Glazed Pumpkin Bread

Autumn is here! There's something about the crispness in the air and the beauty of changing leaves that makes autumn one of my favorite seasons. Of course, as the weather changes so do our food cravings. Soups, chilis, and casseroles are the perfect comfort foods for chilly fall days, and pumpkin-themed recipes are a must! This easy recipe makes a moist, dense pumpkin bread, not overly sweet but packed with spice and autumn flavor. The glaze on top adds the perfect kick to make this a recipe you'll definitely want to try this autumn!

Feel free to try adding complementary ingredients, such as chocolate chips or dried cranberries. The glaze is pretty easy, although it can be made easier by simply warming up cream cheese frosting instead. Either way, this bread is best served warm with a little butter...yum!

Bread Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Glaze Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese, softened or spreadable
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 loaf pans. Mix the dry cake mix and sugar together. Add pumpkin, spices, eggs, and milk until smooth.

Divide evenly into loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes. Bread is done when top is golden and no longer looks liquidy. Let cool 10 minutes then remove from loaf pans.

Combine glaze ingredients and beat till smooth. Spoon or drizzle glaze over pumpkin loaves. Serve warm and enjoy!

Muffin Pancakes

If you haven't heard yet, making pancakes from muffin mix is one of the best ideas of this decade. The texture comes out still very muffiny, and the flavor variations are ENDLESS. And they are super easy and cheap! The downfall? Each packet of muffin mix makes only 4 pancakes  (or 5 if you make small pancakes). Double, triple, quadruple, whatever you feel is necessary.

I did make these in our semi one morning, using an electric skillet. They were delicious, but waiting for them to cook feels like forever when you're hungry. The heat on the skillet needs to be low enough to cook them through as the sides turn golden brown - if the heat is too high, they burn before they are fully cooked.

Blueberry muffin pancakes

Ingredients:
1 packet muffin mix, any flavor
1 egg or 2 tsp oil
Enough water to bring the mixture to pancake batter consistency

Mix all ingredients while the skillet warms up. Pour by the ladlefull, spread out if too thick, and watch carefully. When the underside is golden brown, flip. Cook slowly to ensure they are thoroughly cooked without burning. Add butter or toppings as desired and enjoy!

Breakfast Egg Muffins

Once again, the idea started out when my honey made eggs, bacon, and sausage for breakfast one morning. We feasted like kings, then put the leftovers in the fridge. What to do with leftover breakfast? Make more breakfast, of course! And so, the breakfast egg muffins came into existence.



Ingredients:
1 cup hash browns, or 36 tater tots
1/3 cup cooked sausage patties, torn
10 bacon strips, torn
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Lightly cover the bottom of each muffin cup with hashbrowns (or 2-3 tater tots). Distribute the sausage and bacon till the cups are nearly full. Mix the eggs, milk, and Bisquick and distribute* evenly among the cups. Sprinkle cheese on top, bake 20 minutes.


*After several messy attempts with a spoon, my honey brilliantly suggested a turkey baster. Much less mess, although a little more difficult to wash.

Breakfast Quesadillas

 The idea started when my honey made eggs, bacon, and sausage for breakfast one morning. We feasted like kings, then put the leftovers in the fridge. What to do with leftover breakfast? Make more breakfast, of course! And so, the breakfast quesadilla came into existence.

Of course, the best foundation to any quesadilla is cheese. Lots and lots of warm, gooey cheese. Several different kinds of cheese, preferably. I like to use American and Cheddar as my base, and add mozzarella and provolone or whatever I have handy.

I find it easiest to alternate ingredient types when making quesadillas: e.g., American cheese, scrambled eggs, provolone cheese, torn sausage and bacon bits, and a lot of Cheddar cheese. This keeps the quesadilla together by sealing in the ingredients between the melty cheese.

So, to recap:

Ingredients per individual quesadilla:
2 tortillas, burrito size
1/4 cup Cheddar cheese
1 slice American cheese
1/2 slice provolone, mozzarella, etc.
1/4 cup scrambled eggs
1 sausage patty, torn
2 bacon strips, torn

Cook on low heat till cheese is melted and both sides are crispy and lightly browned. Yum!

Pancakes with Bisquick

The basic Bisquick pancake recipe is simple:

2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

However, that's really bland. We like to add a little cinnamon, vanilla, and honey, which gives them flavor and texture.

My mom likes to add a dash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of baking soda to help them rise into fluffier, lighter pancakes.

However you adjust them, make sure you start your skillet or griddle at pretty low heat and adjust as necessary. We like our pancakes cooked through and golden brown on the outsides, and higher heat can lead to the outsides cooking too fast and burning. Remember to flip them when the edges turn light brown and they should flip with little to no mess.