Pumpkin Bread - by Lisa

I know I had every intention of spreading out my baking throughout the month. However, Hubby was out of town for two weeks, so that made baking a bit of a challenge! Besides, it's not as much fun when he isn't here to sample the goods. :)

Oh my - this bread made the whole house smell amazing! Pumpkin flavored items are hit or miss for me, but this one was for sure a winner (of "full of win" as some would say). I included everything listed in the recipe save for the nutmeg and walnuts. The only thing I needed to purchase for this recipe was the canned pumpkin which is no problem to find this time of year! :) I also didn't have quite enough mini-chocolate chips on hand, so I added in about a quarter cup of regular cc's.

This recipe was super easy to whip up this afternoon. The bread cooked for about 50 min on the convection setting. I let it cool for about an hour before I could no longer resist trying a bite. The bread was perfectly moist and the chips were evenly distributed. The pumpkin flavoring was just right, and the whole thing was simply delicious! I will definitely be adding this to my list of quick bread recipes!

Cherry Clafouti - by Summer

After reading Lisa's post on this one, I decided to make this on Sunday morning for a late breakfast.  I had my little guy help stir the flour and powdered sugar (truth be told - he asked a fork once I had put the two of them in a bowl - he knows his task when I bake something!)  Like Lisa - the only two things I had to pick up were the half and half and cherries.

I was expecting this to be similar to an apple pancake that is baked in the oven, but it was definitely more custard-like.  I also let mine bake for almost 60 minutes.  It might have even cooked for longer. 

It had an interesting taste.  Because it was more custard than cake - I wasn't a huge fan.  Of course you know who did like this?  My son . . . his response was "yummy!  More?!"

Baked Apples - by Summer

We finally have some nice cool fall weather, so I couldn't wait to try making these apples.  The only thing that I needed to pick up extra was the apple cider for this recipe.  And then I had to keep my husband from drinking all of it before I made this recipe.

It was actually fun to put together.  I wasn't too sure about using a melon baller to get the core out of the apple, but it worked really well.  I managed to get these in the oven just before we sat down to eat dinner.  I had to get up a few times to baste the apples with the apple cider, but it was super easy to make.

I really liked the taste of the apples and the filling.  I thought they could have baked a little bit longer.  They weren't quite as mushy as I would have wanted them to be.  I don't know why it always seemed like making baked apples would be a lot harder.  My son thought these were really tasty too.

Pumpkin Bread - by Summer

One of my favorite things about fall is pumpkin!  I love pumpkin-stuff and only discovered it as an adult.  I'm always searching for new recipes that include pumpkin - cakes, cookies, pies . . . so I was thrilled to make this pumpkin bread recipe.  October is the perfect time for pumpkins!

Stirring the flour mixture

This recipe was really easy to make.  I have canned pumpkin on hand, so I didn't have to make any additional purchases for this recipe. My little guy loves baking, so he helped me make the bread!  It's super easy to pull everything together.  The recipe called for mini-chocolate chips, which I didn't have.  I thought about putting in regular chocolate chips, but my husband likes his quick breads (banana/zucchini) plain, so I omitted them. 

Mine baked for about 60 minutes.  My pan was slightly larger than 9x5, so I think it could have been pulled out a couple of minutes sooner.  I really like the flavor of this bread.  I think the ground cloves is what made the difference.  I will definitely be making this bread again and again.  As my son would say - "Yummy!"

Cherry Clafouti - by Lisa

In an effort to get a better start on the baking for this month, I have completed recipe number one before the last week of the month! Woo hoo! I decided to start with the Cherry Clafouti (pronounced clah-foo-TEE in case you were wondering). I wish I had started it earlier in the day because this would have made for a really yummy brunch treat!

This came together really easily. So easy in fact that I was able to simultaneously feed my one year old his lunch while working on this dish without messing anything up. :) The ingredient list was clean and simple. The only things I didn't have on hand were the frozen cherries and half 'n' half. I also got a chuckle out of a couple of Beth's parenthetical comments in this recipe. (Use the egg whites for breakfast tomorrow! Use the whole egg, but not the egg shells, of course!) I like recipes that liven things up a little. :)

I baked this for a little over 40 minutes in my smaller convection oven. The finished product came out looking very similar to the photo in the cook book, so it was easier to know when it was done. After letting it cool for about 10 minutes, Hubby and I each had our slice. We both agreed that it was very reminiscent of pancakes. I mentioned to him that it was meant to be like a cross between a pancake and a custard. I was a little weirded out by the texture, but I got over it fairly quickly. It will be neat to try this again with different kinds of fruits.

Before

After

Cool Blueberry Soup - by Summer

I guess I should have held off on this pick since blueberry season is over with this year.  But like Lisa, I went the frozen blueberry route and I think it turned out fine.  I was intrigued by this recipe because I have never heard of blueberry soup before and I have never had Greek yogurt either.

As Lisa mentioned, this was very easy - you throw into a pot and let it cook.  I do not have any sort of wine collection, so I just picked a pretty cheap white wine out.  I also decided to cut the recipe in half so we wouldn't have a ton of leftovers.  I decided to forgo the food processor and just used my hand masher to mash the blueberry mixture.  It worked great and there were still a few lumps. 

I really liked this soup a lot.  While I was eating it, I thought about how it sort of tasted like a sauce and then had a brilliant idea.  I took some leftover pound cake and had that with the soup - very, very tasty!  I would definitely make this again!

Strawberry Ice Cream Cupcakes - by Lisa

Man am I lucky these were easy recipes this month! I was a damn fool for saving them all for the end of the month, especially after our summer break! Next month I will be doing a much better job of managing my time!

This one was so simple to put together, I decided in the middle of dinner that it would be dessert tonight. I even used it as leverage to get my 3 year old to eat all his dinner! :)

There isn't much to analyze in this recipe, except to point out that I still can't make a decent scoop of ice cream to save my life! LOL! And yes, even though I *did* spend a couple of years working at Swensen's Ice Cream parlor, I was never a conehead! LOL! Anywho, this treat was a big hit with with my husband and older son. They loved it, and I thought it was pretty tasty too!