Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

I think this pumpkin bread is magical.  When I was pouring the batter into the pans, I miscalculated (what else is new) and didn't have enough batter to cover the cream cheese filling in the middle.  Half-way through baking when I checked on the bread, the cream cheese had puffed way up over the edges of the pan, with like no pumpkin bread part in sight.  But when the bread was done, the cream cheese filling had somehow settled down more into the bread and it turned out just fine!  So moral of the story is, even if you aren't much of a baker, you can't screw this bread up! :)

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

for the cream cheese filling:

8 oz pkg of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

for the pumpkin bread:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the filling, process the cream cheese in food processor just until smooth.  Add the sugar and process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, processing until just incorporated.  Do not over process.  Stir in the flour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and lightly flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten.  Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Stir in the pumpkin, water, and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.  Do not overmix.

Divide the batter in half.  Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared loaf pans.  Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top of the batter in the two pans, smoothing the tops.  Top with the remaining half of the batter, placing small dollops of batter over the cream cheese filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.  Place pans on wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes before removing bread from pans.  Store bread in the refrigerator.

source:  recipe adapted from joy of baking

Happy Monday!

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I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend!  We had wonderful fall weather and spent Saturday out of town with some extended family.  Yesterday and today we had our first house guests!  My sister and her family came to visit and we had a great time.   Now it's back to the realities of work and cleaning the house and grocery shopping.  I'll be back to my regular posting schedule tomorrow!  I hope your week is off to a great start!

P.S.  I've switched over to my own domain!  I'm now at www.thelifeofawife.com so please update your browers and readers :)

Guest Posting!

Today I am guest posting for Sarah at A Girl In Transit!

Sarah is hosting a series this month called The Fruit of Her Hands (read about it here).  I'm sharing two of my favorite fall recipes:  here's a sneak peek of one of them!  Check out my post here and leave Sarah some love!

Halloween Costume Swap

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Did you know that Saturday is National Costume Swap Day?  Yes, as in not buying your child a new Halloween costume but going to a local event and just swapping with others!

If just half of the kids in America swapped Halloween costumes instead of getting new ones, we could reduce the annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons!  That's pretty significant!  (Plus think of the money you'll save not buying a new one or even buying all of the supplies to make one!)  You can click here to find a swap near you.  A lot of the events are on Saturday, but there are also a bunch that are the next weekend.

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source:  statistic from green halloween

White Chicken Chili

Chilis and soups are genius really.  Dump a bunch of stuff in a pot or a crockpot and let it sit there all day, filling your home with the fragrant smells of a dinner that cooks on its own while you go to work. Then, you can put some of it in the freezer for a dinner a few weeks later that is just as easy as heating it up again.  Genius, I tell you.

White Chicken Chili

3-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 (16 oz) cans Great Northern beans

1 (16 oz) block of Monterey Jack cheese

1 (16 oz) jar salsa, medium or hot

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Boil chicken until tender and cooked through.  Drain broth, saving approximately 2 cups (or can use 2 cups chicken stock).  Once chicken breasts are cool, pull apart and shred with a fork.

Combine beans, salsa, broth, diced tomatoes, and shredded chicken in a large pot or crockpot.  Heat on low/medium heat for a minimum of 45 minutes, or all day in the crockpot - the longer the better!  Add salt and pepper to taste.  20 minutes before serving, cut cheese into chunks and stir into the chili.  Continue to cook until all of the cheese is melted.

source:  recipe from one of my college best friends

Fall Nail Colors

After a summer of hot pinks and bright coral, I am ready to cool down my nail colors for fall.  These are my favorites that I'll be rotating through this season.

{from left to right}  carry on, chinchilly, very structured, mink muffs

{in front}  lady like

What's your go-to nail color for fall?

P.S. More fall nail colors here 

Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread

There's something about making banana bread that makes me feel at home.  My mom used to make banana bread all the time when we were little, and I loved helping mash the bananas with a little fork in that little stainless steel bowl. Now in my mom's kitchen it's my nieces who are the ones that help with making the banana bread.  The little girls love pulling up a chair and putting on the aprons to help pour and stir.  I don't have to pull up a chair anymore, but I still like to put on the apron.  

Happy Monday!

Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread
3/4 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, about 3-4 bananas
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended.  Stir in mashed bananas, chopped pecans, and vanilla extract.  Spoon batter into two greased 8x4-inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.  If the tops start to get brown, you may want to shield the tops with aluminum foil in the last 15 or 20 minutes of baking.  Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool 30 minutes on racks before slicing.

source:  recipe from Southern Living, January 2005