Sweet Corn Cake ****

This is probably the boys' favorite thing that I make.  Out of everything.  It helps that I only make it once a year, though, lol.  I typically make it to serve with our annual New Year's Day Hoppin' John meal.  It's ridiculously good, but with the creamed corn and the sugar, what's not to love?  I do usually back off the sugar amount a bit.  I double the recipe, but I only use about 1/2-3/4 cup of sugar total, depending on my mood.  I also use the baking Stevia instead of regular white sugar.  You can't tell a difference in this at all, and it makes me feel just a tad bit better about serving such a sweet item with our regular meal.  Better than nothing, right?  Ha!

SWEET CORN CAKE
(Chandra ~ chaneden ~ adapted from AllRecipes)

1 (8oz) pkg Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg slightly beaten
1 (8oz) can creamed corn
1/2 cup white sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x9 pan with non-stick cooking spray. (A smaller pan will make a thicker cake which is preferred over a thinner one.)
2. Place cornbread mix in bowl. Stir in milk and egg. Mix in creamed corn and sugar. Pour into greased pan.
3. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (I look for the edges to turn a little brown and pull away from the sides.)
* Chandra's Notes: I usually multiply this by three, then divide into two pans to make a thicker cake.
** luckymommy/Amy's notes: I doubled it and put it in a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.

Double Trouble Banana Bread ****

Wow.  This thing was GOOD.  I combined several recipes I found online, and this is what I came up with.  Hubby has been begging for banana bread, but all of my old recipes use applesauce.  This way uses a little extra banana to compensate for no applesauce.  It comes out so moist and flavorful.  I didn't do the part about letting it cool, though.  I popped that sucker out of the pan as soon as it came out of the oven, and we dug right in.  Nothing like warm banana bread. :-)

DOUBLE TROUBLE BANANA BREAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
4 medium size overripe bananas, mashed
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350*.
Lightly grease 9x5 loaf pan.
With mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Add in eggs and bananas, and mix until well blended. Slowly mix in flour and pecans, just until moistened.
Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

7-Up Biscuits ***

This recipe has been posted and shared on Facebook a million times.  My mom actually made it first, and she told me I had to make it ASAP.  The original recipe was missing a lot of stuff, so I made some changes and additions before posting it on my blog.  The original recipe can be found here. The recipe below is my interpretation. 

We loved it.  It really is unbelievably easy.  It's nothing extra special, but it's a quick, easy, and no-fail way to throw together some biscuits.  I got just shy of two dozen biscuits out of the recipe, but I made mine kind of large.  They'll make nice sausage biscuits tomorrow morning.  :-)

7-UP BISCUITS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ inspired by Facebook recipe)

1/4 cup butter
4 cups Bisquick
1 cup 7-Up
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 425. Put butter in 9x13 casserole dish and place in oven until melted.  Mix together Bisquick, 7-Up, and sour cream.  Get hands a little wet, and roll dough into balls (I like them the size of a medium plum).  Drop 12 biscuits into dish, and bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until tops are slightly browned.

Cake Mix Pumpkin Muffins **

These are definitely not pretty muffins, but they had a decent flavor.  They had a slight doughy taste to them, even though they were completely cooked.  I used a sugar-free yellow cake mix.  It was sweet enough, but in my opinion, the pumpkin flavor was kind of lost in there.  I think I might try it with a little bit of cinnamon next time.  The kids liked them, and they were beyond easy.  Those were my main concerns, so it all worked out.  :)

CAKE MIX PUMPKIN MUFFINS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Sweet Verbena)

One Cake mix- OP used yellow
1 -15 ounce can 100% pumpkin- puree, not pumpkin pie filling

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients. Pour into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Add a dusting of powdered sugar, or better yet some homemade cream cheese frosting for added awesomeness.  Makes 12 large muffins.
Note: Batter will be extremely thick.

Low Fat Crockpot Apple Cake ****

Another Pinterest recipe, but this was delicious.  We all loved it.  The website lists it as being fat-free, but thanks to the addition of the eggs, it's not actually fat-free.  It's still pretty low fat, though.  We all loved it.  I used all white flour, since I had less whole wheat than I thought, and I think she must have used a smaller crockpot.  Mine only took a little over an hour in my big crock, so I think I'm going to double it next time.  Besides that, when it tastes that good, it tends not to last very long, lol.  I'll definitely be making this one a lot in the future!

LOW FAT CROCKPOT APPLE CAKE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via FindingJoyInMyKitchen)

1 C flour (1/2 C wheat, 1/2 C white)
3/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large apples, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Peel and slice your apples (I diced mine fairly small), and then coat with the flour mixture.
Mix the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
Pour the egg mixture over the floured apples. Pour/spoon into a greased crockpot (Batter will be thick).
Cover, and cook on high for about 2 hours.
Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pumpkin and Cream Bread **

I found this one on Pinterest, and I made it because it was supposed to only be about 45 calories per slice.  Hubby loves pumpkin rolls, and since this was supposed to resemble one, I thought it was a good snack for him while he's dieting.  After making it, I read the reviews, and it's apparently closer to 100 calories per slice.  That's still a pretty decent calorie count for a snack, though. 
We really loved the flavor, but the bread never rose at all.  After reading all of the reviews, I saw that I should have just made it into one loaf instead of two and added some additional flour.  There's great potential here, but at this point, it needs so much work that it would probably be easier to just try a different recipe altogether.

PUMPKIN AND CREAM BREAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via SundayBaker)

Batter:
1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
1 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.
2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.
3. Grease 2 8x4x2" loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Yield: 2 loaves (14 slices each)

Beer Bread ****

I've been down in my back lately, so I haven't been cooking very much.  Sorry for the lack of posts.  I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things this next week.
We just adore this one.  It's so easy to throw together, but it's really good.  It's a really dense bread, but it tastes yummy with some butter spread on it.  I've been wondering if it would be good with soups.  I need to try that sometime.  As it is, we mainly just make it to eat by the slice, lol.  When looking for a picture on Food.com, I just noticed that you can even mix the batter up in the loaf pan, to save on dirty dishes.  Woo hoo! 

Photo courtesy of Food.com

BEER BREAD
(OP?)

3 cups self-rising flour
½ cup sugar
12 ounces beer
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and beer and mix well. The mixture should be sticky. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. At the last 3 minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with butter and return to oven.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Banana Bread ***

I combined different aspects of several banana bread recipes on the web and came up with this one.  We loved it.  It's actually a tad bit too moist, so I will probably reduce the applesauce next time.  Other than that, it was amazing.  We all inhaled it at breakfast this morning.  :)

Photo of similar recipe from Recipezaar

CHOCOLATE CHIP SOUR CREAM BANANA BREAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup chopped nuts (omit if you don't like nuts)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Grease 1 large loaf pan.
Combine applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla; mix well
Add dry ingredients, then bananas, nuts, chocolate chips, and sour cream; mix well.
Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
*Amy's notes: I want to try cutting the applesauce amount in half next time.

Easy Zucchini Bread **

This was pretty good.  I loved the flavor of it.  Even after an hour, though, it was still pretty soggy in the middle.  The flavor was phenomenal, though.  I do love the idea of a cake mix base, so I'm still in search of a better recipe.  I think if you could eliminate some of the liquids, it would make a better density.  I just don't want to change it up so much that it loses the basic taste.  It's definitely a work in progress.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

EASY ZUCCHINI BREAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Southern Living, Oct 2007)

1 cup chopped pecans, divided
1 (18.25-oz.) package spice cake mix
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini (1 medium zucchini)

Place 2/3 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan.
Bake at 350° for 6 to 7 minutes or until pecans are lightly toasted, stirring occasionally.
Beat cake mix and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium, and beat 1 minute, stopping to scrape bottom and down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in zucchini and 2/3 cup toasted pecans. Pour batter evenly into 2 (9- x 5-inch) lightly greased loaf pans. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup pecans evenly over batter.
Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes before slicing.

Caramel-Nut Pull-Apart Bread ***

These were actually really good.  Sadly, I was unaware that I possessed a Bundt pan, but I had firm plans to borrow my mom's.  The sadder part is that I forgot to do that also.  So, I ended up doing them in a pie-sized baking dish.  The very center rolls didn't get done, but other than that, it was delicious.  I definitely want to experiment again, since dh and the boys all loved it.  I want to try one with more of a cinnamon glaze, though.  This one is just a bit too sweet and buttery for me.  Definitely yummy, though.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar.com

CARAMEL-NUT PULL-APART BREAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Southern Living)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 (12-oz) cans refrigerated biscuits
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar and walnuts in a small bowl. Stir in butter. Spoon half of brown sugar mixture in bottom of greased 12-cup Bundt pan.
Cut each biscuit in half, and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle biscuits with cinnamon sugar; toss well to coat. Arrange half of biscuits over brown sugar mixture in Bundt pam. Spoon remaining brown sugar mixture over biscuits in pan; top with remaining biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until browned. Turn out onto a serving platter immediately, spooning any sauce in pan over bread. Serve warm.

Eggnog Quick Bread ****

(Julia)

2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups eggnog
2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease bottom only of a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or three 3x5 inch loaf pans.
Blend together the eggs, eggnog, rum extract, sugar, vanilla and butter.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to eggnog mixture and stir just enough to moisten; pour into prepared pan.
Bake bread in large pan for 40 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Breads baked in the smaller pans require 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool completely, wrap tightly and store in refrigerator.

Banana Oatmeal Bread ***

(Jessica, Cooking Light)

1 ½ cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup oats (can also use flavored packets of oatmeal)
1 cup mashed bananas
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Combine banana, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, in the pan, for about 15 minutes (I left mine in longer and it was fine).
Remove the bread from the pan after 15 minutes and cool thoroughly on the rack.
*Jessica's notes: I used lactose-free fat-free milk instead of buttermilk, and simply added about 1 TB of vinegar. Also used a nonstick bread pan.
* Amy’s notes: I used two packets of apple cinnamon instant oatmeal and will add pecans next time.

Moist Banana Pecan Bread **

(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar.com)

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamed. Beat in eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla until creamy.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add this dry mixture into creamed mixture and mix well. Batter will get thick. Stir in chopped pecans. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 70-80 minutes.
Makes 1 loaf.