Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I recently woke up craving pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I'd never had it before but the flavor combination sounded amazing. I looked online and, low and behold, I found lots of recipe options. This one from www.food.com looked the best so I tried it. Wow. It's so good. This is what I'm making for all of our neighbors for Christmas.

 

Ingredients 

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin 
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 2 1/2 cups flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 3/4 teaspoon clove 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate chips in this recipe)

 

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spray two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Stir chocolate chips into dry mixture.

4. In separate bowl stir eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin together.

5. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and still until just combined.

6. Divide batter equally into the two loaf pans.

7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

 

 

 

My Sangria

This is now my most asked for recipe so its time to post it. I began making sangria when we moved to San Antonio and took a pitcher to all of our neighborhood parties, bunco, girls nights in, etc. Almost five years later, I still make it whenever we go to someone's house or whenever we have guests in town. Its so good!

 

Let me first say that it is not very precise at all and it tends to depend on what fruit and juice I have in my fridge sometimes. The red wine and triple sec are musts but after that, I throw it whatever I have on hand - blueberries, apples, strawberries, etc. I do think the recipe as listed below is the best though.

 

Ingredients

• 1 big bottle of cheap sweet wine (Lambrusco, LOL, Riunite, etc) - they are usually about $9 or $10 for the oversized bottle
• 1/4 c triple sec
• 1/4 c sugar*
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes
• 2 oranges
• 1/4 c black cherry rum (optional)
• Ginger ale or sprite (optional)

*Note: If you use ginger ale or sprite when you serve it, you may want to leave out the sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be.

 

 

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, juice one lemon, lime, and orange.
2. Cut up the other lemon, lime and orange (don't squeeze) and just place them in the pitcher.
3. Mix the sugar and all liquid (except the ginger ale/sprite) in the pitcher. 
4. Still well.
5. Let it sit for 12-24 hours in the fridge. I cover the pitcher with saran wrap and occasionally stir it.
6. Before serving, be sure to stir it really well because the sugar settles on the bottom. 
7. I like to serve it with a splash of ginger ale (or sprite) just to make it a little effervescent but I pour the ginger ale/sprite in each glass, NOT in the pitcher.
8. If you have any left after 24 hours, strain the sangria from the fruit and store the sangria (minus the fruit).