Maple Pecan Bread

Winter breakfast is oh so comforting when you slice into a piece of the most heavenly moist and tender quick bread that's filled with maple goodness and toasty pecans!

Maple Pecan Bread

One of my favorite flavors during the winter months is maple.  It tastes like a buttery golden caramelized sugar and when warm it brings on that comfort feeling.  So this year I couldn't wait to make a quick bread that's filled with maple syrup and my favorite southern pecans.  A warm slice of this breakfast bread slathered with butter (or not) along with a cup of coffee or tea will be a treat you are surely to remember.

Quick breads are bread made without yeast and are easy to pull together in one bowl.  They are made in a loaf pan and cook for about 1 hour so planning ahead is a good idea.  We love a warm slice for breakfast but they are also the perfect afternoon treat, or dessert along with a scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.  We often take them as dessert for picnics or concerts in the park.

What equipment do I need?

• Loaf Pan - I like USA pans and I have this one.
• Mixing Bowl - I love nesting bowls and bowls that have lids! Perfect to store leftovers and to take along to picnics.  I have these.
• Rubber Spatula
• Wire cooling rack
• Measuring cup and spoons
• Glass measuring cup

What Ingredients do I need?

• all purpose flour
• sugar
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• buttermilk
• unsalted butter
• eggs
• maple syrup
• maple flavor 
• pecans

Substitutions and Variations

• Walnuts instead of pecans
• You can use milk, almond milk or soy milk for the buttermilk
• Use sour cream or full fat yogurt for the butter
• Add in some dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, or apricots
• Substitute half the flour for white whole wheat flour

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Use one bowl to mix the batter.  No mixer required
• Maple flavoring enhances the maple flavor but can be left out
• Use real maple syrup for the best flavor
• Do no overmix the batter.  Stir until everything just comes together.  Overmixing will result in a dense tough bread.
• Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before trying to remove it.  Run a knife along the edges prior to releasing.
• Make sure to grease the loaf pan with either non-stick cooking spray or butter to ensure easy removal.
• To avoid over-browning you may place a sheet of tented foil over the top of the loaf.  I would check for browning around the 45 minutes mark.
• Store the bread in plastic wrap for several days.  You may also freeze the bread for up to 3 months.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Maple Pecan Bread

yield:  1 loaf


1/2 cup buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, maple syrup, and maple flavor. Add the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl.  Stir just until the mixture is combined.  Fold in the pecans.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.  

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from of the pan. Once removed from the pan plan on a wire rack to cool prior to slicing.  

Additional Quick Breads you might like:

• Essential Pumpkin Bread
• Blueberry Coconut Banana Bread
• Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread
• Whole-Grain Harvest Nut Banana Bread
• Raspberry Swirl Lemon Quick Bread
• Blueberry Muffin Bread

Weeknight Wonder: Mongolian Meatballs

Moist and tender turkey meatballs doused in a sweet and spicy sticky glaze.  Served over some fluffy rice and you have a quick dinner in under 45 minutes!

Mongolian Meatballs

Pinterest is the best place to find something new to make for dinner.  This is one of my "must try" pins that appealed to me as an easy weeknight meal.  Who doesn't love meatballs??  And these are even more appealing since they are not your ordinary Italian meatball but an Asian version.

I made these with turkey instead of beef to cut down on the fat and baked them instead of frying them, again to make them healthier.  These little meatballs came out wonderful!  The sauce is sweet and spicy and oh so sticky.  The perfect glaze over the well seasoned meatballs and on top of a bed of fluffy rice.  Heaven!  They will be on the table in under 45 minutes and are very easy to make.   So make sure to stock up on some Asian condiments and get cooking!

What do I serve the meatballs with?

• Fluffy sticky rice
• Asian noodles
• Green steamed vegetables such as broccoli or green beans
• On top of a salad

What Ingredients do I need?

• ground turkey
• bread crumbs
• egg
• ginger
• garlic
• soy sauce
• red pepper flakes
• hoisin sauce
• sesame oil or canola oil
• brown sugar
• sriracha
• cornstarch
• cilantro
  
  

Substitutions and Variations

• Use ground beef, pork or chicken, instead of the ground turkey
• This would be great on top of a salad
• Make the meatballs a little larger and stick a toothpick inside for great appetizers
• Serve them on slider buns for Asian Meatball sliders, great for Game Day!
• Fry the meatballs instead of baking them.
• Leave out the red pepper flakes and any sriracha

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Meatballs are freezer friendly.  You can either freeze them unbaked by flash freezing or after they have been baked but do not put the glaze on them.  They will keep in the freezer 3 months.
• A cookie scoop makes quick work in forming the meatballs. I use this one.
• If forming by hand wet your hands a little first to avoid the meat mixture from sticking to your fingers.
• The sauce may be made in a wok, large skillet, or a medium sauce pan.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Mongolian Meatballs



yield:  18 meatballs

For the Meatballs:
1 lb. ground turkey, 7% fat
⅓ cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper


For the Mongolian Sauce:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce 
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

OTHER
1 tablespoon cornstarch 

1/4 cup water 

cilantro, chopped as garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Gently mix all the ingredients until everything is well combined.  Do not handle the meat very much.  Over mixing will result in dense tough meatballs.  Roll out the meatballs using a small cookie scoop into 1 or 1 1/2" meatballs.  Place them on a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Place them in the refrigerator to firm up for about 10 minutes.  

Bake the meatballs in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and browned.  Remove from oven.

Meanwhile start on the sauce.  Heat a wok or skillet over medium heat.  Add the sesame oil and heat.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.  Combine the cornstarch and the water to a small bowl and whisk together to create a slurry.  Add the slurry to the sauce and cook until thickens, stirring often, about 2-3 minutes.  Sauce will become translucent.  

Add the meatballs, tossing to coat.  Allow meatballs to heat thoroughly in the sauce.  Sprinkle with cilantro.    Serve.

adapted from Food52

Cranberry Citrus Salad

A show-stopper salad that takes advantage of winter produce.  Filled with cranberries and oranges this salad will brighten up any meal!

Cranberry Citrus Salad

I love a really good salad.  This one uses produce found during the winter months and is a great side salad to all types of meat.  The presentation is outstanding on this salad and is completely company worthy but also perfect for the crowd at home.  I served this on Christmas Day and found that is was actually my favorite dish of the whole meal.  It's that good!

A light and fresh salad that is bursting with tart fresh cranberries and sweet juicy Cara Cara oranges.  You also get a little bite from some red onion, and crunch from the celery.  All of this sits a top of a bed of spicy arugula and is sprinkled with some mint for another pop of freshness.  This is one heck of a salad!

What goes with this salad?

• This salad can go with any type of protein, beef, fish, pork, or chicken.
• I served this at Christmas along with Filet Mignon's.
• Serve with a nice crusty bread on the side
• Serve with Grilled Balsamic Chicken, Red Wine and Rosemary Flat Iron Steak, Fig and Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloins

What Ingredients do I need?

• fresh cranberries
• Cara Cara oranges
• celery
• red onion
• sugar
• lemon juice
• ginger - i used pureed ginger
• arugula
• fresh mint - this really makes the dish
• olive oil

Substitutions and Variations

• Use Navel oranges instead of Cara Cara
• Use escarole or red leaf lettuce instead of arugula
• I would use fresh cranberries if available.  Frozen cranberries will work too, just be sure to thaw them
• don't like mint?  leave it off
• use shallot instead of red onion
• add sunflower seeds for added crunch
• Blood oranges would work nicely as a substitution

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Start this salad earlier in the day. The cranberry topping need to meld together for 1 hour before serving.
• A food processor makes quick work of chopping the cranberries.  Use the pulse feature.
• If you don't like a really strong onion flavor cut them and place them in cold water for 15 minutes.  This will cut down on the bite of the onion.
• Cutting segments from an orange is called supreme.  This process gets rid of the membranes between the segments and any bitter white pith. You will end up with prettier and tastier fruit slices.  YouTube has videos on how to do this technique.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Cranberry Citrus Salad

serves 4

1 cup fresh cranberries
2 Cara Cara oranges
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
3 cups arugula
2 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil

In a food processor add cranberries and pulse 5 times to coarsely chop, or chop by hand.  Transfer to a bowl.  Cut peel from the oranges making sure that there is no with pith left on the orange.  Cut sections from the orange over the bowl with the cranberries to catch any juice.  Add sections to the cranberries.  Add the celery, onion, sugar, lemon juice, and ginger.  Stir to combine.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

In a medium bowl toss arugula with the mint and the oil.  Place on a platter and top with the cranberry orange mixture.  Serve.  

adapted from BHG.com