Pumpkin Bread

My friend shared this bread with me when my grandmother passed away.  I borrowed her cookbook Treasury of Christmas Recipes, and copied the recipe, keeping her addition of the chocolate chunks.

1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, chocolate at end; beat until well mixed.  Pour into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.  Bake in preheated 350* oven 45-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.  Loosen edges; remove from pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Beer Bread

A cousin shared a recipe link on fb, and since I have some beer not being consumed in the fridge (I was hoping to make more beer-can chicken), I thought it seemed like a winning idea.  The link that was shared called for self-rising flour, but it said it was adapted from another page, which only called for all-purpose flour.  But the same amounts of baking powder and salt!!  So I followed my baking instincts.  Thankfully, those instincts were right, because while it was baking I found the original fb post and the commenters agreed with me.  If you're using self-rising flour, you should be able to skip adding the baking powder and salt.  The 12 tomatoes site calls for 1/3 cup brown sugar, but I went with the recipe they adapted from since I was using Honey Brown beer.  There isn't a beer taste to the bread, it tastes like a lovely rustic loaf without the kneading and rising.  In just over an hour (mostly baking time) - you too can have a loaf of homemade bread!

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
12 oz beer (whatever you have or your favorite)

Preheat the oven to 375* and lightly grease a loaf pan (about 9x5)
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
Slowly pour in beer and mix with a wooden spoon.
(Optional, fold in flax or chia seeds at this point, recipe didn't specify, I didn't).
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick (or skewer) inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Southern Style Smothered Pork Chops

I had picked up a big package of boneless pork chops a couple of months ago and put the extra in the freezer.  Then I looked for other ideas on how to cook them besides our usual (sage pork chops - always a winner around here), because I wanted to change things up a bit.  I searched on pinterest and came up with a few possibilities, and finally tried one last night.  This is the link I found from pinterest, which is a modified recipe from somebody else online.  The blog post suggests using GrillMates Garlic and Herb seasoning, so that's what I did, and I cut back on the cayenne pepper.  I'm not sure it would work quite as well, but I might consider mixing the seasonings in with the flour next time to make the coating/breading process easier.




6 boneless pork chops
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoning mix (I used GrillMates Garlic & Herb)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter

Gravy
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and assemble your ingredients:

Assemble your "coating" station.  Place the beaten eggs, flour and breadcrumbs in shallow dishes. Rinse porkchops and pat dry.
Season chops with garlic powder, salt, pepper and seasoning to taste, then dip in beaten eggs:
Dredge lightly in flour (remove excess).
And coat in breadcrumbs.
Melt butter and heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add chops.
Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned (pork will not be cooked through).
Transfer the chops to an oiled baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour.
When they come out of the over there will be a lot of juices in the bottom of the pan. Pour over gravy mixture, replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.