Hummingbird Cake

I made a most delicious cake this weekend. I had 3 bananas sitting in my freezer waiting to be used in some sort of baked treat, so I decided this cake would be the one. Oh...I left out the nuts...not a fan.

Unsalted butter, for greasing

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 ripe bananas, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1-1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting:

2 pkgs. cream cheese (8 oz. each), at room temperature

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans (I used 9-inch) and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour.

Toss together the bananas, pineapple and 1/2 cup flour in a small bowl.

Whisk the remaining 2-1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a separate bowl with a mixer on high speed until thick and light, 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the vegetable oil.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold to make a thick batter. Fold in the fruit mixture, then transfer the batter to the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50-55 minutes (45 minutes for my 9-inch pans). Cool in the pans on a rack, 25 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy, then gradually beat in the butter until combined. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about half of the frosting on top, then cover with the other cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I saw this somewhere and can't remember where, but I thought I'd give these muffins a try. They aren't the prettiest muffins I've ever seen, but they sure were tasty!

1 box spice cake mix

1-15 oz. can pumpkin

1 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat the oven to whatever it says on the cake mix box. I think mine was for 350 degrees F. Mix together the cake mix, pumpkin and cinnamon chips. Drop the mix into cupcake liners and bake for time stated on box for cupcakes. I think mine took about 21 minutes. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

Jim loves blueberry muffins and since I was in the mood to bake the other day, I decided to pick up some fresh blueberries and make muffins. I found this lovely recipe that adds sour cream to the mix and had to try it! I made a few slight changes/additions so below is what I did. Enjoy!

4 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups sour cream

2 cups blueberries, divided

For streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. cold butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Gradually add sugars while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, salt and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in 1-1/2 cups of the blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Place remaining blueberries on top of muffins and press them in slightly.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Once again I was in a baking mood, but I didn't want anything really super sweet. We had a bunch of blueberries and I came across this recipe on the Food Network and thought it was perfect. It's really good too!

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

It was Jim's turn to come up with dinner. We had already taken some Jennie-O hot Italian turkey sausages out of the freezer so that's what he had to work with. Well he found this recipe and it turned out really good! The recipe actually calls for sweet sausage and we used hot, so I would like to try this out with the sweet sausage next time. And the recipe also calls for heavy cream but Jim decided to use Half & Half instead...it worked fine.

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage - we used hot in links but we just removed the casings
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream - we used Half & Half
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce. Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

I had the urge to bake yesterday and remembered this recipe that I clipped from my Better Homes and Gardens magazine. These were really good. I didn't have wheat germ, so I just left that out and we don't really like nuts in our cookies, so I left that out too.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Stir in rolled oats, flax seed meal, wheat germ, chocolate, cranberries, and walnuts (dough will be a little crumbly).

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

Quick Barbecue Chicken

I came across this recipe in my Cooking Light magazine and it looked pretty easy so we gave it a try. It was really good!

1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (8-ounce) bone-in chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

Prepare grill. Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Loosen skin from chicken by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat; rub spice mixture evenly under skin over meat. Lightly coat skin with cooking spray. Place chicken, breast-side down, on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 165°, turning twice. Let chicken stand 10 minutes. Remove skin; discard.

Ultimate Lasagna

So yesterday was Valentine's Day and I told Jim I'd make him his favorite...lasagna. I found a few recipes online, sent them to him and this is the one he picked. It called for cinnamon, which I was a little hesitant on adding, since I had added it to a meat dish once before and it was horrible. Jim told me to keep the recipe as it was and not change anything. Well it was really good, but you could definitely taste the cinnamon. I think next time I would just leave it out. We also cut the recipe in half since the original uses a 4-inch deep 13x9 pan. I just served this with a salad and some breadsticks.

1 pound dried lasagna noodles
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sausage - I used the Jennie-O Hot Lean Italian Turkey Style Sausage and removed the casings
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1.5 carrots, chopped
1 stalks celery, chopped
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tbsp. chopped oregano leaves
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano)
1.2 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 quart ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
Grated Parmesan and mozzarella, for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly and coat with olive oil to keep them moist and easy to work with.

Coat a large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, an oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with the ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesan. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a deep 13 by 9-inch pan with olive oil. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheeses. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Jim found this recipe. We had to change things up as we went along, but the end result was SO GOOD!

4 (3/4 inch) thick pork chops
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 large Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and sliced

Combine cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag and add in pork chops. Let marinate for about 15 minutes. In a medium skillet, saute 2 small onions in butter and olive oil until really soft and tender. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt and pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. In the meantime, in another medium skillet, cook the pork chops, browning on both sides. Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan with the onions, then add in the brown sugar mixture and the apples. Cover and cook until the apples are tender. At this point I removed the onions and apples, added in about 1/2 cup of apple juice and a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Once it had thickened, I added the apple mixture back to the pan.

We served these pork chops with, you guessed it, roasted asparagus, and brown rice.

Hershey's Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Honey Cinnamon Frosting

Usually when it comes to making cakes and cupcakes I head straight for the box...so much easier that way. Well today I wanted to try and actually make cupcakes without the box! I found this recipe and it seemed easy enough. It only makes 12 cupcakes, but that's plenty for just me and Jim...I don't plan on sharing these :o) The frosting recipe I found came from Good Things Catered. I know it might sound like a strange combination, but it's fantastic! My cupcakes did deflate a little when I pulled them out of the oven, but nothing a little frosting can't hide. They're yummy!

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 tbsp. Hershey's Cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with 12 paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cocoa, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. Using a hand-held electric mixer on medium speed, beat for two minutes. Add boiling water and beat to combine (batter will be thin). Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Honey Cinnamon Frosting
Everyday Food

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

Autumn Apple Cake

So I was browsing through my first issue of Cooking Light and came across this recipe. I was so glad I had everything I needed to make this. I realize the ingredients aren't that much to ask to have on hand, but I actually had a Pink Lady apple AND golden raisins. Awesome. The best thing was that I actually wanted to bake something today, but wasn't sure what...this fit the bill. It's yummy!

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup finely chopped peeled Pink Lady apple (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts - I didn't use them since we're not really fans of nuts in our desserts
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, and dust with 1 tablespoon flour. Weigh or lightly spoon 6.75 ounces flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6.75 ounces flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer until well blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in apple and raisins. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sift powdered sugar over cake. Cut into wedges.

Ginger Pumpkin Meringue Pie

I found this in my BH&G magazine and just HAD to make it. I still had a pre-made crust in my freezer so I used that instead of making the gingersnap-graham crust. It was still really good though!

1 pre-made crust or 1 gingersnap-graham crust, below
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Recipe Brown Sugar Meringue, below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare Gingersnap-Graham Crust; bake 4 minutes. Cool on wire rack. For filling, in bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, ginger, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs.; lightly beat with fork to combine. Gradually stir in milk and maple syrup. Pour filling into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Uncover edges. Reduce oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully spread Brown Sugar Meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Loosely cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Gingersnap-Graham Crust:In large bowl combine 3/4 cup finely crushed gingersnaps (12 cookies), 1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers (7 squares), and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter. Spread evenly on bottom and up the sides of 9-inch pie plate.

Brown Sugar Meringue:In large mixing bowl let 3 egg whites stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Beat on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until mixture forms stiff peaks (tips stand straight).

This isn't the greatest picture, but you get the idea. And it was strange...it seems like the brown sugar sort of beaded up on top of the meringue once it cooled.