Yummy Fall Dessert

Pumpkin Crunch Cake


Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I will add a bit more next time, perhaps another 1/2 to 1 tsp more)

1 teaspoon salt

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts work well too)

1 cup margarine (2 cubes), melted (I think 1 1/2 cubes would be plenty)

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

(Or make your own whipped cream or use ice cream)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix well and spread into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture and pat down flat. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top of the cake mix then drizzle the melted margarine all over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour but no longer than 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Mine was done in 50-55 minutes, so check it!) Top cooled cake with whipped topping when ready to serve.


I love the crunchy top on this and it was so easy to make! A great alternative to pumpkin pie or for anytime you're craving pumpkin sweets. I also think this could be good, and a pretty presentation, to serve it with caramel sauce drizzled under or over it.

Sweet Lemon

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
(more like a pound cake)
American Profile

Ingredients:

Bread ~

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tlb poppy seeds
2 Tlb coarsely grated lemon rind
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 large eggs

Glaze ~

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp coarsely grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of two (9x5 in) loaf pans.

To prepare bread, combine first 5 ingredients (flour through lemon rind) in a large bowl and blend well.

Combine sugar and next 5 ingredients (sugar through eggs) in a mixing bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

To prepare glaze, while bread is baking, combine all ingredients; stir well to combine. Remove loaves from oven; drizzle immediately with glaze. Let cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; turn out onto wire racks, and let cool completely.

Makes 2 loaves

This is really delicious! The lemon flavor keeps it so light, but the bread is satisfying and just sweet enough. I like to make mine in mini loaf pans so that you get a better glaze to bread ratio. I usually get 4 mini loaves out of 1 recipe. If you do use the mini pans, you will need to adjust your oven time a bit, I would check them at 40 minutes. Great for a snack, brunch, or even dessert.

Simple Breakfast Idea

Pancake Muffins


Ingredients:

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter
12 tbsp filling: try Nutella or fruit jam
confectioners sugar for sprinkling
maple syrup for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously coat the bottom & sides of a 12-muffin tin with butter. Make Bisquick pancakes per instructions on the box. Fill each cup in the muffin tin half-way. Add 1 tbsp of filling to the middle of each muffin, then cover with the remaining pancake mix. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place on serving dish & use a flour sifter to sprinkle with sugar. Serve with warm syrup.

These were super easy and a great way to make pancakes for a large group without having to stand over a hot griddle. I loved the crunchy texture of the outside and they tasted just like pancakes with a burst of flavor!

Another Tuna Idea

Asian Tuna Patties

allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained and flaked

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

3 green onions, minced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup cornmeal**

2 tablespoons vegetable oil


Directions:

In a large bowl, mix tuna, egg, bread crumbs, green onions, and garlic. Blend soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, sesame oil, and pepper into the mixture. Form the mixture into about 6 patties approximately 1 inch thick. Lightly sprinkle each patty on all sides with cornmeal.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry each patty about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

**The cornmeal was far too crunchy and not a good texture for the tuna. I would suggest using breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, or frying with no coating at all.

These were quite tasty. I would happily eat them on their own, but they were also good as a "fish" sandwich, with coleslaw, or cabbage crunch salad. Could also do some kind of Asian noodle.