Apple bread

Okay, Negative Nancy has left the building (pretty much). Yesterday was a test of my patience as Otis was a holy terror, but it's a new day, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and acting like he's a little angel. Of course, he's probably in the living room eating a throw pillow...I also made myself some hot chocolate this morning- the real stuff with cocoa powder- so the day can't be that bad yet. In an attempt to make myself feel better yesterday (and to continue to whittle away at our supply of apples), I made an apple quick bread, which turned out to be a hundred times better than I'd anticipated. I'd post a picture, but the camera is in Indiana with hubby. Here's the recipe for any of you who are interested. I tweaked it a little, so here's exactly what I did.

Apple Bread

3/4 c AP flour

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1-1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 c vegetable oil

1 c sugar

1 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp vanilla

1-1/4 c peeled, coarsely chopped apple

1/2 c chopped walnuts

• Combine first five ingredients, and set aside.
• Combine next five ingredients, and stir into flour mixture.
• Fold nuts into batter.
• Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I baked mine in a 8x4 loaf pan, and I had to add a little extra baking time for the center to get done.

Totally unrelated to the apple bread or me, I saw something funny that I wanted to share. This came from an article on MSN about great Halloween movies for kids. While the list somehow managed to omit my personal favorite, Hocus Pocus with Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, it did provide this little nugget of comedy regarding the glory of Halloween as a holiday:

Costumes are the real work item here, and you don't even have to work hard or spend a lot to have a good one. I once put my daughter in a garbage can with a sign that said, "CANDY IS BAD FOR KIDS. PUT YOURS HERE." She cleaned up.

That cracked me up almost as much as the "Word to Big Bird" onesie I saw yesterday. I love things that are funny.

Happy Sunday, peeps.