Spiced Carrot Zucchini Bread

Right now in south Louisiana I am in full garden harvest mode. I haven't had much time to post because there are so many projects going on. I am lucky just to keep up with all of the produce coming in from the garden much less made nice posts about it. I will try to do a better job in the future :) 

One of the downsides to canning is that you spend lots of time in the kitchen, but don't have anything to eat at the end of it. I know I will be glad that I canned all the tomatoes and pickles later in the year, but for now, I need some kind of edible reward after all this work in the kitchen! Here is a quick bread recipe to whip up that tastes awesome AND uses up some of the overwhelming amounts of garden produce rolling in to your kitchen.

What you need:

- 2 1/4 cups flour

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 3/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp ground cloves

- 3/4 cup chopped carrots

- 3/4 cup chopped zucchini

- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

- 2/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1/2 cup milk

- 2 eggs, beaten

Spray a loaf pan non-stick cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add in the remaining ingredients until well mixed. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 60 minutes until cooked through. Let the loaf cool on a cooling rack and enjoy! 

The pictures on this did not come out great, but I don't mind so much because the bread came out AMAZING! You honestly can;t tell it has so many vegetables in it, but they make the bread come out very moist. The cinnamon and cloves give it just the right amount of spice to make it great for breakfast or dessert!

Yummy Apple Butter Bread

I LOVE apple butter! My husband and I went to Tennessee for our honeymoon and bought a jar of apple butter in this cool old general store we found in the Smokey Mountains. It was my first time trying apple butter, and I couldn't imagine what apple and butter combined would taste like. Little did I know that that there is no butter in it whatsoever! We ate the entire jar that week, and apple butter has always had a sentimental place in my kitchen ever since. I make my own apple butter, and you can find the recipe here. 

After seeing several recipes for applesauce bread on pinterest, I decided to combine a few recipes to make my own apple butter bread. I used half whole wheat flour in the recipe to keep it healthy, but all white flour could also be used.

This loaf was super easy to whip up and came out delicious! I am sure I will continue to play with the recipe (like adding chopped up apple pieces), but I am very pleased with how this one turned out. It is light, but very moist, and we have been enjoying it as a breakfast bread to go with our scrambled eggs. To me, it tastes like Christmas :) And when it is baking, the whole house smells like Christmas!

Apple Butter Bread Recipe:

1/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup apple butter

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup white flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add in the egg and apple butter. Mix thoroughly. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the buts. 

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Let me know what you think! All this talk of food is making me hungry...I'm going to eat another slice now :)