Weddingbee boards

Banana-Pumpkin bread!!!

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<h3>Ingredients</h3>

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)

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<h3>Directions</h3>

<li style="overflow: visible;"> Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 9x5 inch loaf pan.
<li style="overflow: visible;"> In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin, honey and sugar. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pie spice and cinnamon, stir into the banana mixture until just combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts if desired. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
<li style="overflow: visible;"> Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

I have a great recipe for butternut squash if you're interested... still in the same family and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Let me know...

@krissycake - good! it's very tasty... I leave the raisins out but that's just me.

I have one for soup too!! :) Hold on... I'll find it!!

Penne w/ Butternut Squash, Sausage & Sage:

~ 1 butternut squash, cut into 1" pieces
~ 2 Italian sausages (you can use hot or sweet), casings removed
~ 2 cloves garlic, chopped
~ 3 tbsp of chopped, fresh sage leaves
~ 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock
~ 1/4 cup white wine
~ 8 oz. of penne pasta (half a box or bag)

In a heavy skillet, coat your pan w/ olive oil. Cook butternut squash on high, not moving around too much, until the edges caramelize. About 5 minutes or so. Remove from pan.

Now, add your sausage, and break it up in the pan. After that is browned, about 5 minutes, add your garlic, chopped sage and white wine and simmer for 3 minutes until liquid is evaporated.

Add your chicken stock and butternut squash and simmer 10 minutes, until squash is tender.
While sauce is simmering, boil your pasta in salted water and drain.
Add your cooked pasta to the sauce. Serve immediately with Parmesan sprinkled on top.

@Boston Bee: I think that might be really good!! Let me know how that works out!

BTW, that recipe for Penne with Butternut and Sausage is probably one of my all-time fall faves. I just made it Monday night actually!! I made a double batch because it's so fantastic so my fiance and I could take it to work during the week.

OK I just found this one.... I made it once and it was FANTASTIC but the measurements are metric and I never converted them.... so yea.... I remember it being super super good!!

Beefstew with beer and pumpkin (serves 2 or 3)

350 gr. beef

30 gr butter

4 small onions

Half a medium sized pumpkin

200 gr round carrots or another vegetable you like (we did carrots)

1 bottle of Stout or another dark beer

5 cloves

1 pcs of mace

2 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

sugar to taste

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice (we did the mashed potatoes)

Cut the beef in chunks of about 2 cm and put pepper and salt on them. Put the butter in a casserole pan and once the butter stops foaming add the meat. Bake the meat for about 10 minutes on medium high till it is browned.

2. Cut up 3 onions in rough pieces and add them to the meat. Bake for another 5 minutes. Add the bottle of beer.

3. Stick the cloves into the remaining onion (you can leave it whole, it will fall apart anyway) and add this together with the mace, bayleave and cinnamon stick to the meat. Bring to a boil, add pepper and salt and sugar to taste. You don’t want it to be overly sweet. Put a lid on the pan and simmer for approx. 2 hours. Add the carrots in and simmer for another half hour before you add the pumpkin. Simmer for another half hour and check if the meat is fall apart tender and the pumpkin well done.

You can add potatoes to the mix together with the pumpkin and have a one pot meal or you can make mashed potatoes and serve those on the site. Sprinkle some freshly grated nutmeg over the mashed potatoes!

Found the soup!!

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<h3>Ingredients</h3>

• 6 tablespoons chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons margarine
• 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups water
• 4 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

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<h3>Directions</h3>

<li style="overflow: visible;"> In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
<li style="overflow: visible;"> Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Too funny that this was posted today...I just roasted giant fairytale pumpkin (good for baking) and pureed it, and am freezing portions for pies and breads and things.  With the last bit, I made pumpkin cookies -- the recipe is on the WashPost All You Can Eat Blog.  I'll try to copy and paste it over in a minute.  YUMMY!

I just came across this one... I have yet to try it but it sounds amazing.

Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup

1 large pumpkin, 8-10 lbs, cut in half and seeds removed (or you could use two large cans of pumpkin, or a butternut squash or two)

salt and pepper

2 T butter, melted

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t grated fresh ginger

1/2 t ground coriander

2 t Thai red curry paste

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 c vegetable broth

minced chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly season pumpkin halves with salt and pepper, and brush with butter. (can use olive oil if you prefer) Place skin-side down on a baking sheet, and allow to roast until tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and allow to cool.

In a large stock pot, bring olive oil to medium heat and add garlic, ginger, curry paste, and coriander. Allow to cook for a minute or two, stirring, just until it becomes fragrant. Add pumpkin and coconut milk and stir, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, remove from heat, and puree. (I used a hand blender, but if you don’t have one, you can blend in batches with your blender or food processor.) Place back on heat and stir in broth, a little at a time, until the soup is at the desired consistency. Taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Keep at a simmer for 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Garnish with minced chives. Serves 5-6.

I love just roasted pumpkin seeds... My fiance's mom makes the best. Mmmmm. I might just have to convince her to make some. Maybe we can trade - I'll make her something yummy with the pumpkin and she'll make me something yummy with the seeds.

mmmm i want pumpkin pie...

Pumpkin cookie recipe:

Makes 2 1/2 dozen bite-size sandwich cookies or about sixteen 2-inch sandwich cookies

Adapted from a 2009 Land O' Lakes recipe.

For perfectly round, bite-size cookies, pipe the dough in 1-inch rounds through a piping bag with no tip attached. Pipe onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, space the dough rounds 1 inch apart.

MAKE AHEAD: The cookie sandwiches be made assembled, covered and refrigerated for 3 days. Unfilled cookies can be cooled completely, individually wrapped with plastic wrap and frozen for a month. Defrost, still wrapped, for 30 minutes at room temperature before filling. The filling can be assembled and refrigerated up to to 4 days in advance. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

For the cookies
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed (light or dark) brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup 100-percent pure canned pumpkin
1/4 cup whole or low-fat milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar sifted, plus more for optional dusting

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice blend, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the brown sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, until creamy. Stop to add the pumpkin puree, milk, egg and vanilla extract; beat on medium-low spead for 2 minutes, until all ingredients are incorporated. Reduce the speed to low; gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Drop level tablespoonfuls of dough onto each baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart (the cookies do not spread much). Bake one sheet at a time, for 9 to 12 minutes or until set; they should spring back when lightly pressed. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet; then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat to use all the dough, making a total of 60 cookies.

To make 2-inch cookies, drop 2-tablespoon amounts of dough on the sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until set and springy to the touch. Cool as directed above; repeat to use all the dough, making a total of 32 cookies.

For the filling: Combine the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat at medium speed 3 minutes until smooth, stopping often to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, or up to 4 cups as needed, beating well after each addition until the mixture is creamy. (More sugar means a stiffer filling.)

Turn half the cookies flat-sides up. Spread each one with 2 teaspoons of the filling, then top with the remaining cookies. If desired, dust the tops of the cookies with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Oh I love me some Paula Deen. She's like everyone's grandma... love her!!