Cranberry Orange Bread

 

My Christmas baking is just getting started.  I have a lot of gifts to bake this year.  First off, I started with Cranberry Orange Bread.  I don't know anyone who doesn't like a nice, thick slice of this bread for breakfast or as a snack.

I made several loaves, and have them all wrapped and in the freezer except for this one.  I don't glaze them until I give them away.  I just take them out of the freezer the night before they are gifted, let them thaw overnight, then mix up the glaze and drizzle it over the top before I wrap it up for giving.  I insert toothpicks on top, cover it loosely with Saran Wrap, and then put it in a cardboard bread box for gift delivery.  I buy my cake, pie, cookie, and bread boxes every year at The Christmas Tree Shoppe. 

 

Here is the recipe I use:

Cranberry Orange Bread

2-3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg, large

1 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use canola)

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

2 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped (I chop mine in the food processor)

1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

For glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans, 8" X 4".

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients (all the dry ingredients).  In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk the egg, milk, orange juice, oil, and grated orange zest.

4.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until blended.  There should be no clumps.

5.  Fold in the cranberries and the apple.

6.  Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

7.  Let the bread cool in the pans for 15 minutes.  Then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack.  Cool completely.

8.  For glaze, mix powdered sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick glaze.  Drizzle over the top of each loaf.  

Enjoy!

Next I will be baking some pumpkin bread with a gingerbread crumble topping.  I will post that in a day or two!  See you then!

Tuesday, October 25,2022

 

How are you doing today?  It's our last beautiful day here, tomorrow rain and chilly temps return! 

First thing this morning, I read Luke 4-5 while sipping my tea.  Then I read the commentary on StudyLight about these 2 chapters.  Yes, there's a lot of reading.  But it really helps me understand the meaning of the story.  

My main cleaning today is going to be to shine all the mirrors and glass in the house.  Then just my normal straightening and maintenance.  I always do 1 load of laundry each day, from start to finish.  And I keep the dishes washed and put away.

I finished the bag I was making for my granddaughter.  I am looking for a couple buttons to add to it, but other than that it is finished.  It is just a basic tote bag, with a pocket added to the front of it for some color.  I figured she could put a pair of gloves or a flashlight in it, or part of her costume.  This year she and two friends are going as Alvin and The Chipmunks.  I have a feeling either their tails or their ears may wind up in the pocket!

Here is her finished bag:

It was so windy when I took the picture, I had a hard time catching it when it wasn't sideways!  I think she'll like it.  At least I hope so!  

After I made it, of course I found some other fabric that I absolutely LOVE at the bottom of a pile of Christmas fabric.  So now, I am thinking of making her another one and letting her choose.  She can give the one she doesn't want to a friend.  I just don't know if I'll have time to finish another one!

What do you think of the bag?  Is it too tall?  I just am not sure!  I think it's okay, then again I think I could have made it shorter.  Let me know in the comments!

Have a wonderful day!  I hope all is well with you!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

 

Good morning!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

We sure did!  The weather here couldn't have been more gorgeous.  It looks like we'll be cooling off this week, but not too much.  It will still be in the upper 60's the rest of the week.

To start my day today, I read Luke 2-3 in my Bible.  Then I turned to Enduring Word to learn more about it.  It surprises me that more isn't told about Jesus' life growing up, but I guess we are told what we need to know!

For cleaning today, I am going to run the vacuum and mop the kitchen and bathrooms.  Then I just do my daily straightening and maintenance.

Dinner tonight will be sausage and cabbage, and I am going to try out my new bread machine.  A long time ago, I had a bread machine that I loved.  I used it several times a week!  Then the motor burned out.  I bought a different machine, and HATED it.  I don't think it ever turned out a good loaf.  So I threw it away and decided I was finished with bread machines.  Then, last week, while strolling through Sam's Club, I spotted a Cuisinart bread machine that was $20.00 off the regular price.  There was one left.  So I put it in the cart, and brought it home.  I hope this one works!  I'll let you know!

Yesterday for dessert, I made a gluten free cookie pie.  It's really good!  But it is incredibly rich!  A little slice goes a long way!  So here's what I learned:  

1. Next time, make this in a larger pan.  I will use a 12" deep dish pizza pan I have.  It's really thick in a regular pie pan.  
2. Bake this when I have a large group of people over.  It's best warm, with vanilla ice cream.  But there's no way the two of us will eat this whole pie!  

Here is the recipe.  It is tweaked from a recipe from Butternut Bakery, which you can find HERE.

I will definitely make this again, but I will just make it in a larger pan and make sure there are more people to enjoy it with!

Have a wonderful Monday, and see you later!

Saturday October 22 2022

 

It is definitely a windy day here today!  But so warm and just gorgeous outside.  I'm afraid there won't be many leaves left on the trees after this weekend.  But, lots to rake up!

This morning, I read Mark 15-16 before I started my day.  I turned to Study Light to gain some more insight into these chapters.  These chapters are so important, and there's so much to take to heart. I hope you join me in reading along!

For breakfast this morning, we had this really yummy Pumpkin Apple Baked Oatmeal from Recipe Runner.

I topped it with Maple Whipped Cream (so good....from Aldis)  and cinnamon and sugar.  It was like dessert for breakfast!  I used gluten free oats, and that's the only adaptation I made to the recipe.  I will definitely make this again.  It's like a bowl of fall for breakfast!

I am still working on the trick or treat bag for my granddaughter.  I will finish it either tonight or tomorrow.  As I was organizing my sewing table last night, I found some beautiful Halloween fabric a friend had gifted me.  She no longer sews, and she gave me a pile of Christmas fabric.  At the bottom was this gorgeous Halloween fabric!  I should have used it for the bag, if I had remembered it was there.  So now I'm thinking I will make another bag after this one, and let her choose which one she wants.  

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Welcome To My New Blog!

 I hope you like my new home!  I'm excited to move in here and get nice and comfy!

You can still access my old blog HERE if you are interested in looking at my old menu plans.   I will add a tab at the top of this page for you to find my old blog.

This blog will not just be menu plans.  It will be a compilation of all things I am interested in and am doing.  It will be a work in progress, I guess!  So here we go!

To start my day every day, I read the Bible.  This is the third year I have read the Bible front to back.  I follow the plan by Christy Jordan at Seeking Scripture.  

Today's reading is Mark 14.  You can read it by clicking on the link.  This one chapter is so full of important events that led up to Jesus' crucifixion.  I always read someone's commentary about the day's reading, after I read it.  This helps me understand it, and it gives me more insight into what God's Word is telling me.  Today, I turned to Enduring Word, and you can find the commentary HERE.  There is so much in this chapter!

Right now, I'm taking a break from making my youngest granddaughter, who is 11 years old, a trick or treat bag.  She requested that I make it this year, so it will last!  🤣  I kind of combined a couple patterns, so I hope she likes it.  I didn't want to make it too big, or too small, so I hope I got it right!  I will post a picture of it when I finish it.  Right now, it's cut out and laying in pieces all over my sewing table.  

For dinner tonight, we are having leftovers.  I have cooked all week long, and the fridge is filled with leftovers.  We will either have Taco Salad for a Large Crowd or the meatloaf I made yesterday.  

Here is the regular Taco Salad my husband ate:

For his meal, I followed the recipe, but added a can of black beans and a can of corn to the taco meat.

Since I am gluten free and mostly dairy free, I make mine a little different.  I use VioLife cheese, which is dairy free.  I don't top my salad with sour cream, which my husband loves.  Other than that, the only change I make to the recipe online is to use gluten free taco seasoning.  We both love this salad!  And it's so easy to throw together!

Here is a picture of my gluten free salad:

Not much different than my husband's, and easy to adapt to gluten and dairy free!

That's about it for today!  I hope you have a great evening, and thanks for stopping by!

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