Recipes

How To Make Pumpkin Bread

Got some extra pumpkin hanging around? You should learn how to make pumpkin bread.

closeup of finished pumpkin bread loaf in pan

Maybe you’re like us and always buy waaay too much food around the holidays. Then you do a pantry challenge and during your pantry inventory you find a can or twelve of pumpkin. Kinda like when we had extra bananas for banana bread and zucchini noodles for our zucchini bread.

Pumpkin bread is super easy to make and is one of our favorite recipes when we’re craving something a little carby.

How to make pumpkin bread from scratch

You will likely already have everything you need, but here is a supply list:

What you will need

canola spray (or any flavorless cooking spray)

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon of ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 stick butter

1 can pumpkin pie filling (puree 15 oz)

2 cup sugar

3 cups flour

3 eggs

how to make pumpkin bread ingredients displayed

Directions

First things first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Now combine all of your small portion spices and dry ingredients. That includes your baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Put them all in a small dish and set them to the side.

Melt your butter in the microwave or on the stove top. It only takes a minute or 2 in the microwave so we usually go that route.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Use your hand mixer on the lowest setting and blend everything together. You will want to go easy so you don’t whip your eggs too much. Just whip enough to get everything good and mixed together.

Now you will add in your can of pumpkin. You can also use fresh pumpkin as long as you have 15 ounces pureed. Using your mixer, mix this into the butter/sugar mix.

After mixing in the pumpkin, add your spices into your flour. Pour them all into your pumpkin batter and hand mix. You can use a spatula during this part.

Hand mixing is preferable here for 2 reasons. The first is it will keep you from over whipping the eggs in the mixture. The second is you don’t want to turn a spinning machine loose in a pile of powder. Trust me on the second point.

Pull out your loaf pan and spray it with your choice in cooking spray. Now, pour your batter into the loaf pan. It should flow freely but you may need to use your spatula to get everything into the pan.

Put the pan into the already preheated oven and set your time for an hour and 10 minutes. You will want to check on this periodically to make sure it is not burning.

When you think it is getting close, stick a butter knife or toothpick into the center of your bread. If it comes out with batter still on it, add a few more minutes. Repeat until the knife/toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once your bread is cool you can place it in your bread slicer and use a bread knife to cut thick slices.

Common Questions

Is pumpkin bread healthy?

In moderation it is not too terribly bad for you. Obviously, everyone’s body and nutrition requirements are a bit different. You can decrease the amount of sugar in the recipe and make a bit healthier as well.

Why is my pumpkin bread dry?

Most often, dryness is due to being overcooked. If your bread is coming out dry, decrease your cooking time and check regularly with a toothpick or knife to make sure your bread is not cooking too quickly.

Can I freeze pumpkin bread?

You can. Just allow it to cool before cutting. Then put the slices into a large freezer safe bag, seal, and place in freezer. You can put it in the fridge overnight to thaw.

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close up slice of zucchini bread with bite taken out

How To Make Zucchini Bread

By MrAnimal Farm Leave a Comment

Looking for something new and different to do with your zucchini? Learn how to make zucchini bread.

This recipe is the best if you have a sweet tooth as it is similar to our banana bread and pumpkin bread recipes.. You can also add this to your arsenal of other great zucchini recipes, like zucchini lasagna and zucchini nachos.

This easy recipe will also work with your frozen zucchini or we’ve made it with store bought (even zucchini noodles we found on sale). If you haven’t already, you can also try growing zucchini on your own.

How to make zucchini bread

What you will need

canola spray (or any flavorless cooking spray)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

3 eggs

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

The first thing we like to do when gathering our ingredients is to combine anything we can right away. So put all of your baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a small dish. Set this to the side.

Next, you will want to melt a stick of butter. You can melt it on your stove top or in the microwave. Usually about 1.5 – 2 minutes in the microwave will do it.

Take out your large mixing bowl and combine your sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and eggs. Using your hand mixer on the lowest setting, mix everything together. Be careful not to whip the eggs too fluffy. You just want everything mixed together.

Once it is mixed thoroughly, add in your spices and mix. Now add in your flour and, using a spatula, gently fold everything together.

mixture of sugar, butter, vanilla, and spices

After you have a nice thick dough, drop in your shredded zucchini. Still using your spatula, mix thoroughly until you have a nicely mixed dough with no visible white flour spots.

Pull out your bread pan and spray the bottom and sides with Canola oil. Again using your spatula, gently spread your dough from the mixing bowl into the bread pan. Depending on thickness, you may need to spread the dough into the pan to completely fill it.

Alternatively, you can also add your dough to a muffin pan and make zucchini bread muffins instead. You may just need to adjust the cook time a bit.

Place the pan into your already preheated oven and set your timer for 60 minutes. Check periodically to make sure the top is not burning. It is normal for some bits of zucchini to become charred on the surface of the bread.

Your bread is finished cooking when you can insert a butter knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf and pull it out clean. If there is still dough on the knife, allow to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes depending on the amount left on knife.

Once cooked, leave in pan and allow to cool. Once cool, you can use a bread knife and bread slicer to cut into thick slices.

Common questions

Can you freeze zucchini bread?

You can. After it has cooled and you have cut it, just place it in a freezer safe gallon bag, seal, and stick in the freezer. It should stay fresh for 2-3 months.

How long is zucchini bread good for in the refrigerator?

If you want to keep it long term, it is best to freeze. But if you plan on eating it pretty quickly, you can keep zucchini bread in the fridge for about a week before it starts to degrade in quality.

Should I peel zucchini or take the seeds out when making bread?

You can peel if you like but we have not found it necessary. Since you are shredding the zucchini you ed up removing the seeds anyway.

double panel pinterest image. top image: closeup of zucchini bread in pan. bottom image: sliced loaf on plate. middle text box reading, "The best zucchini bread. Easy to follow recipe"

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Hash Brown Casserole

By MrAnimal Farm Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a good hearty breakfast? If you do, you will love this easy hash brown casserole.

This is the ultimate make ahead breakfast casserole with hash browns. Waking up with a delicious breakfast like this makes mornings so much easier to deal with.

A hot, tasty, and hearty breakfast is as simple as reheating and way cheaper than grabbing drive-thru.

How To Make Hash Brown Casserole

Similar to our other make ahead freezer meals, like lasagna, this hash brown casserole is completely customizable. Here is our list of recommended ingredients. But you can add more veggies, meat, or whatever you like for your breakfasts!

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter (salter or unsalted up to your preference)

1 cup of shredded cheese (we like to use a Mexican blend)

1 cup of sour cream

1 bag frozen hash browns

salt and pepper (to taste)

Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns?

Absolutely! Frozen hash browns are just easier because they are washed, cut, portioned, and ready to go. But if you prefer to prepare the potatoes yourself, feel free to do so.

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next you will melt your butter. You can do this on your stove top or break the stick into a few pieces and put in the microwave. We find it will melt completely in about 90 seconds to 2 minutes.

Pull out a large mixing bowl and pour your melted butter into it. Next, add in 1 cup of sour cream. You can use a rubber spatula to make sure you get everything from the bowl.

Add in a few grinds of salt and pepper. Add as much as you like depending on your taste. You can also put in any extra ingredients you may like. Diced peppers, ham, bacon, etc. are all great choices to give a little something extra.

Using your electric mixer, mix everything together. Make sure everything is well blended but don’t over whip the sour cream. We usually use the lowest setting to make sure everything is not overly mixed.

Now you will want to get out your 8×8 pan and Canola spray. Spray the inside of your pan to coat the bottom and sides. If you want to make a larger serving (like a 9×13 pan) just double the ingredients.

Open your bag of frozen has browns and sprinkle a layer across the bottom of the pan. Now add a layer of cheese. Make this as thick as you want. We LOVE cheese in our house so we always end up using too much (as if “too much” is even a thing with cheese).

After your cheese is layered you will take about half of your butter/sour cream mix and layer it over the cheese. You can spread it with a spatula. Just be careful not to squish it down into the cheese or potato layer. You want to have clear layers.

Repeat the layers of potato, cheese, and the rest of the butter/sour cream mixture. Finally, add one more layer of hash browns and cover the top of the sour cream mix completely. Now add one more layer of cheese across the top.

Your oven should be preheated by this point. Just place your casserole in the center rack and set your timer for an hour. Check periodically to ensure the cheese is not burning on the top. Cook until the entire casserole is heated throughout.

Common Questions

How do you freeze hash brown casserole?

This recipe makes a great candidate for a freezer meal. All you need to do is cover it with a lid or plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer before cooking.

How do you reheat hash brown casserole?

It’s just as easy as freezing it. Pull it from the freezer and stick it in the fridge over night.

Should I thaw frozen hash browns before cooking?

You don’t have to. You can put your casserole straight into the oven. If it is frozen, the cooking time may be a bit longer, but there’s no need to thaw beforehand.

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Egg Recipes – 30+ Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

By MrAnimal Farm 1 Comment

When you have backyard chickens or maybe you have found a fantastic sale on eggs and you end up with a surplus, you may need to find what to do with extra eggs. Of course you can simply try freezing eggs. But perhaps you want to find some ways to prepare eggs to eat them. Here are some awesome egg recipes that use a lot of eggs.

Egg Recipes That Use a Lot of Eggs

If you have a surplus of eggs, figuring out lots of different ways to cook eggs is a good way to use them up without getting bored. Eggs are a really versatile food that you can use as the main ingredient or use as a background ingredient and get lots of different flavors and types of foods.

Of course, if you are using all these eggs in these egg recipes that use a lot of eggs you will end up with a TON of egg shells. Try out these ways to use your eggshells so that they don’t go to waste either!

Bread Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Focaccia Flax Bread – Gluten Free! This uses a whopping 22 eggs!

focaccia flax bread recipe that uses a lot of eggs

Nut Free Keto Bread – Super Yummy and healthy bread option that uses 9 eggs!

Egg Recipes for Breakfast

Egg Cheese Muffin Melts Recipe – fast and easy and they use 6 eggs

Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches – You’ll love these more than an Egg McMuffin!

Sweet Potato Frittata – healthy and uses 6 eggs.

Crescent roll breakfast pizza – these look like great freezer meals!

Easy Breakfast Casserole – another great freezer meal open and it uses 12 eggs.

Breakfast Quiche

Whole30 Breakfast Casserole – packed full of veggies and 12 eggs.

veggie & egg breakfast casserole recipe that uses a lot of eggs

Sorbian Eggs

Egg Tacos

Alpine Eggs – Might want to try these with the Flax bread listed above.

Dessert Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Creamy Chocolate Mousse with Orange Liqueur

The Best Eclairs Recipe

Best Flourless Chocolate Cake – gluten free and uses 6 eggs.

Banana Pudding Pie – Delicious and uses 6 eggs.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Lime Curd Frozen Custard – this uses 12 eggs.

Lime curd frozen custard recipe that uses a lot of eggs

Mini Eclairs with Lime Custard Filling and Meringue Topping

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream – Super yummy!

Quiche & Casserole Egg Recipes

Easy Crust Dairy-Free Veggie Quiche

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Green Chili Egg Puff Casserole – this one uses 10 eggs.

Keto Crust-less Kale & Cheddar Quiche – this would make a great one to freeze for later.

Crustless Quiche

Deviled Eggs & Egg Salad Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Macaroni Egg Salad

Everything Seasoning Deviled Eggs – Super yummy and it uses 12 eggs.

Jalapeno Popper Egg Salad

Easy Deviled Eggs

Spicy Deviled Eggs

Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad – this one uses 12 eggs.

Deviled Egg Dip – this would be delicious to eat with Almond Flour Crunchables!

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How To Make Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

By MrAnimal Farm Leave a Comment

Are you spending a fortune grabbing fast food breakfast every morning? You need to learn how to make freezer breakfast sandwiches!

close up image of reheated freezer breakfast sandwich

This may come as a shock but the guy making your Egg McMuffin is NOT a 15 star Michelin chef. You can definitely make something better at home and with this tutorial, you can have it ready faster than a drive-thru line.

How To Make Breakfast Sandwiches

You can add yet another meal to your freezer meals repertoire. These breakfast sandwiches are super easy to make and pair great with oatmeal. We recommend starting out by first learning how to make a large pan of freezer eggs. They will be the base of your breakfast sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 pack of English muffins (we use Thomas Nooks & Crannies)

6 squares of freezer eggs

1 pack of sliced cheese

english muffin open on plate next to egg square with cheese

Directions

These directions are really easy. Open up your pack of English muffins. Use a knife to cut them in half if they are not already.

Take out your pan of precooked eggs. If you have not already melted cheese on the whole pan, place a slice of cheese on a single square now.

Put your egg and cheese on the bottom half of your muffin. Stack the other half on top and you’re done.

When you are ready to eat stick a toothpick through the top center of the muffin all the way through to the bottom. This will allow you to heat your sandwich without the cheese melting and the muffin top sliding off.

Heat for around a minute and a half and enjoy!

close up of reheated freezer breakfast sandwich being held above plate

Variations

These directions are obviously a very simple version of a breakfast sandwich. You can use this as a base and add your own ingredients to really make something special.

Some other options that we’ve tried are swapping out the English muffin for a bagel. The precooked egg square is perfect for this because it won’t fall apart through the hole in the bagel.

We have also added some turkey bacon before. We’re sure it would work just as well with pork bacon or even a sausage patty.

What’s really great about making your own sandwiches is that you can customize them however you like and you can try out different things.

How to Freeze Breakfast Sandwiches

Once you’ve narrowed down your favorite ingredients and assembled your sandwiches, simply place each sandwich into a freezer safe ziplock bag, or put multiple in one bag (you can usually fit about four in a gallon freezer bag).

You should not freeze your sandwiches with the toothpick in them. You may forget it’s there when you’re ready to heat and that could be dangerous.

How long do they last in the freezer? The main thing to worry about in the freezing process is the egg. No one wants to accidentally eat an egg that’s gone bad. These eggs will generally keep up to six months in the freezer.

Any longer than that and they will likely start to lose quality. And, as always, please follow FDA guidelines for food preservation.

How do you reheat them?

When you’re ready to eat you can stick them in the microwave for around a minute and a half or two minutes. Microwave time varies depending on the microwave and how thick the eggs is.

If you want to prepare overnight you can put a frozen sandwich in the fridge just before bed. It should be thawed enough by morning to heat for around forty-five seconds to a minute and be good to go.

Now you know how to make freezer breakfast sandwiches! Give them a try and let us know how you like them.

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How To Make Lasagna

By MrAnimal Farm Leave a Comment

If you love going out to Olive Garden you definitely need to learn how to make lasagna at home. All you need is a bottomless salad bowl.

We love, love, LOOOOVE pasta in our house. But going to our local Italian restaurant can get pretty expensive. So we decided we would bring a little bit of Italy home to us.

How To Make Homemade Lasagna

This recipe is so easy to make. In fact, other than our DIY burrito bowl, this may be our most made dinner. It is also completely customizable to your own specific taste. This recipe is delicious on it’s own but can also be the base for your own imagination.

Ingredients

1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles

1 jar of Traditional pasta sauce (we use this Classico sauce)

1 tub ricotta cheese (16 oz)

1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

ingredients grouped together. top from left: Ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, lasagna noodles, jar of pasta sauce.

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. The oven can preheat while you are putting the ingredients together

Take out a 9×13 baking pan. Open your jar of sauce and put a very thin layer of sauce into the bottom of the pan. You can spread it with a spoon.

You just want enough sauce at this point to make the bottom of the pan wet for the noodles. Now, open up your pack of oven ready noodles and lay them across the bottom of your pan. We can usually do about 3 across length-wise and we will snap one to fit width-wise.

We like to use the oven ready lasagna just because it is quicker. You can also use regular lasagna noodles for this. Just follow the instructions on the package on how to prepare them. Then you can continue with this same recipe.

Once you have put down your first layer of noodles, use a spoon to put down another thin layer of pasta sauce. This layer should be thicker than the first layer. Just remember you need conserve enough for four total layers not counting the bottom of the pan.

On top of the sauce, add a layer of ricotta cheese. Try the best you can to spread it without mixing it with the sauce. You will want to portion this out between three layers. If you want to measure it out you can.

After you have the ricotta spread, make a layer of mozzarella. Same as the ricotta, you will need to plan for four total layers of mozzarella. However, you will want more for the top layer.

Repeat this process of pasta, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella two more times. When you get to the final top layer, you will not put ricotta. You will add the final layer of sauce followed by a super layer of mozzarella.

Finally, add a healthy sprinkling of shredded parmesan. So your top layer will be noodles, sauce, mozzarella, parmesan.

So, how long does it take for lasagna to cook? With your oven already preheated, set your timer for 30 minutes.

Place on the center rack and go relax for a while.

When the timer goes off, grab your oven mitts and pull your lasagna out from the oven. Place it on your stove top or cooling rack.

Once your lasagna has cooled, you can use a knife to cut it. We generally get about 15 decent sized squares.

Variations

As we mentioned above, this recipe is great on it’s own or it can be an excellent base for a more complicated dish. You can add or substitute cottage cheese. You can add various veggies, like peppers from your own garden, into each layer. You can make a layer of spinach, if you like. You can’t beat throwing some sausage in their either.

Be creative. Make this recipe yours and add whatever you think will make it better.

What sides go well with lasagna?

Since, we’ve already mentioned Olive Garden, it’s probably obvious that we think salad and garlic butter bread sticks go great with lasagna. But you can get a little more creative and add a whole host of other lasagna side dish ideas.

How to freeze lasagna

If you want to freeze individual pieces, use a spatula to lift each piece from the pan and put it into a small quart sized freezer bag. Freezing individually is kind of messy, but it is nice to have a quick single serving lasagna sometimes.

If you are planning freezer meals for the family, you will want to make sure your lasagna has completely cooled, put a lid on your baking pan, and put it into your freezer on a flat shelf. If you don’t have a pan with a lid, you can also use disposable aluminum pans.

You may be wondering is it better to freeze cooked or uncooked? Honestly, you can do both. Make two, cook one and freeze the other. Whether or not you bake it before freezing depends on how much time you want to spend reheating and if you want to portion out individual servings for the freezer.

How to thaw

Just pull your lasagna from the freezer and place in refrigerator over night. For a full sized pan, it may take 2 days in the refrigerator.

You can also put individual pieces in the microwave and full size frozen lasagna in the oven.

How to reheat/cook frozen lasagna

If uncooked, preheat oven to 350. Bake for 60 minutes, check around 45 to make sure top is not burning.

If pre-cooked, preheat oven to 350. Bake for 45 minutes or until warm throughout. Check often so that top does not burn.

Recipes

How to make pumpkin bread from scratch

What you will need

Ingredients

Directions

Common Questions

Is pumpkin bread healthy?

Why is my pumpkin bread dry?

For more frugal living tips

How to make zucchini bread

What you will need

Ingredients

Directions

Common questions

Can you freeze zucchini bread?

How long is zucchini bread good for in the refrigerator?

Should I peel zucchini or take the seeds out when making bread?

For more frugal living tips

How To Make Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients

Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns?

Directions

Common Questions

How do you freeze hash brown casserole?

How do you reheat hash brown casserole?

Should I thaw frozen hash browns before cooking?

For more frugal living tips

Egg Recipes That Use a Lot of Eggs

Bread Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Egg Recipes for Breakfast

Dessert Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Quiche & Casserole Egg Recipes

Deviled Eggs & Egg Salad Recipes That Use A Lot of Eggs

Want More Frugal Food?

How To Make Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients

Directions

Variations

How to Freeze Breakfast Sandwiches

How do you reheat them?

For more Frugal Living Tips

How To Make Homemade Lasagna

Ingredients

Directions

Variations

What sides go well with lasagna?

How to freeze lasagna

How to thaw

How to reheat/cook frozen lasagna

For more frugal living tips

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