Pre-Fall Recipes

Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Banana Bread

November 18, 2017 by The Partial Ingredients

I love how banana bread can take so many forms. The recipe varieties are pretty much endless! For this recipe I got it into my head that I wanted a “pumpkin spiced latte” inspired recipe–because let’s be honest, I am a coffee addict. The funny thing is I have literally never ordered that drink at coffee places ever. Pumpkin spice and coffee, however, seemed like they would lend themselves really well into a bread recipe. And lend themselves they did! I am a huge fan of this flavor combination and pumpkin spice is the perfect blend for this time of year. Another thing to note however is there is NO pumpkin in pumpkin spice. Just like the coffee drink (spoiler alert: yes there is no pumpkin in that either). So, if you’re looking for actual pumpkin in a banana bread, try this recipe instead.

I used a bit of espresso powder with a half cup of strongly brewed regular coffee, so the coffee flavor is pretty strong with this one. If you have no espresso powder you can actually grind your regular coffee grounds in a spice/coffee grinder to get it really fine, just like espresso powder! I wouldn’t use regular coffee grounds as they are way too grainy for this recipe. The spice blend is a mixture of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg which is perfect for this time of year! I tend to enjoy banana bread in the morning (with my coffee of course!) so I like it to be a little less sweet. I reduced the granulated sugar to 1/4 cup but for a recommended amount of sweetness I have the recipe at 1/2 cup. If you’d like it more sweet you can increase the granulated sugar to 3/4 cup–it’s really up to you!

Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Banana Bread

A delicious pumpkin spiced banana bread made for coffee lovers!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Calories 1200 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter melted
2 or 3 over-ripe bananas mashed
1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar can be reduced or increased by 1/4 cup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp espresso powder or finely ground coffee
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan.
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl.
Mix together the bananas, melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, coffee, egg, spices and espresso/coffee powder.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture.
Stir in the flour, mixing lightly until just combined.
Pour the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350F (or until a toothpick comes out clean from center).

Slow Cooker Hearty Elk & Vegetable Stew

March 5, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Hearty Elk & Vegetable Stew

For those who have game meat available to them, this is the recipe for you! I am lucky to have a local butcher that supplies all sorts of meats, including elk and bison. This one is lovely for ground elk but if that is not available to you, ground beef works just fine. This is a very nice recipe for St. Patrick’s day since meat and potatoes is the perfect entree for the holiday. Flavored with fresh oregano and sage, paprika and garlic, this is a fragrant blend for your holiday stew. I thickened up the soup a bit with a little flour but that is an optional step. I also added balsamic vinegar and worcestershire for a little acid to flavor the stock. Throw everything in the slow cooker to cook all day and you will have a lovely stew for the evening! Garnish each bowl with a little aged Irish white cheddar and fresh parsley to perfect the recipe.
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Tuscan Bean Soup with Ground Turkey & Sourdough Croutons

February 6, 2016 by The Partial Ingredients

Tuscan Bean Soup with Ground Turkey & Sourdough Croutons

Winter is dragging on and hearty, flavorful soups are always on the menu during this time of the year. This soup is amazingly flavorful and super healthy for you. I chose ground turkey for the meat but Italian sausage would also work fine. The soup has lots of veggies to choose from: yellow squash, zucchini, spinach, carrots and more. I especially love the toasted sourdough croutons combined with melted Asiago cheese on top. To thicken up the soup I added a few cups of the base to a food processor. This recipe also works nicely in a crock pot but over the stove works perfectly fine as well. The fresh thyme and rosemary to flavor the stock complete the soup in a lovely way. This recipe is absolutely perfect for the cold winter weather!
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Moroccan Lamb & Couscous Stew

September 22, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

Well it’s almost October and it’s time to gear up for colder weather and warmer food! This stew is perfect for the time of year since it’s hearty, spicy, and a perfect belly warmer. The stew is seasoned with coriander, turmeric, cumin, fresh thyme, fenugreek and cinnamon which makes a lovely blend of spices. I used Israeli couscous for this dish and it has a pretty great texture. It almost reminds me of a smaller, savory version of those tapioca balls in bubble tea. The lamb I chose was ground lamb which breaks apart in tender pieces. If desired the lamb can be rolled into meatballs as well. Preserved lemons also add a bit of savory sweetness that enhances the flavor of the lamb and curry. The nice thing about this dish is that it is filling but doesn’t sit too heavy either. This stew goes great with a generous spoon of plain yogurt, chopped cilantro and lemon for garnish.
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Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Soup

August 31, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

September is almost upon us and the shortening of the Summer’s daylight hours is just starting to get more noticeable. So in honor of the impending Fall weather I thought I would make a hearty slow cooker soup to celebrate. This soup’s humble ingredients go perfectly together and create a delicious and satisfying dish. This soup is pretty much a deconstructed cabbage roll recipe and the broth is flavored with herbs, Worcestershire and paprika. The cabbage and beef becomes fall apart tender after slow cooking it for hours. Garnish with grated cheese and parsley.
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Beef & Guinness Hand Pies

August 10, 2015 by The Partial Ingredients

I never knew how diverse hand pies could be until I started looking around for them. Turns out hand pies can be made savory or sweet, depending on what you fancy. In theory, you could have hand pies for dinner AND dessert if you so desired. You can definitely get creative with these recipes, but hopefully not as creative as Sweeney Todd (sorry). These are actually a lot of fun to make though they are a bit labor intensive. Probably best for a weekend project since it will take you a couple hours assembling the dough and pies together. The process of making the filling made the kitchen smell amazing and after this I resolved to start cooking with Guinness more often! The alcohol burns off and what you’re left with is a wonderful flavor from the Guinness. The filling is also flavored with Worcestershire, thyme and aged white cheddar. The outside of the crust is made with pastry dough which gets nice and flaky after baking.
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Banana Bread Scones

August 31, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Using over-ripe bananas in baking goes way beyond standard loaf bread! These are not your typical dry and crumbly scones. They are a lot more moist, but just as dense as a typical scone. The insides are more light and fluffy and totally delicious! A lot of banana bread scone recipes call for a brown sugar glaze but to cut down on the sweetness I only topped the scones with cinnamon sugar and a dusting of powdered sugar. Which still sounds like a lot right? But it actually turned out being not overly sweet at all. If you have a bunch of over-ripe bananas languishing on your counter give these scones a try!
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Italian Sausage Soup with Roasted Cauliflower and Yellow Squash

June 29, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

This soup is perfect for rainy summer nights or chilly fall days. It combines roasted cauliflower, yellow squash, red potatoes with fresh fennel and thyme. You start off the soup by broiling the cauliflower until just charred. I used homemade chicken stock which lends the best flavor to the recipe. I couldn’t get enough of these flavors combined! The spicy sausage combined with the charred flavor from the cauliflower with the fresh herbs really took this soup to the next level. Serve this soup with some fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese and a crusty baguette.
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Chicken Vegetable Soup with Acorn Squash and White Beans

March 3, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Spring is around the corner but in many places winter is still raging. This soup is loaded with healthy veggies but is still hearty enough to combat the winter chills. For the stock I used my go to recipe for Homemade Stock. You can either use what you have pre-made or make it for the soup–either way works fine and instructions will follow. I packed this recipe with tons of veggies such as acorn squash, spinach, corn, peas, carrots and cabbage. The recipe is surprisingly hearty and flavorful. It has been one of my favorite go-to winter soup recipes over the past few weeks!
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Green Chile and Chorizo Soup with Smokey Croutons

July 17, 2013 by The Partial Ingredients

I love soups and tex-mex food and this recipe combines the best of both worlds! This soup combines a delicious mix of green chilies and tomatillos, chorizo, hominy, potatoes and spices. I went a little overboard with the garnishes and topped the soup with crumbled queso fresco, green onion, fresh lime, cilantro and smokey baked croutons. Even the croutons alone in this recipe are stand out awesome and could easily be snacked on alone! The recipe does require a lot of ingredients and time to prepare but it is totally worth it in the end. I actually never made anything with hominy before and I thought it worked really nicely with the other ingredients. The soup was hardy, with multiple layers of sweet, spicy and savory flavors. I chose a beef chorizo for the meat but soy and pork varieties would work fine in this soup. All of the ingredients blended together so well and I was happy with how it came out!

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