Pumpkin Corn Bread

This recipe is not from family history, but one that I have discovered on my own. I happen to love all things pumpkin, especially with cinnamon and nutmeg. Normally, we are inundated every September with pumpkin-flavored everything. But there is no reason to wait until Fall to have delicious pumpkin foods. And this pumpkin cornbread is just the right balance of pumpkin and seasoning that tastes great any time of year.

This recipe is a basic cornbread recipe that is modified with the addition of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. It has the nice crunch of cornbread along with the tasty pumpkin seasoning. This pumpkin corn bread is best eaten warm.

Pumpkin Corn Bread  

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour into a greased 9X9 pan. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Spritz

Usually, I make spritz in December for the holidays. But there is no reason to save the cookie press for once a year. So when I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box, I decided to try spritz in the spring. Spritz cookies are made using a cookie press, and the dough is loaded into the barrel and pressed out through disk that creates a specific shape. The disks are different shapes, allowing for all sorts of designs.

The dough for these cookies is quite basic: butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and flour. These cookies would be great for kids who might not like fancy ingredients. If you don't have a cookie press, you can still make these cookies by either rolling the dough and using cookie cutters or shaping a ball of about a tablespoon of dough and flattening it with the bottom of a glass. Despite the simplicity of the ingredients, the resulting cookies are delicious.

Brown Sugar Spritz

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Blend in flour. Knead several times until dough is soft and pliable. Press dough through a cookie press onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Allow to coo. Enjoy!

Ricotta Bread

This recipe is inspired by ricotta bread that MDS and I enjoyed at Shokolad Cafe. Previously, I posted about Buckwheat and Drunken Cherry Cake, inspired by the same place. I think that this recipe is a fairly close approximation of the bread we had at the restaurant.

The bread is a standard double-rise bread. The ricotta makes the bread quite rich. The cinnamon adds a nice touch, but could be left out of the recipe if you prefer. Otherwise, the recipe is relatively basic. I found that the first rise took a little longer, but the second rise produced two good-sized loaves. The resulting bread is unique, so give it a try. It is terrific fresh out of the oven or leftover and used for sandwiches.

Ricotta Bread 

1/2 cup warm water (120 degrees)

Package yeast

dash of sugar

4 cups flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup ricotta cheese

In a small cup or bowl, mix water, yeast, and sugar; allow to stand for about ten minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, mix 3 cups of flour, olive oil, cinnamon, and ricotta cheese. Add the yeast. Mix until dough begins to come together. Turn out the dough onto a floured counter and knead in the remaining cup of flour until dough is smooth. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about two hours. Divide dough into two and shape into loaves. Place loaves on floured baking sheet. Allow to rise about one hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Just before baking, cut a a few slashes into each loaf. Bake for about 40 minutes, until done. Cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Banana Drop Cookies

Mom has lots of cookie recipes in her recipe box. She made all types of cookies, but I don't remember these. Nevertheless, the cookies sounded delicious, so I decided to give them a try. The cookies are delicious, especially when they are still warm from the oven. And, even if you don't eat them all as they come out of the oven, warm them up in the microwave for a delicious treat.

When I made these cookies, I used a little bit more of the banana then the recipe calls for. I also left out the nuts. Although walnuts are very good when paired with banana, I brought these cookies to a party, so I left out the nuts to accommodate nut allergies. Whether you use nuts or not, these cookies are delicious.

Banana Drop Cookies 

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup mashed banana
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and bananas; beat until smooth. Add flour sifted with baking powder, baking soda, alternating with the milk, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in oats and nuts; drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Ham & Cheese Casserole Bread

After hosting Easter, I had a lot of leftover ham, so I was happy to find this recipe in Mom's recipe box as a great way to use some of those leftovers. The bread is very flavorful, but also very simple to make--just mix everything together and bake it in a dish. I brought some of the bread to Mom's for a standard Saturday night. Mom, Meg and Tim really liked the bread, so I was happy to share it with them.

I did not have biscuit mix on hand, instead, I used two cups of flour, one tablespoon of baking powder and four tablespoons of melted butter. While this was a good use of leftover ham, it would also be good with leftover bacon or sausage. I also really like sesame seed, and I would consider mixing in some sesame seeds into the dough, in addition to adding some on top.

Ham & Cheese Casserole Bread 

• 2/3 cup chopped green onion
• 2 cup biscuit mix
• 1 cup chopped cooked ham
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp. sesame seed
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a bowl, combine biscuit mix and ham. In another bowl, blend oil, eggs, milk, mustard, onions and 3/4 cup cheese. Stir into ham mixture. In buttered round casserole dish, spoon in ham mixture. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup cheese, sesame seed and melted butter on top. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Delight

When I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box, I thought it might be perfect for family get-together, such as Easter. And, seeing as MDS and I hosted Easter at our house, I was glad that this recipe was easy to make ahead and bake just before serving. Mediterranean Delight is a fancy name for baked pasta. Mom recalled this recipe and called it a short-cut lasagna. Whatever you call it, it is delicious. And, it you are lucky enough to have leftovers, this dish is even better as leftovers. This dish was so popular at Easter, there was barely any leftovers, so I will just have to make it again.

The recipe is what you might expect for baked pasta: tomato sauce, noodles, meat and cheese. This recipe uses cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Mom's recipe calls for shell pasta, but I used basic macaroni. I made the standard 13x9 pan with meat, but there was still enough for a small pan without meat. So if you are looking for a baked pasta recipe, give this one a try.

Mediterranean Delight 

• 1 package (16 oz) shell macaroni
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 pound Italian Sausage, crumbled and browned
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. In a 13x9 pan, spread pasta. Top with cottage cheese mix. Spread sausage over and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Pour pasta sauce on top of sausage. Stir lightly. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 to 10 more minutes. Enjoy!

Beef-Spinach Casserole

Recently, on a cold and rainy day, I decided to stay in and cook. On such a day, this delicious casserole made the day.  This recipe is another great find from Mom's recipe box. It is a filling dish that smells so nice as it bakes and tastes even better. There are three layers: the meat layer, the spinach and ricotta layer and the cheese layer. The next time I make this recipe, I might try to increase the spinach and ricotta to make that layer thicker.

Despite the seemingly long ingredient list, this casserole is easy to make. In this recipe, I especially liked the nutmeg. It added a great flavor when mixed into the ricotta and spinach. The use of bread crumbs and tomato sauce in the meat layer reminds me of Mom's Meat Loaf. But the extra layers made this recipe unique. I did not use the mushrooms in this recipe, and you could easily leave out or modify an ingredient to customize this recipe. So give this recipe a try.

Beef-Spinach Casserole 

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can (8) ounce tomato sauce
• 1 can (4 ounce) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup ricotta
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 ounces mozzarella 

Cook spinach, drain and squeeze out extra water. Set aside. Cook the beef, onion and garlic until browned. Lower heat. Stir in tomato sauce. Cook for three minutes until heated through. Add bread crumbs and toss to mix well. Spread evenly in a two-quart baking dish. Beat egg, spinach, ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread over the meat. Top with mozzarella. Bake at 450 for 9 to 15 minutes, until cheese melts and starts to brown. Allow to cool. Enjoy!