Bran Muffins

This recipe is awesome.  And HUGE.  Seriously, you will not be able to use your Kitchen Aid mixer.  I start with mine to truly whip up the shortening/butter, but once all of the liquids are in it is full and I transfer it over to a HUGE bowl and a hand mixer when I add the dry ingredients.  It is huge, people!  And here's why.....

This recipe rocks because it "keeps" in the refrigerator for up to SIX WEEKS!!  Can you believe it?!  Mix up the batter, put it in a big ol' tupperware or jar, and stick it in the fridge.  You can cook up a few warm muffins every morning!  Yummer!  I wouldn't expect bran muffins to be sweet and tasty, but these sure are!!  I think it would be fun to give a friend with a new baby a jar of dough so that they could have a tasty snack with minimal effort whenever they crave it.  And, for those who are "counting". . . . these muffins are only 3 points per muffin on the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system.

Bran Muffins

(This bottle keeps up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.  Makes 3 pint jars plus a little.)

5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups All-Bran
2 cups Bran Flakes
2 cups chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

2 cups boiling water
5 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening (or butter)
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk

Mix boiling water and baking soda.  Set aside to cool.  In a large bowl stir flour, salt, All-Bran, Bran Flakes, chopped dates, and chopped nuts.  Cream sugar and shortening (or butter) in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs one at a time.  Beat well.  Stir in buttermilk and soda liquid.  Stir in bran mixture.  Tightly cover.  Better if refrigerated 12 hours (or more) prior to baking.  To bake, drop by spoonfuls (don't stir) into a greased muffin tins.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Yield: 5 1/2 dozen.

Yet Another Banana Bread Recipe

I feel like we have a lot of bread up here: zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, easy homemade bread, two versions of corn bread, and now two versions of banana bread!  What can I say?  I guess we're just a bunch of carb junkies!

This is a recipe for banana bread that I got from a friend of a friend.  It is this woman's family's banana bread recipe that has been passed through the generations.  It is so moist....YUM!  Even though we already have one great banana bread recipe up here, I thought this one was worth sharing as well.

Banana Bread

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons sour cream

2-3 ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients and pour into a greased and floured pan.  (BAKING PAM!)  Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Jessica Haslam's Corn Bread

This bread is so decadent that you don't even need to put butter on it!  It's always a hit at a party!!

Jessica Haslam's Corn Bread

1 pkg jiffy cornbread mix

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons sugar

1 can cream style corn

Preheat oven to 350. Place 9x9 or pie sized pan in oven with the stick of butter. When butter is melted remove pan and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix in the pan with fork. Don't over mix then return pan and cook for about 40 minutes more or until knife comes out clean in center. Serve with honey. Double for a 9x13 pan.

Our Mama's Zucchini Bread

This recipe was contributed by Sarah McKenna.  This is our Mama's divine zucchini bread.  Diet food it is not.  Delicious it IS!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup canola oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups zucchini, grated

(1/2 cup nuts, chopped --- optional)

In a large bowl, thoroughly beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar, canola oil, and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Blend in grated zucchini (and nuts).  Pour into two greased and lightly floured (Baking PAM!) bread loaf tins.  Bake at 325 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes.

Easy Homemade Bread! For real!

I got this recipe from my sister Rachel.  She is an amazingly lazy cook, so if she says that she made homemade bread and that it was EASY then, well, it may sound too good to be true, but it isn't!  There is no kneading and no traditional rising time!  Impressive.  As you may suspect, iI\n all honesty it's not the most amazing homemade bread that I've ever had, but it is very easy and quick compared to most yeast breads, and it is still way yummier than any grocery store bread!  She makes it with part whole wheat flour and part white for a "light wheat" feel, but you could use fully whole wheat flour or fully white flour to accommodate for your particular taste buds.  I will list it as she makes it.  Enjoy it right out of the oven with some honey butter!  Yum!

Easy Homemade Bread

2 1/2 cups hot water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 oil
1 Tbsp. salt
about 6 cups of whole wheat or white flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1. In a mixing bowl, combine...
             2 1/2 cups hot water
             1/3 cup sugar
             1/3 cup oil
             1 tbsp salt
2. Mix for 30 seconds.  (I do not use a dough hook for this part.)
3. Add 3/4 cup WHITE flour.
4.  Mix for 30 more seconds
5.  Add 1 1/2 tbsp yeast.
6.  Mix for 30 seconds.
7.  Add 5 cups white or wheat flour (or a combination...I usually do 3 cups wheat and 2 cups white.)
8.  With the dough hook, mix until flour is mixed in.
9.  Let dough sit for 20 minutes. 
10. Oil counter and dump dough on oil.
11.  Cut dough in 2 equal pieces.
12.  Take the first portion of dough, and roll it out thin with a rolling pin. (Roll the dough wide enough to fit a bread pan but long and thin).
13.  Roll up dough and pinch along the crease.  Place the crease side down in a greased and floured bread pan. Repeat with second portion of dough.
14.  Place loaves in oven and turn oven onto lowest temp (170). Let bread rise for 25 minutes.
15.  Then turn oven to 325 for 30 minutes WITHOUT OPENING OVEN!
16.  Dump out of pan to cool and enjoy!

Garlic Herb Bubble Bread

I got this divine recipe from my friend, Christa Shaw.  I have made it twice now and still can't believe how delicious and EASY it is.  But warning: when I say garlic, I mean garlic.  My fingers stink for days after making it. :) 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon each dried thyme, basil and rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 loaf (1 pound) frozen Rhodes bread dough, thawed

Directions:

• In a small bowl, combine cheese and seasonings. In another bowl, combine butter and garlic; set aside.
• Cut dough into 16 pieces. Roll into balls. Coat balls in butter/garlic mixture, then roll in cheese mixture. Place in a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350° for 22-26 minutes or until golden brown. (Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. 

YUM!  We made this for dinner with some friends, and the husband said it tasted like bread you go to a restaurant with mediocre food for just because the bread is so stinking good.  Enjoy.

Jessica's Banana Bread

This recipe comes to you courtesy of Jessica Haslam, via Sarah McKenna.  It is her mom's banana bread recipe, and it is Y.U.M.M.Y.  I can't wait to have it again!

Jessica's Banana Bread

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon soda

3/4 cup Buttermilk (Jess usually just adds lemon juice to regular milk.)

3-4 smashed "bad" bananas

1/2 cup walnuts (opitonal)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs, salt, soda, bananas, flour and buttermilk.  Mix until smooth.  Add nuts if desired.  Grease and flour (baking PAM) two bread pans.  Bake two loaves at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  Let cool and turn out of pan.

Corn Bread

Contributed by Tia Sherwood.

This is so good that we call it corn bread cake. It makes and entire casserole dish, but doesn't half well b/c of the eggs.

1 cup margarine, melted

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup corn meal

4 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

Combine in a mixing bowl, pour into a 9x13 and bake for about 35 min.

Great with chili.

Paulette Corn Bread

This recipe was contributed by Sarah McKenna.

This is an extremely easy recipe for the sweetest, moistest cornbread on this planet!  Our dad calls it "Paulette Corn Bread" because my mother-in-law, Paulette, made it once while he was eating at their home with us.  In reality, it comes from a cookbook called The Essential Mormon Cookbook: Green Jell-o, Funeral Potatoes, and Other Secret Combinations.  What a clever title!  We always make this to accompany the infamous chicken tortilla soup, so I thought I'd better post it as well.  Enjoy!

**Please note: This recipe is for a SQUARE PAN!  For a 9x13 pan, DOUBLE IT and cook it for a bit longer.***

Cousin's Corn Bread (a.k.a. Paulette Corn Bread)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs.  In a separate bowl blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.  (For this recipe I don't think it really matters, so I always just throw them in the same bowl to save on dishes.  But that's just me.)  Combine creamed mix, dry mix, and milk.  Blend.  Bake in a square pan at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  

This cornbread is super yummy with honey butter!  Just mix equal parts softened butter and honey, and then throw in a dash of vanilla.  Yum!

Our Mother's Divine Pumpkin Bread . . . Yum!

This recipe was contributed by Sarah McKenna.


In the spirit of this lovely fall season, the first recipe that we are going to share is our mom's divine pumpkin bread. YUM! Seriously. It is so easy---throw everything in a mixer and bake---but perfectly moist and scrumptious. Whenever I make it people rave about it and say it's the best pumpkin bread ever. They think that I am quite skilled. Little do they know. :) Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 1/3 cups flour

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together.

Add:

1 cup cooking oil

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

2 cups canned pumpkin

Mix well.

Add:

1 cup chocolate chips (or nuts or coconut)

Pour into 2 or 3 greased and floured bread tins. (Baking PAM, baby! It ROCKS!)

Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.