Stir-Fry Magic Plus Another Favorite

This morning I took out a big sirloin (I'm getting low on chicken) and put it in a ziploc bag with a splash of olive oil vinegarette, worcestershire sauce and brown sugar.  I marinated it all day and then cut it into bite-sized pieces against the grain.  I stir-fried it over high heat until it was done "medium" and then took it out of the pan.  I drained the pan, added a little more oil and then stir-fried some carrots, broccoli and half an onion.  I made 2 cups of beef broth from boullion, added 1/4 cup of soy, some hot sauce and 1 T. of corn starch and mixed it up.  When the veggies were crisp-tender I put the meat back in the pan and then added the sauce.  I simmered it all until the sauce thickened and served it over white rice.  D.C.M., my pickiest eater, ate so much, he asked me how much I was going to eat, so he could have more!

This time of year makes me want to start burning my apple cinnamon candles and making pumpkin bread.  I have the best ever pumpkin bread recipe.  It comes from an old cook book that my mom gave me from the Farm Credit Services of Southeast Missouri.  Here it is:



BEST EVER PUMPKIN BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant coconut cream pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

5 eggs

2 cups canned pumpkin puree

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly

grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking

soda, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, stir the oil, eggs and

pumpkin until just blended.. Stir the flour mixture into the egg

mixture. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick

inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean (It is easy to

under bake this bread, so be sure to check for doneness.)

If the top begins to over-brown, you may need to cover lightly with

foil. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes and then remove

from pans and cool on wire rack.

　

FOR PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS:

Pour batter into muffin tins to make 24 muffins. Cream together 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar and an egg until smooth. Put 1 T. of cream cheese mixture onto the top of each unbaked muffin.

With a fork, mix together ¼ cup of brown sugar, 3 T. cold butter (chopped into small chunks) and ½ cup of chopped nuts. When this mixture resembles course meal, sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean

　

As bread or muffins, this recipe is a huge hit whenever I make it.  It is incredibly rich and moist.