March 2008: Breads

Banana Bread
5 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups whole wheat flour

Put bananas, eggs, vanilla and margarine in a blender and liquidize thoroughly. Pour this into a mixer bowl and add remaining dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Bake in 2 greased bread pans at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and at 300 degrees for 25 minutes.

Submitted by Kathy Rutherford

Banana Bread
3 Ripe Bananas
1 Stick of Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda

Cream bananas. Soften butter and add to bananas. Mix. Add sugar, vanilla and eggs. Cream well. Add dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Split in 2 greased bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Submitted by Tami Hughes

Bistro Chicken Twist (From Pampered Chef)
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove
1 packages refrigerated French break dough (I used Rhodes frozen White Bread, defrosted in refrigerator to prevent bread from rising)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning Mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chopped chicken, diced bell pepper, basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic; mix well. Place bread dough, seam side up, on cutting board. Slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle flour evenly over dough. Roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf.

Spoon half of the chicken mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place loaf, seam sides down, in an "X" pattern on your baking sheet. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure "8", keeping ends of dough 1-inch from end of baking sheet.

Combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Submitted by Erin Callahan

Corn Bread (Eileen Fahey's Recipe)
(I use half butter and half applesauce and whole wheat flour.)

Stir together:
3 eggs
1 cup margarine (melted and cooled)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 cups bisquick

Bake in ungreased pan until golden brown, about 30 minutes at 450 degrees.

Submitted by Kathy Rutherford

Cranberry Orange Muffins (adapted from recipezaar.com)
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C whole fresh cranberries (if none available, use dried cranberries)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. orange juice
1/4 C. vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated orange rind (optional)

Combine dry ingredients. Stir cranberries into dry mixture. Combine wet ingredients, including sugar and orange rind. Add wet mixture to dry mixture all at once. Mix until moistened (12-15 stirs only--ovemixing increases gluten in the batter which creates a tunnel texture in the muffin). Spoon into greased muffin cups. If desired, sprinkle with a little sugar on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Makes 12-14 muffins.

Submitted by Amy Carpenter

Dijon Ham and Cheese Twist
4 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 pkg yeast
1 cup water
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup chopped dill pickle (or pickle relish)
1 egg

Set aside 1 cup flour. Mix remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Heat water, mustard, and butter to 125 to 130 degrees F. Stir into flour mixture. Mix in enough reserved flour to make soft dough. Knead 4 minutes.

On greased baking sheet, roll dough to 14x12 in. Sprinkle ham, cheese, and pickles down center 3rd dough lengthwise. Make cuts from filling to dough edges at 1-inch intervals along sides of filling. Bring strips from opposite sides of filling together. Twist and place ends at an angle across filling; cover. Place large shallow pan with boiling water. Place baking sheet over pan; let dough rise 15 minutes. Brush loaf with egg. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Submitted by Erin Callahan

Pumpkin Bread
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup nuts

Put sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl and blend. Combine pumpkin and milk. Sift dry ingredients together and add to sugar mixture alternately with pumpkin mixture. Add 1/2 cup nuts. Bake in greased and lightly floured bread pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Submitted by Kathy Rutherford

Zucchini Blueberry Bread
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups grated zucchini
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Beat first four ingredients with a mixer until thick and well combined. Combine remaining dry ingredients and carefully blend into wet ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula--do not overmix. Fold in blueberries being careful so as not to break the berries. Pour batter into two greased bread pans or four mini loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour (30 minutes for the smaller pans) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Submitted by Amy Badger