Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

Two sheets of thin black poster board is all you need to create a spooky display this Halloween.

I got this clever idea from Martha Stewart.  I simply sketched a witch with a white colored pencil to the back side of the poster board.  She is so tall, I had to tape two pieces of poster board together.  Then I cut it out and stuck my spooky witch to my front window with double stick tape.  When a small light is on in the living room, she takes on a wonderful glow.

I thought the idea was so easy and fun, I used this mice template to cut out mice silhouettes then pasted them in my glass of my kitchen dish cupboard.  I love to see unsuspecting visitors do a double take.

Both projects cost me around a dollar. And they were fun… kinda like craft time in elementary school.

One thing is for sure, It doesn’t have to cost much to make it a frightful Halloween.

There are some recipes that just say Autumn.  And Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread is one of those.  This recipe is so good, it might even be better than Great Harvest’s bread, and it costs a fraction to make it at home!  The only problem with making it, is that I want to eat way too much of it.

Here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

• 3 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 2 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
  
• 2 2/3 c. sugar
  
• 2/3 c. butter
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1 lb. canned mashed pumpkin
  
• 2/3 c. water
  
• 1 c. chocolate chips
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.  Cream sugar and butter until well incorporated.  Add eggs one at a time and then add mashed pumpkin.   Alternate adding dry ingredients with water.   Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into greased bread pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55- 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.’

Click here for the Printable Recipe.

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two large bread pans with cooking spray.  Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. After all the ingredients are sifted into the bowl, I give the bowl a good stir to make sure the baking soda and powder are mixed in thoroughly.

2.  Cream together softened butter and sugar.

3.  Add eggs one at a time.  Notice I have all the eggs in one bowl.  After learning from the school of hard knocks (in other words, picking egg shell out of my batter) I always crack my eggs into a small bowl first.  I know this goes against my “as few dishes as possible rule” but rules are made to be broken.  In the off chance there is a bit of shell, it is easily picked out.  The eggs are still really easy to add one at a time.  Just tip the bowl until one yolk drops into the batter, and blend it in.  Then add the next, and so on, until they are are mixed in nicely.

4.  Blend in the mashed pumpkin.  The batter will look slightly curdled once it’s all mixed in.  It’s OK, you haven’t made a mistake.

5.  Alternate adding in the dry ingredients with 2/3 cup of water a little at a time.  It is really important not to over mix the batter.  You want everything incorporated, but just.

6. And to avoid over mixing, I fold in the chocolate chips.  Just a little note about chocolate chips.  I love good ones.  I think it makes a big difference in my baking.  But good chips are expensive.  If I ever see Guittard Semi Sweet Chips on sale, I buy them.  Several years ago, when I was doing a lot of baking, I did a taste test with chips.  I had Nestle, Guittard, and Ghiradelli chips all laid out in a row.  My favorite by far was the Guittard.  Next came Ghiradelli and then Nestle.

7.  Pour evenly into two large greased bread pans.

8.  Bake at 325 for 55-65 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Here’s a great tip, I love using a thin bamboo skewer as my cake tester.  I always wash it and reuse it.

9.  Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy.  (More than I should.)