Pumpkin Recipes: A Few Great Links

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Below are a few links to some more great pumpkin recipes to try:

Frugal Pumpkin Pasta
Pumpkin Cream Soup
Pumpkin Rice
Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin Waffles

And to impress someone, try taking this dish to their home for a pitch-in. It tastes delicious and even looks cool!

Pumpkin Stew

Have a wonderful pumpkin recipe?

Leave a comment and/or link to share!

Recipe: Pumpkin Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup soy milk or regular milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 dashes ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 teaspoon honey (optional)

Stir the oats, soy milk, pumpkin puree, and cinnamon together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until the oatmeal reaches your desired consistency. Serve warm and garnish with walnuts and honey.

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Smoothies & Pumpkin Smoothies

INGREDIENTS
2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups frozen apple juice concentrate (12 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups water

First, freeze the pumpkin puree for approximately 1 hour. Combine all ingredients (excluding water) in the blender and blend until smooth. Add water to fill blender and blend. Serve cold!

Also try the same recipe with these ingredients for plain Pumpkin Smoothies:

INGREDIENTS
12 cups pumpkin puree (frozen)
2 cups milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Recipe: Pumpkin Seed Pesto

To go with our Pumpkin Ravioli!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (green best)
1 1/2 cup packed parsley (fresh)
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan (fresh, grated)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
salt
2 lbs pumpkin ravioli

Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pumpkin seeds on rimmed backing sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Let cool.

Combine seeds, parsley, and garlic in food processor and process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a steady stream and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Scrap mixture into a bowl and stir Parmesan, cayenne, and cinnamon. Season with salt. Pesto will be thick.

Cook ravioli according to directions. Set aside one cup of pasta cooking water, drain ravioli, and return to pot. Gently stir in pesto and enough reserved water to moisten ravioli. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Pumpkin Ravioli

I hunted this down from my old Group Recipes site to share, so you'd have another great recipe for your Pumpkin Puree!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water

For filling, mix the cheese, pumpkin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the nutmeg. Set filling aside.

Mix the flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center of the flour. Beat the tomato paste, oil, and eggs until well blended, and pour into the well in the flour. Stir with a fork, gradually bring the flour mixture to the center of the bow until the dough makes a ball. If the dough is too dry, mix in up to 2 tablespoons water.

Knead lightly on a floured cloth-covered surface, adding flour if dough is sticky, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover, and let rest for another 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll the dough, one part at a time, into a rectangle about 12 x 10 inches. Keep the rest of the dough covered while working.

Drop 2 level teaspoons filling onto half of the rectangle, about 1 1/2 inches apart in 2 rows of 4 mounds each. Moisten the edges of the dough, and the dough between the rows of pumpkin mixture with water. Fold the other half of the dough up over the pumpkin mixture, pressing the dough down around the pumpkin. Cut between the rows of filling to make ravioli; press the edges together with a fork, or cut with a pastry wheel. Seal edges well. Repeat with the remaining dough and pumpkin filling. Place ravioli on towel. Let stand, turning once, until dry, about 30 minutes.

Cook ravioli in 4 quarts of boiling salted water until tender; drain carefully. Serve with Pumpkin Seed Pesto!

Recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

First, mix milk, pumpkin puree, egg, oil, and vinegar until well blended. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir into the pumpkin mixture.

Heat a slightly oiled frying pan or griddle on medium-high heat. Pour batter onto griddle to form pancakes (approximately 1/4 cup). Cook until bubble appear, then flip and cook until brown on both sides. Serve warm!

Recipe: Pumpkin Bread or Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter (soft)
3 Eggs
3-4 Cups Flour
2 TBSP Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
2 Cups Walnuts (chopped) or Chocolate Chips (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350. First, mix the pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, and eggs until creamy. Next, add the dry ingredients (except nuts or chips). If necessary, add more flour until the mixture is thick enough hold your spoon up when stuck in the center. Remember to add extra spices if you made your puree from a Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin. Finally, add the nuts or chips and stir.

Pour the batter into greased loaf pans or lined cup cake tin. Bake until done. Approximately 50 minutes for a large loaf or 20-30 minutes for muffins. Cool and enjoy!

Recipe: Pumpkin Seed Bread (for Bread Machine)

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water

1/4 Cup Honey

4 tsp Oil

3 Cups Flour (try Whole Wheat)

1/4 Cup Wheat Bran

1 tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Shelled, Chopped Pumpkin Seeds

1/3 Cup Sunflower Seeds

Place all the ingredients in your bread maker as required by the manufacturer ingredients. If your machine beeps for fruits, add the seeds at this beep. Enjoy!

Pomegranate: How to Eat & Serve (+ Smoothie Recipe)

Pomegranates are on sale this week at Meijer! A lot of people avoid them, because they just aren't sure how to serve them or what to do with them. Instead of sticking with the same old fruits like apples, bananas, and orange, you should definitely pick up a pomegranate and give it a try. Especially, if you like sweet and sour fruits.

First of all, pick a pomegranate with a thick, unbroken skin. This ensures flavor. The part of the pomegranate that you want to eat is the seeds. And, you want the entire seed, even the tiny chewier seed in the center of the juice. The seeds are actually pretty simple to get out. When we get home with ours, I slice them in half, then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Often there are many seed pockets within the pomegranates, so you may have to make a few extra cuts or it is very easy to just break apart.

My daughters prefer to eat pomegranate seeds raw. They just sit with a bowl of seeds and a spoon and dig in! They even beg for more afterwards. However, you can use them in recipes too. Try sprinkling them over your salad or use them to top pudding, pancakes, waffles, cereal, oatmeal, cheesecake, etc..! They are truly delicious.

Pomegranate Smoothie

1 Cup Ice

1/2 Cup Vanilla Yogurt, Ice Cream, or Frozen Yogurt

4 TBSP Milk

4 TBSP Pomegranates

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. You can also add your favorite fruit. Try adding a banana for a Pomegranate-Banana Smoothie

Recipe: Baked Pumpkin Seeds

You have your pumpkin puree, now what do you do with all those pumpkin seeds? Make a healthy and nutritious snack!

There are so many different methods of making pumpkin seeds, but I prefer the quickest and easiest method, which skips both cleaning and drying your seeds.

First, preheat your over to 275. Remove the large strings from your seeds, but no need to scrub them clean. A few of the pumpkin guts attached to the seeds adds flavor.

Next, get creative and toss them in your choice of spices! Try one of these...

• Standard Seeds: oil, salt
• Sweet Seeds: butter, cinnamon, sugar
• Sweet & Spicy Seeds: oil, cinnamon, chili powder, sugar
• East Coast Seeds: oil, seafood seasoning
• Garlic Spiced Seeds: Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, salt
• Pumpkin Seeds: oil, pumpkin spice, sugar, salt

Line a baking pan with foil and spread out the seeds. Baking for approximately 45 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes to assure the seeds to stick to the pan or each other. When done, cool and enjoy! You can eat them as a snack, make pumpkin seed bread, or toss them in a salad. Store in an air-tight container.

Recipe: Straight-From-The-Pumpkin Pumpkin Puree

For me, the holidays start now, because Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not only do I love dressing up the children and painting their faces, but I live for pumpkin season! I am a strong believer that everything tastes better with a little pumpkin... okay, well, maybe not everything, but most things.

To kick off the holiday, I'm going to spend the week sharing with you a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes. But, first, you'll need the puree!

One thing I can promise you is that making your own puree will truly make a difference in your recipes and it's shockingly easy. First, you'll need a pumpkin. Most recipes call for a pie or sugar pumpkin. This is a name for the darker, smaller size pumpkins that you can often pick up in the grocery store with the other gourds or at a pumpkin patch. Though they aren't as pretty, they are much more flavorful.

However, you can use your Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins to make your own puree as well. I do recommend, however, that if you pick this option, you paint your pumpkins instead of slicing into them, because once cut they will begin to lose flavor and nutrients as they sit. If you decide use your Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin, make sure to increase the spices called for in your recipe to avoid a bland taste.

The first step to make your pumpkin puree is to clean out the pumpkin, so cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy guts. Keep the pumpkin seeds to make a delicious snack! Once cleaned, you have some options on how to precede - baking, microwaving, or boiling.

BAKING

This is my preferred method, because I believe it enhances the flavors. First, preheat your oven to 350. Cover a baking sheet in foil. Lightly butter the edges of your pumpkin where your cuts were made and place it cut-side down on the foiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour until the inside is soft.

MICROWAVE

If you have a smaller pie or sugar pumpkin, you can microwave it. Place the two halves in a bowl and cover with water. Place them in the microwave and cook on high for approximately 30-4o minutes until the inside is soft. Check every 5-10 minutes and stir.

BOIL

Boiling takes a bit more work, because before you start, you must peel and dice your pumpkin. Place the chunks into a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cook for approximately 20-30 minutes until tender.

After you bake or microwave your pumpkin, you must remove the skin. Luckily, if done properly, the skins simply fall or peel off easily. Afterwards dice your pumpkin into chunks. If you boil it, your pumpkin is already in chunks, so you did the hard work beforehand. Now, drop the chunks into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

When you're done, you can freeze it for later! Keep what you need for your recipes in the refrigerator, then take the remaining puree and place it in freezer bags. I recommend freezing 1 cup per bag, since most recipes call for about 1-2 cups of puree. If your puree is not thick enough, you can place it on the stove top and cook it until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Ready to try your puree? Check out this recipe I posted a while back - Apple, Pumpkin, & Oatmeal Baby Food. It is a baby food, but I'll tell you a secret. I feed it to my children for breakfast and they love it! They don't even know or realize it's baby food. I just tell them it's Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal.

Meal Chain: Chili Mac

The weekend is here, which is wonderful, because I am all Chilied out! This is our last meal in the "Bean" series, because our family is rewarding for living on chili for an entire week with a dinner out!

INGREDIENTS
Macaroni & Cheese
Chili w/Sloppy Joes (left overs)

You can either buy Macaroni and Cheese in a box, or make your own. My kids prefer baked Macaroni and Cheese, so I often use this simple recipe or some version of it to make our own. Simply heat up the Chili w/ Sloppy Joes and mix with the Macaroni and Cheese for delicious Mac & Cheese! Kids love this.

For more recipes, visit the Meal Chain page HERE or the Recipe page HERE.

Meal Chain: Mexican Pizza

We're having a family game night tonight and for us, that means pizza! Remember those beans we made at the beginning and we put half away for later? Now is the time to pull them out! Then give them to the kids to smash in the Ziploc bag, because they'll have fun doing it. Make sure they get nice and mushy! You could even refry them if you'd like.

INGREDIENTS
Mashed Beans
Sloppy Jose w/ Taco Seasoning (left overs from Taco Salad)
Pizza Crust
Lettuce (shredded)
Cheese (shredded)
Tomatoes (diced)
Black Olives (diced)
Jalapenos (diced)
Peppers: Red, Green, &/or Yellow (diced)
Onion (diced)
Sour Cream
Salsa

Spread your pizza crust out and cook as directed. Next top with mashed beans (spread out like sauce), Sloppy Joe's meat mixed with taco seasoning from the taco salad the previous night, and shredded cheese. Finish cooking as directed by pizza crust instructions.

When done, top with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos, peppers, onions, and extra cheese. Serve with sour cream and/or salsa to dip and enjoy!

You could also make Chili Pizza which is similar, just topped with Chili and your favorite toppings.

To get more recipes check out the Meal Chains or Recipes.

Meal Chain: Taco Salad

It's salad night for us!

INGREDIENTS

Lettuce

Chili (left overs)

Sloppy Joes (left overs)

Tomatoes (diced)

Onions (diced)

Olives (black, diced)

Cheese (shredded)

Tortilla or Tortilla Chips

Salsa

Taco Seasoning

Sour Cream

Place shredded lettuce on a tortilla or tortilla chips. Heat left over sloppy joes on the stove and mix in taco seasoning as directed. Also heat the left over chili in the microwave. Place the chili, then seasoned sloppy joes on top of the lettuce. Top with tomatoes, onion, and olives. Add shredded cheese and a drop of sour cream and salsa. Serve!

We're approaching the weekend! Come back tomorrow to see what we made next.

For easy navigation, I added a Meal Chain page HERE with links to the recipes. You can also access this page from the Recipe page by using the button at the top of the page.

Meal Chain: Chili Dogs

INGREDIENTS

Hot Dogs

Buns or Bread

Chili

Cheese (Shredded)

We've been running around all day, so tonight's meal is easy and quick! First, cook your hot dogs as directed on the package. Serve your hot dog on a bun smothered in chili and topped with cheese. Eat this with a fork or you will make a mess!

We served ours with cottage cheese and a side salad, but the side options are endless - macaroni & cheese, french fries, fruit, etc...

Tomorrow we're taking a break from the chili and enjoying sweetened sloppy joes, so come back tomorrow after dinner for the recipe!

Meal Chain: Meatless Chili

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Onion (diced)

1/2 Green Pepper (diced)

1/2 Yellow Pepper (diced)

1/2 Red Pepper (diced)

1 Can Tomato Juice (quart)

1/2 Beans (see Meal Plan post)
Garlic Powder (to taste)

Chili Powder (to taste)

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Hot Sauce (to taste)

Cheese (shredded)

Sour Cream

Rice (cooked)

Toss all ingredients (excluding cheese, sour cream, & rice) into a pot on your stove to cook quickly. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer until vegetables soften. Or slow cook all day in your crock pot!

Serve strained over rice, top with shredded cheese & sour cream. Keep the other 1/2 of the onion and peppers to use later! Also, keep your left overs to continue our meal chain.

We used brown rice and served grilled 3-cheese sandwiches as a side. You can alter this recipe by adding a few of your own favorite ingredients like celery, ground beef, noodles, jalapenos, or chicken!

Check back tomorrow after dinner to see what we had next and to snag the recipe! And find out how this meal chain started HERE.

Somethings Cooking: Raspberry Shrimp Salad

INGREDIENTS

Lettuce

Shrimp (chilled, not frozen)

Raspberries

Apples (diced)

Cranberries (dried)

Walnuts and/or Almonds

Cucumbers (sliced)

Raspberry Vinaigrette

The quantities of all ingredients depend on if you are making a single salad for one individual or a huge salad for a group. It's very easy to gauge as you add ingredients though! Shred lettuce and toss with raspberries, nuts, apples, cranberries, cucumbers, and vinaigrette. Top with shrimp and serve cold!

Baking Day: The Plan & Kick-Off (Raspberry Muffins & Honey-Wheat Bread)

Since I already love to bake, my new bread maker has become an addiction of mine. There is nothing better than just-out-of-the-bread maker bread! Plus, it's been raining here like mad, so my daughters and I decided to have a baking day and make some goodies to enjoy now and some to stash in the freezer.

Our plan for the day:

1 Loaf Honey-Wheat Bread

2 Batches Pita Pockets

1 Batch Hot Pockets

1 Batch Raspberry Muffins

2 Batches Flour Tortillas

Since the Pita Pockets spend the most time rising and take some preparation time, we started there.

Next we prepared the dough for the Hot Pockets, because they took the next longest amount of time. And then we moved on to the Flour Tortillas, since they only need a small time to rest. Finally, while our doughs were rising or resting, we threw the ingredients for the Honey-Wheat Bread into the bread maker and whipped up some Raspberry Muffins.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs (Beaten)

4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

2/3 Cup Milk

1 1/2 Cups Raspberries (fresh or frozen)

First, cream the first two ingredients together adding the sugar a little at a time and then add the beaten eggs. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add to the sugar mixture. Add milk, and then the raspberries. Mix well. Fill 12-18 greased muffin cups 2/3rds full.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Now the muffins are cooking, the bread is making itself in the bread maker, and we are about to start shaping Pita Pockets, Hot Pockets, and Tortillas!

Recipe: Flour Tortillas

INGREDIENTS

3 Cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/3 Vegetable Oil or Shortening

1 Cup Warm Water

Combine the flour, salt, and shortening in a large bowl and mix together until crumbly. Add water slowly while mixing until you can gather the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (about 5 minutes). Cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

After resting, divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion between the palms of your hands to make a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into an 8 inch circle. Layer the circles between sheets of plastic wrap as you go or cook immediately.

To cook the tortillas, heat a heavy skillet or griddle over high heat until beginning to smoke. Place a tortilla in the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Turn and cook on the other side until slightly puffed and speckled brown on the underside but still soft enough to fold, about 30 seconds. Remove and continue until all the tortillas are cooked, stacking them as you go. Serve right away or cool, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can also freeze these for up to 3 months!

Recipe: Homemade Noodles

Because I know how much it saves, I'm trying to make a lot more of our baked goods at home like bread. Since I absolutely love the taste of homemade bread, I've decided to branch out and try some new things like homemade noodles. This is a very simple and basic recipe. It's actually quite easy too! Next week, I'm tackling tortillas, because I heard they are easy and I believe I've mentioned how much I love Mexican foods!

INGREDIENTS
4 Eggs
2 TBSP Water

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Beat the eggs and water together in a bowl. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder into a separate bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the beaten eggs into the well, then stir in the flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Roll the dough into a very thin layer on a lightly-floured surface; cut into 1/2 inch strips. Allow to dry at least 4 hours before using.

When ready to serve boil in water or to add flavor in chicken broth or stock! You can also dry them out and freeze them for later use!