Pumpkin Bread

So I was super bummed with Starbucks started carrying La Boulange instead of the regular beauteous pastries. La Boulange, at first glance, looks okay, but then you realize it's all tired and gross and just does not compare (at least in my opinion--and to be honest I didn't really try all that much, since I was mostly just bummed that they don't have the same exact pumpkin bread). So anyway, the pumpkin bread. Yeah I've seen some Starbucks carry a mini-loaf of pumpkin bread by La Boulange but it is just not the same. So I'm currently looking for the best Starbucks Pumpkin Bread Copycat Recipe.

This one is from CopyKat recipes, found only by google searching "starbucks pumpkin bread recipe". It was okay--actually, pretty darn delicious, but I still don't think it's the same. I can hardly remember the old Starbucks pumpkin bread recipe anymore. I can only hope that I remember it when I taste it! It'll probably take a helluva lot more fat and sugar than I want to add.

Still, this one was pretty good!

Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from CopyKat Recipes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon clove

** if you are going to use pumpkin pie spice, use a scant 2 teaspoons of spice in place of the spices mentioned here

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil (do not use olive or peanut oil)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 to 1/2 cup roasted and salted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients; flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, salt, and spices. Sift the dry ingredients together.

In a smaller bowl mix together the 2 beaten eggs, the oil, and the vanilla. 

Once the liquid ingredients are mixed well pour over the dry ingredients. Stir until the lumps are out. Do not over-stir the mixture. 

Pour into a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of bread. 

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the loaf. 

Cool for approximately 5 minutes in the pan, and then turn the pumpkin bread onto a cooling rack. The bread cuts best when allowed to cool completely.

Parmesan-Crusted Asparagus

These were pretty yummy but I definitely should have tried to cover them ore completely in Parmesan, whether it be by double dipping into the egg-whites again after the first round, or by following some other sort of direction to get the breadcrumbs to stick. But it was easy! Probably would try making it again!

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

1 bunch Asparagus

2 whole Egg Whites

1 cup Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs

¼ cups Flour

¼ cups Parmesan Cheese

Salt And Pepper

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with nonstick spray.

Snap off the tough ends of each asparagus spear. On two separate plates, add the eggs whites (lightly beaten) in one, and the panko, flour, and cheese in the other. Season the panko mixture with salt and pepper if desired. Coat each asparagus spear in egg whites, then lay in the panko mixture and thoroughly cover. If the panko won’t stick, dip back in the egg whites and roll in panko once again. Lay each spear on the wire rack.

Bake at 425ºF for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Bacon Mango Brussels Sprouts

I'd never cooked brussels sprouts before this dish, which I served just with a simple baked chicken breast. It was easy and delicious! The most complicated part was that I had never cut a mango before...a job I quickly handed over to my boyfriend after absolutely failing.

Bacon Mango Brussels Sprouts

Recipe From Seeded at the Table

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 lb Brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half

2 large mangos, peeled, pitted and diced

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, until crispy (about 8 to 10 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Leave about 1 Tablespoon bacon fat in the pan, discard the rest. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and cook over medium high heat until the Brussels sprouts and mango begin to brown, about 6 minutes. (Stir occasionally.)

Remove from the heat and toss in the cooked bacon. Serve immediately.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers With Chipotle Ketchup

Here it is--one of my absolute favorite meals (seriously, over the past year my mom has pretty much made it every single week) and the first meal I cooked for myself after I moved to San Francisco. I miss it so much already. I could eat this burger every day for the rest of my life, slathered in that delicious chipotle ketchup...ughhh so good. You will never, ever, EVER have a better burger.

Please make this, or at least try. Make it with the bun, make it without the bun, make it with a ton of fries or onion rings and cover those in the chipotle ketchup too...make extra ketchup, trust me.

Cilantro Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Ketchup
Recipe From Cooking Light

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
>1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground turkey
Cooking spray
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
4 (2 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns
4 red leaf lettuce leaves


Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/3-inch-thick patty.

Heat a large grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add turkey patties, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1 tablespoon chipotle ketchup and 1 lettuce leaf. Cover with top halves of buns.

Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can. Reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Mince the chile. Combine chile, adobo sauce, and ketchup.