Pumpkin Bread AND Winter Break!!

Fall semester is over!  I turned in my last final project yesterday and can finally breathe again.  Winter break is such a blessing, and I will definitely miss it once I'm working full time.  I have to say I'm still extremely pleased with my new home state of Illinois.  While we did get a dusting of snow a couple days ago, we have yet to truly experience winter, and it's already mid-December!  Back in Iowa that is most definitely not the case. 

The lack of snow and reasonable temps in the 30s have also allowed me to keep biking to class and work!  I'm trying to hold out longer than I did last semester, and so far I am succeeding!  Once the ice and snow arrive though, I'll resign and take public transportation again.

I baked some pumpkin bread recently too.  I decided to try a lower sugar and fat recipe, and it actually turned out to be quite delcious.  Here it is:

Ingredients (Makes 10 servings)

1/2c. sugar
3tbsp. olive oil
1/4c. applesauce, unsweetened
1 egg
3/4tsp. cinnamon
1/4tsp. nutmeg
1tsp. vanilla
1c. pumpkin
1tsp. baking soda
1/4tsp. salt
1 2/3c. flour
1/3c. water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream sugar, oil and applesauce together. Add egg and mix well. Add spices, vanilla and pumpkin. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and water and mix well. Pour into 3 greased small bread loaf pans or 1 greased large bread pan. Bake at 350F degrees for 30 minutes for smaller loaves or 45-55 minutes for large loaf.

Enjoy!!

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful holiday season so far with good food and minimal stress.  Take care!