With my husband gone for 2 weeks on a mission trip, I am struggling with finding motivation to get things accomplished. I just feel kind of withdrawn. I haven’t even had one idea for a blog entry this week. Having big plans of getting some things done while he was gone, I am really disappointed that I’m so unmotivated! So last night when my sister called to tell me she would like to bring my parents up for the weekend, it got my wheels turning. I planned out some menus for meals while they are here and what things to bake to have on hand for breakfast. (I don’t think they will want Fruit Loops)Then, talking to a friend on the phone this morning, she said she’d come by soon to look at our dvd’s to borrow something. I remembered that our back room where our videos and dvd’s are is a total wreck. So I went back there to just rearrange some things so she could get in and have a look. Well, 3 hours later, I had my homeschool videos that were thrown willy nill into a huge box in the middle of the floor arranged. (We use BJU Homesat for most subjects in high school classes, so I have TONS of videos.) I got them all in boxes, labeled according to their subject and grade. Hmmmm, where to put these boxes! After emptying the top shelf of the video cabinet, I stacked the boxes on top.
In order to make room for the rearranged videos and dvd’s I had to totally rearrange my homeschool supply shelf, where every shelf was askew and awful. I threw away a kitchen garbage bag full of debri from my rampage.
I also had to deal with a huge box of paper towels that was in the middle of the floor in that same back room. So I dragged it to the hall closet, where I had to rearrange sleeping bags and some quilts to make room for it. I also found the curtains I’m going to redo for Maggie’s room in there and put them on to wash. (Hopefully I won’t forget them in the drier, so I won't have a tough time ironing them.)
Finishing all of this rearranging and purging of my closet and back room felt very, very satisfying. Bethany cooked us burgers for lunch (so I don’t have to fix dinner tonight…just a snack supper….yay!) As we were cleaning up lunch things, my eye caught sight of a can of pumpkin sitting innocently where I had left it by the mixer. “Oh, I need to make some things for breakfasts for the weekend!” Out came the laptop and click, click to my recipes folder. No pumpkin recipe looked that great….so I went to allrecipes.com and did a search on pumpkin bread. Finding some interesting recipes, I baked 2 of them, which I will leave you with and one that I will make soon, but didn’t have any cream cheese for it on hand today. (It got very good reviews on allrecipes.com, so I’m sure it’s very good! It’s described as more of a dessert/cake than a breakfast bread.)
I sat down here at my laptop thinking I would only copy and paste the recipes and here I’ve written a whole post! It was a strange kind of day…in between all of this flying about like the tazmanian housework devil, I had several people drop by, several phone calls and had to take or pick up Bethany several times. I feel like a worker ant…and now I feel as though I need to go to my roost and nestle down to rest….a well deserved rest it is too.
This one’s in the oven and it smells terrific!!
5/8 cup warm water
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 3/4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
Directions
1 Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order
suggested by the manufacturer. Select basic setting. Start.
2 To bake bread in oven: select dough or manual cycle.
Once cycle is complete, shape dough and place in a greased
loaf pan. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in
size. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven
for 35 to 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in
the center of the loaf reads 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
This one I am eating right now and it is very satisfying….it’s a perfect breakfast or snack bread.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter flavored shortening
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
1 In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt,
pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and cloves.
2 In a separate bowl, cream together shortening and brown
sugar. Mix in eggs, pumpkin, and milk. Stir flour mixture
into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in raisins and
walnuts if desired. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 5
inch loaf pan.
3 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees ) for 50 to 55 minutes.
This is the dessert-ish recipe….looks wonderful!
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup water
Directions
1 Blend cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 beaten egg.
Set aside.
2 Combine flour, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, baking soda,
salt, and spices. Set aside.
3 Combine pumpkin, butter or margarine, beaten egg, and
water. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, mixing just
until moistened. Reserve 2 cups of the pumpkin batter.
Pour the remaining batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5
inch loaf pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin
batter, and top with reserved pumpkin batter. Cut through
batter several times with a knife for a swirl effect.
4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 70 minutes,
or until tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10
minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.
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