Food is one of the things that we Midwesterners really enjoy, especially comfort foods like mashed potatoes, hot dishes, breads, and desserts. I love to cook, when I’m in the mood for it, and I just so happen to have made a ton of pumpkin bread last weekend. So I thought I’d share this phenomenal recipe with you.
The Maven’s Pumpkin Bread
1 can Libby's pumpkin pie mix (29 oz can)
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups white sugar (I have substituted 1.5 cups of apple sauce for 1.5 cups sugar before to cut the sugar content, and it still tastes great)
3 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp nutmeg
½ tbsp ground cloves
¼ tbsp ground ginger
Raisins (I usually add ½ a big box, or 3-4 small boxes depending on what’s on hand)
Walnuts, chopped (1/2 bag for me; as few or many as you like)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl, except the flour, raisins, and walnuts. After the mix is blended thoroughly, add the flour a cup at a time. Add as many raisins and walnuts as you prefer. Batter will be fairly thin—don’t worry, it will definitely solidify. Grease and fill your pans—this usually makes 1 big loaf, 1 cake, 1 batch of muffins, and 1 batch of mini loaves. (When I say a ton, I mean a ton!) I have spread the muffins and cake with a can of cream cheese frosting, but I actually prefer it plain.
And in honor of Halloween, take a look at some of these awesome jack-o-lanterns I found online:
A hamburger pumpkin, how awesome is that?
Man, he really should not have had that last pumpkin beer.
I have never seen a more evil-looking pumpkin in my life!
And finally...
My pumpkin from last year, because I forgot to snap a pick of this year's.
Wicked cool, isn't it?
Wicked cool, isn't it?
This is the back of last year's pumpkin. The single eye is intimidating me.
