Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Thank goodness I sort of had my wits about me during my holiday baking frenzy! I took as many pictures as I could, but I haven't posted too many of my recipes thus far. I guess I've been saving them for a rainy day. Now, it looks like I'll be posting those for the next little bit, because my camera seems to have disappeared in the packing chaos! I hope it resurfaces before too long, or I'll be in a tight spot!
Anyway, I made lots of mini loaves of bread this Christmas to give away as gifts. I like the idea of giving mini loaves for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I assume most people I'm giving food to are in the same predicament as me. I figure they probably love food, but that they've got way too much of it at Christmastime. The mini loaf is just a perfect little snack. It can be consumed in one sitting either alone (Hogatha!) or with a friend. There are no leftovers to feel obligated to eat. I also like mini loaves because I can give a kind of "variety pack" to people with several different flavors. That seems to be much appreciated, at least by my family and friends!
So here's one of my favorite quick bread recipes. Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread. When I first read the name of the recipe, I was a little uneasy about it. I'd never eaten peanut butter and pumpkin together. But I thought about it, and decided that peanut butter makes anything better, so I took the plunge. And it is delicious! It's a very moist bread, and the peanut butter stands out, but not too much. The pumkin is a perfect accent flavor. This recipe makes two loaves, and they freeze really well. If the pumpkin shortage hasn't hit your area, give this recipe a try!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread

Anita Chicke

3 cups sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup peanut buter

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and peanut butter; beat well. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk well. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Mix until just combined. Pour into two greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

*Makes 6 mini loaves.

Glazed Peanut Butter Bars

This afternoon, David and I went to a family reunion. Of course, my contribution was a dessert. Yesterday I found this recipe for Glazed Peanut Butter Bars in an old issue of Taste of Home Magazine. I wanted a recipe that would make a nice-sized amount of servings, and this fit the bill. It filled a half-sheet pan, which made lots of tasty little bars! I had almost all of the ingredients on hand, which was a bonus!
The bars were nice and chewy, which I enjoyed. The recipe didn't call for the mini-chocolate chips, but I thought adding them would be the right thing to do!

Glazed Peanut Butter Bars

Adapted from a recipe in Taste of Home Magazine, courtesy of Janis Luedtke

For the Bars:

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. water

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 quick-cooking oats

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

For the Glaze:

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and water. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Spread into a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly browned.

For glaze, in a microwave safe bowl, melt chips and peanut butter; pour over warm bars and spread evenly. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Yield: 4 dozen

Shellie's Sandwich

You might remember my post from last week about favorite sandwiches. It started from a radio broadcast I heard on KLOVE, during which time callers from all over the US described their favorite sandwiches. Some were classic (bologna and cheese), others were strange (PB and pickles, which I tried). I decided that if you, dear readers, would tell me about your favorite sandwich, I'd blog about it and eat it! Tonight, David and I tried our first sandwich, courtesy of Shellie K., a friend from high school who submitted her entry via my Facebook page.
Here's Shellie's sandwich: peanut butter, strawberry jam, and nacho cheese Doritos. Her sandwich definitely falls into the weird category...right there with the PB and pickles. But I have to say that I liked this one better.

David wasn't so sure about the PB, strawberry jelly, and Dorito sandwich, but he's a trooper and gave it a try! I think the key to this sandwich is having lots of Doritos. I actually went back and added a few more to my sandwich. I liked the crunch and the cheesy saltiness they added. I don't know if it's a sandwich that I'd eat on a regular basis, but it was definitely worth a try! Thanks, Shellie! Hopefully we'll see you in October for our TEN YEAR REUNION!

UPCOMING SANDWICHES FROM THE "MY FAVORITE SANDWICH" CHALLENGE:

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich with Homemade Red Pepper and Cucumber Spread - Lindsey B.

Hot Ham n' Cheese Hoagies - Smith family

Peanut Butter, Banana, and Mascarpone Panini - Amanda C.

Bacon Apple Bleu Sandwich from the North End Cafe - Amanda C.

Weird.

Today at work and on the drive home, I was listening to KLOVE, and all day long, the radio personalities were talking about their favorite sandwiches. They invited callers from all over the country to call in with their favorite sandwiches. It was really interesting, especially because I love food more than anything. By the time I was on the drive home, it seemed like everyone who called in was professing their love for peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I mean, for about 30 minutes, it was caller after caller talking about how wonderful peanut butter and pickle sandwiches are! Good grief! I was right there, nodding in agreement with the callers who said they liked peanut butter, banana, and chocolate syrup sandwiches. Or the peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches. But peanut butter and pickle? Please! For the better part of 14 years, Chet has been trying to get me to eat a toasted peanut butter, pickle, and mayonnaise sandwich, which he loves. I haven't taken him up on it. I love peanut butter. I love pickles. I love mayonnaise. But together? I'm not so sure. But on my drive home, I decided that today would be the day I would have my first peanut butter and pickle sandwich. I'm not quite ready to add the mayo. Baby steps, you know.

Here it is. The PB and Pickle sandwich. I used regular ol' creamy PB and these pickles. I wonder if I used enough PB? I like a thick coat of peanut butter on my sandwiches, and I kind of held back. Look at that bold pickle slice! Wow.

There you go. I did it. I took a bite. I actually at the whole thing. It was okay. It wasn't as good as I anticipated it, based on the rave reviews I heard on the radio. Maybe I didn't put enough peanut butter on it. Maybe it was because I used the cheap stuff instead of JIF. I don't know...it was edible. Maybe even pretty good. It just tasted like peanut butter and pickles. I actually found myself thinking..."maybe the mayo would be really good..."

Now I'm going to issue you a challenge, a fun one for you, and for me. Tell me your favorite sandwich, and I'll make it, blog it, and eat it. It doesn't have to be weird, like the PB and pickle sandwich, but it can be. It could be the most delicious sandwich you've ever had, and you'd like to see me try to recreate it. Please don't be mean to me and ask me to make fried worm and dirt sandwiches or something like that, because I don't want to eat that stuff. Either leave me a comment on this post, or shoot me an email at thesweetlife@insightbb.com. I can't wait to hear what you have for me!