Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

It's Thanksgiving!!! This is one of my favorite holidays mainly because I get to cook AND eat a bunch of yummy dishes.

Another reason I love this holiday is getting together with friends and family. Sadly, all my family lives in California, which means I don't get to see them often. The good news is that we kind of have an orphan Thanksgiving. What I mean by that is my mom invites all her friends over who also do not have much family around to spend the holiday with. We have been doing this for years and I have spent many a Thanksgiving with these same people and they have become my Thanksgiving family!

But even better news, this year my cousin Carly and her husband Charlie are visiting for Thanksgiving and I couldn't be happier!

This year I am having two Thanksgivings! My roommates and I had a roomie Thanksgiving before we all left for the break. I baked a small ham, made my sweet potato casserole, and tried out this yummy bread I discovered from Averie Cooks!

I wanted to make something different at my roomie Thanksgiving other than a pumpkin pie. But, I knew it still needed to be pumpkin flavored. I have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now and knew this would be the perfect time. I had no regrets. It turned out great and had a nice flavor.

Ingredients

Bread

1 large egg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin oie soice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt, optional and to taste

Cream Cheese Filling

1 large egg

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions

Oven: 350
Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with grease and flour the pan. Set aside.
Bread
In a large bowl, add the first ten ingredients, through ground nutmeg, and whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt if you choose too, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don't over mix then set aside. Turn about two-thirds of the batter out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into the corners and sides as necessary; set aside.
Cream Cheese Filling
In a large bowl, add all ingredients and whisk to combine. Alternatively, mix with a hand mixer. Evenly pour filling mixture over prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into the sides as necessary. Top the cream cheese filling with remaining pumpkin batter, smoothing the top very lightly with spatula as to not disturb cream cheese layer; smooth batter into corners and sides as necessary.
Bake for about 48 minutes or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set. Use a toothpick to see if the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. This part will be tricky because the cream cheese won't really get solid, so the toothpick test isn't the most accurate. Baking times will vary based on moisture content of pumpkin, cream cheese, climate, and oven variances. Bake until done; watch your bread, not the clock.

Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicking and serving.
Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

TATER RATER

Oatmeal Pumpkin Creme Pie

I love fall. With Fall comes pumpkins. Pumpkin flavored anything. To start Fall off I had my first ever cup of Pumpkin Spiced Latte to see what all the hype was about. I was converted. That latte was so yummy, I do not care that I am basic now. 
I am obsessed with oatmeal creme pies so when  I came across this delightful recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction I knew it had to be made. What is even better is that it is pumpkin flavored! 

Ingredients

Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 and 2/3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

Frosting

4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 tbs unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 - 2 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Oven: 325
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk the baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.
Do not skip this step: Chill the dough for at least one hour (or up to 1 day) in the refrigerator. Cookies will be very flat if the dough is not cold.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough into a ball and place onto prepared sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or so and then transfer to a wire rack.
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the pumpkin frosting. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin, and spices on medium speed until creamy. Add 2 - 2 and 1/2 cups of sifted confectioners sugar (depending how sweet you like it). If frosting is much too thin, add in the flour to thicken it. If too sweet, add salt to cut the sweetness. (I recommend chilling the frosting for half an hour or so.)
 Spread a generous amount of frosting on the underside of a cooled cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. Cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

TATER RATER

Deconstructed Sloppy Joe's

I wasn't able to get a good enough picture, so I used the picture I got from the recipe Sweet C's Designs. She calls it an Easy Cheesy BBQ Beef & Biscuit Casserole; it tastes exactly like a sloppy joe, but better. Not only is it easy to make, it has few ingredients too. I love simple and cheap meals. I suggest sticking to this recipe because of the BBQ sauce. As Sweet C explains, KC Masterpiece is a sweet BBQ sauce, so if you choose to use a different sauce you may need to add brown sugar. The sweetness is a great flavor to the dish. So delicious.
 This is one meal that I will be making for my children one day. 
Enjoy! I sure did.

Ingredients

1 can flaky biscuits (8 per pack)

1½ pounds ground beef

1 cup KC Masterpiece (or other sweet) BBQ sauce

¼ cup yellow mustard

1½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

Oven: 350

In a very well greased casserole dish, lay out biscuits. In a large pan, brown ground beef.

While beef cooks, smoosh biscuits to make a layer across the bottom of the pan. Bake biscuits until very slightly browned, about 5 minutes, and set aside until beef is ready. When ground beef is cooked, drain fat well. Add BBQ sauce and mustard, stir well and taste- add more of either to taste. Pour beef mixture into biscuit base. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

TATER RATER

Kimchi Quesadillas

In the mood to try something new? Well I was. My roommate Tater loves kimchi. She loves anything Asian, really. So I thought I would give kimchi a try. Tater was pretty stoked to hear I would make these for her. I came across this recipe from a buzzfeed post. [but it didn't have the list of ingredients. I found the list of ingredients on Serious Eats.] Since it was my first time to try kimchi, I figured this would be a good meal for the first time and I was right. They were definitely different. Kimchi has a vinegary taste, so that was transferred to the quesadillas, but I don't mind that. So, if you like kimchi or don't mind a tang, I would expand your horizons and give this a try. 

Ingredients

Yields 2

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup cabbage kimchi, drained and chopped

Green onions

2 (8-inch) flour tortillas

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1 cup grated Sharp Cheddar

1 cup grated Monterey Jack

1 tablespoon Canola oil

Directions

Add butter into a medium heat pan and sauté kimchi until edges are golden brown. Divide these ingredients between two quesadillas: spread sautéed kimchi onto one side of tortillas, add cheese, toasted sesame seeds, and green onions. Add oil to pan and fry until golden then garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. 

TATER RATER

(Like I said, Tater loves kimchi)