg mixture over the top of all of it and then sprinkle the remaining brown sugar/pumpkin spice mixture over the top.

Cover & refrigerate overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Honestly, the longer the better. In the morning, cover the dish with tinfoil and bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover the dish and bake an additional 15 more minutes. It should be golden and set.

Remove from oven and serve hot. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar if you want. This can also be served with syrup, butter, whipped cream or just eaten plain. It is delicious!

P.S. We are going to try it with some other “flavors” and I will let you know what we come up with, that actually works and tastes good.

I’m thankful my whole family loves . . . → Read More: Moist Pumpkin Bread Recipe – Oven Baked]]>

One of my favorite parts of Fall, is the sweet smell of pumpkin. I love making all kinds of pumpkin recipes and treats – cupcakes, muffins, pancakes and bread. I would say that I probably bake a batch of something pumpkin related at least twice a week during the fall months.

I’m thankful my whole family loves it, which makes that the first reason why its easy to make pumpkin recipes so often. Second the sweet aroma that fills the house is absolutely wonderful and always makes me think of cool, crisp days and warm nights.

I have so many different recipes for pumpkin bread and pumpkin treats of all kinds, which I will try to share in the coming weeks.

Moist Pumpkin Bread

3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 15oz can of pumpkin
3 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground pumpkin spice or all spice
1/2 c. water

In a big bowl, combine the sugar, oil and lightly beaten eggs. Add the can of pumpkin and mix well. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, cloves and pumpkin spice (or all-spice).

Once blended well, slowly begin mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients alternating between the dry ingredients and that water, beating well after each addition.

Pour into two regular sized greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from loaf pan. Allow to cool on wire rack.

Sooo good! Your house will smell incredible and try some melted butter on a warm slice! Heavenly!

Make more than you need and share them with family, friends and neighbors too. How cute are . . . → Read More: Halloween Ghost Cupcakes]]>

It’s not too late to have a little pre-Halloween fun. Nor is it too late to make these adorable ghost cupcakes for a party, get-together or just as a fun treat for those special trick or treater’s in your life.

Make more than you need and share them with family, friends and neighbors too. How cute are these?

You can find the recipe and the directions for assembling the cupcakes here @Taste of Home.

They are the perfect treat for any weather, but they certainly spice up a nice chilly day beautifully.

They are absolutely delicious – moist, sweet and spicy all . . . → Read More: Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe]]>

I cannot even begin to tell you how awesome my house smelled for hours last weekend when I pulled these little gems out of the  oven to cool. Absolutely heavenly.

They are the perfect treat for any weather, but they certainly spice up a nice chilly day beautifully.

They are absolutely delicious – moist, sweet and spicy all at the same time, everything you would want from a pumpkin cupcake. If you enjoy pumpkin bread, there is just no way you cannot help but love this recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella .

Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. pumpkin puree (this about 1 15oz can)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Insert cupcake liners into your muffin or cupcake pan.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and the sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add the eggs to the creamed mixture only one at a time. Mix well after each egg. Beat well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Once blended, begin adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time. Alternate with the milk, stirring after each addition. Mix until completely integrated.

Add the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Eat and enjoy. You can eat them alone or you can frost them with frosting. Cream cheese frosting goes VERY well with these cupcakes. We made a pumpkin frosting for ours. If you feel like it, you can do that too!