Apple Bread Pudding

Apple Bread Pudding

We have a lot of apples at our house, and bread that I need to get rid of. I'm trying to find some more creative ways to use them, and last week I found a recipe for apple bread pudding, that turned out all right for us. I'm not a huge fan of bread pudding, so I can't give a very good opinion, but my husband really enjoyed it (and ate most of it). You can find the recipe here. I of course add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves instead of just the cinnamon. I also added a little more apple than the recipe called for, and it turned out fine. The sauce that goes with it separated for me, but the taste was good. I would probably opt for some vanilla ice cream as a topping if I make it again.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Chip Muffins

This sweet treat comes from my friend Crystal at Serving God and Family. She has the best recipe for Chocolate Chip Muffins, and when I made them the entire process only took me 30 minutes- perfect if you're doing some last minute entertaining. The ingredients are simple, and I just used a bowl and spatula to mix everything, so no mixer clean up! They are great warm with a glass of milk. :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar (regular sugar)
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cups Milk
1/4 Cups Oil
1 Egg
1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips (can use milk or semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 400°F
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until blended. Add in chocolate chips. Pour into greased or lined cupcake tins, fill 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

Baked Acorn Squash

Baked Acorn Squash

Ken picked up a couple of acorn squash from the store the other day, and I needed to do something with them before they went bad. I decided to bake them with butter and brown sugar, which I always find delicious. Here is what I did:

2 Acorn Squash, halved and gutted
Score the flesh with a paring knife (this allows the buttery goodness to soak in and makes it easier to remove after it's cooked)
Spread 1-2 Tbsp room temperature butter on each half (the back of a spoon works well for this)
Pack 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar on each half over the butter
Place halves in a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350F for 45min to 1 hour. Squash is done when the flesh is soft when a fork is inserted. To serve, I put a squash half in a bowl, run a knife around the outside to separate the flesh a little, and put a bit more brown sugar in the melted butter to make a nice sauce. Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated, then reheated in the microwave or oven.