On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

♪ ♫ ...three quick breads ♫ ♪

♪ ♫ two craft projects ♫ ♪

♪ ♫ and an invite to Christmas Eve. ♫ ♪

The other day my mom asked if I would make some quick bread for her to take to her office Christmas party.  Like a good daughter, I said "yes" to my mother.  She needed to pick up the breads after work on Wednesday, so Tuesday was baking night for me.

I decided to make pumpkin, apple, and banana nut bread.

I came home from work and immediately started on the pumpkin bread.  It's the easiest of the three, so I decided to start that one first. 

While it was baking, I started prepping for the next two breads. 

I used frozen bananas for the banana nut bread, so I took them out of the freezer and placed them in a bowl to defrost while I worked on preparing the dry ingredients for the next two breads.

I measured the dry ingredients into bowls for each type of bread and labeled the bowl so I wouldn't be confused later on.  My kitchen was starting to become pretty messy...  I then cored, peeled, and shredded my apples.  Have I mentioned how much I love my food processor?  If I haven't before, I love it.  Like seriously love it.  :)  I then mixed the wet ingredients for the apple bread together with the dry ingredients.

By that time, the pumpkin bread was pretty much ready to come out of the oven.  After letting it cool, I cleaned out the bread pans (while silently cursing myself for not picking up two more...) and poured in the apple bread batter. 

Into the oven they went.  While they baked, I prepared the banana nut bread batter, covered the bowl with cling wrap, and put it in the fridge.  We were meeting our friends for our weekly get together at Bailey's ($2 pints all day every Tuesday!  I always order water...), so I figured I'd bake the banana bread when we returned home.  My hubby said he'd pull it out of the oven when the timer when off so that I could go to sleep at my normal bedtime.

Around 12:30, Ryan rushes into the bedroom and wakes me with, "I never heard the timer!"  Oh yeah...we had some pretty rock hard loaves of banana nut bread!  Our house smelled of burnt banana bread, which actually wasn't too bad.  It could have been A LOT worse, right?

I'm just thankful they didn't bake all night!!

Since I've posted the recipes for the pumpkin and banana nut breads before, there's only one recipe today.  It's a good one though!  I think this is my favorite quick bread that I make.  However, when I grabbed the bananas out of the freezer last night I saw some frozen strawberries and had the brilliant idea of strawberry banana bread.  I might have to try that one soon!

Apple Bread

Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups shredded, peeled cooking apples (4 medium)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

Directions:

1. Grease and flour three 7-1/2x3-1/2x2-inch or two 8x4x2-inch baking pans.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine eggs, apples, sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Stir in flour mixture just until moistened.  Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Cool on wire racks.  Wrap and store overnight before slicing.  Makes 30 servings.