A bread recipe in honor of pumpkins

smcclanahan

Anytime our children are involved with cooking in their various activities, I like to share it with you. Last Sunday at church, the children's minister, Mary Ann Pensel, made small loaves of pumpkin bread for all of the children. She baked them in the small-sized aluminum foil pans then let the children "have at it" with icing, candy corn and various other sprinkles and decorations for them to enjoy. Our church has the great pumpkin patch on the lawn, and everything at church revolves around pumpkins. So it was fitting that our children's minister chose this as her activity last Sunday. Lexie had a ball decorating and frosting her loaf of bread, then tying it up with a raffia ribbon for the finishing touch.

Mary Ann is one of my favorite people, and everything she does is always above and beyond. I would like to share a recipe for pumpkin bread with you today in honor of May Ann and the great pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin Patch Pumpkin Bread

2 cups buttermilk pancake mix

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin or canned pumpkin

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine first 10 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer. Stir in pecans. Spoon batter into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely. Yield 1 loaf.

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The ladies from Altenburg, Mo., are regulars in the Recipe Swap column. Many people have asked me who these women are. To this day, I do not know who they are. The recipes are always unsigned and neatly written on cards or paper. Even though I do not know who they are, I do know they are great county cooks and all I have to say is, "keep those recipes coming." They have two recipes to share today. Both are main dishes, and I think you will enjoy them.

Meatloaf

For the sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

2 tablespoons vinegar

For the meatloaf:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup crushed corn flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons parsley flakes

1 onion, very finely chopped or 1 teaspoon dried minced onions

Preheat onion to 350 degrees. To prepare the sauce, combine all sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. To prepare the meatloaf, combine ground beef, eggs, corn flakes, salt, pepper, parsley and onion. Mix lightly. Stir in 1/2 of the sauce. Mold into a loaf pan. Bake one hour. Cover the meatloaf with the remaining sauce and bake an additional 30 minutes or longer until meatloaf is done. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Slow Cooker Turkey and Dressing

1 (8-ounce) package herb-seasoned stuffing mix

1 onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 (3-pound) frozen boneless turkey breast, thawed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 (.88-ounce) package turkey gravy mix

Coat inside of a 4-quart electric slow cooker with cooking spray. Add stuffing mix, onion, celery, and cranberries. Combine broth and melted butter. Pour over stuffing, and stir gently. Remove string from turkey breast. Rinse turkey breast. Place turkey in slow cooker on top of stuffing. Combine salt, pepper and thyme; sprinkle over turkey. Cover and cook on high one hour. Reduce to low, and cook five to six hours or until a meat thermometer in turkey registers 170 degree. Remove turkey to a serving platter. Stir stuffing gently in slow cooker; cover and let stand three to four minutes. Prepare gravy. Spoon stuffing around turkey on platter. Yields five to six servings.

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We are still in apple season, and there's no better combination than apples and pork. This recipe combines those two flavors into an entree that is pretty pleasing on a cool fall evening. A longtime friend of my sister, Edna Von Hostel, shares this recipe with you. She and my sister have enjoyed this many times along with wonderful conversation.

Baked Pork Chops and Apples

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped onion

6 (1-inch-thick) pork chops

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup water

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Melt butter in a large skillet; add onion and sauté until tender. Remove onion and set aside. Brown pork chops on both sides in butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange chops in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover with apple slices; sprinkle with onion. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over shops. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for about one hour. Yields six servings.

Ladonia Beggs from Pioneer Orchard shares her recipe for apple dumplings. Of course I'm sure she would say they taste better when using a fresh Pioneer apple when making.

Ladonia's Apple Dumplings

Make pastry for two 8-inch pie crusts. Roll out pastry a little less than 1/8-inch thick, and cut into 7-inch squares. Pare and core a medium tart juicy apple for each dumpling. Then prepare the following syrup recipe to use for four dumplings.

For the syrup:

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Boil together for three minutes.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together. Place an apple on each pastry square and fill core with sugar and cinnamon mixture, then cover mix with 2 teaspoons butter. Bring opposite points of pastry up over the apples. Overlap, moisten and seal. Lift carefully and place a in a baking dish, allowing space between each. Pour the hot syrup around dumplings. Bake immediately until crust is nicely browned and apples are cooked through, testing with a fork, about 40 minutes at 425 degrees.

Serve warm with Ladonia's favorite sauce.

Sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup half and half cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the flour and sugar together. Add cream and vanilla. Cook together until thickened. Serve warm over freshly baked warm apple dumplings.

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Jodi Thompson shared this recipe with me and it is very delicious for an early morning casserole. It is basically bread pudding using cinnamon raisin bread and much like the overnight French toast casseroles, but all the same, very good.

Morning Pecan Casserole

One 8-ounce package brown and serve sausage

1 (16-ounce) loaf raisin bread, cubed

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Brown and drain sausage, cut into bite-size pieces. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with Pam. Place bread and sausage in pan. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, half and half, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour over bread and sausage. Mix remaining ingredients together and drop by spoonful over top. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350 or until knife inserted comes out clean. This may be prepared the night before.

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We have only one recipe request this week. Pat Baldwin of rural McClure, Ill., would like to have the recipe for sweet potato soufflé or a tasty sweet potato casserole with a crunchy topping. It is getting that time of year when thoughts tend toward these fall types of foods.

That will end us up for this week. Until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@ semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.