Day 21 - Big Breakfast with fried pumpkin

This morning I had a couple of hunters out in the woods.  I knew they'd be hungry & cold when they came in so I made a good warm breakfast.  Biscuits, sausage, gravy & fried pumpkin.  They dug in as soon as they got home.

Tony thought the pumpkin was the best thing on his plate.  It's so simple & good, it really has become my favorite way to eat pumpkin.  I just take the roasted pumpkin, add a bit of sugar & some dashes of salt, pepper & cinnamon while warming it in an iron skillet.  I think I should can some this way.  It would be fabulous to open up & enjoy anytime.

Day 20 - Pumpkin Cookies for School

Our daughter had a "thanksgiving feast" in her sophomore english class so she ordered up some pumpkin cookies to take.  I used the same fabulous Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies recipe that I  had made last week.  Plus I added chocolate chips this time.  Here's the recipe again:
Pumpkin-peanut butter-oatmeal cookies!

Day 19 - Plain pumpkin for lunch

Today was a simple lunch prepared for a couple of guys whom I am blessed to be in ministry with.  We had ham, greens fresh from the garden & plain roasted pumpkin with just a few dashes of salt, pepper, cinnamon & a bit of sugar.  I also baked some biscuits.  My favorite thing on the plate was the pumpkin but my favorite part of the lunch was our laughter & conversation.  I love my time with them. They are definitely Philippians 1:3.
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."

Day 18 - Pumpkin Roll

I'm off a couple of days on my pumpkin count, simply because I haven't been home....it's hard to cook or bake while you're away.  And, while I was prepared to get back into creating with pumpkin again, my plans have changed because my mom actually made an amazing pumpkin roll that we have enjoyed today.  Here's how neat it looks:

She chose her recipe from www.verybestbaking.com

I'm glad she did it, because I'm not sure I would've ever been brave enough to give it a try.  Mine would've probably turned into a mess!!

Day 17 - Pumpkin & Biscuits

We eat sausage & biscuits almost every morning for breakfast.  This morning I "fried" up some pumpkin just like apples.  And, I have found a new love!  The pumpkin biscuit was even better than apples, to me.  I just added a small amount of sugar & some cinnamon.  Very simple, fresh & good for us!

Day 16 - Pumpkin on the plate

For supper we all ate in shifts tonight, but the offerings were cabbage, lima beans, pumpkin, ham & hoecakes that Tony had fried up for us! Simple, good, food.

Day 15 - Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies!!

The title says it all.  How could this recipe be bad??  The only change I made to this recipe was to add the chocolate chunks.  My original idea was to add chocolate chips, but when I went to the pantry & found none, I did find several semi-sweet chocolate squares.  Dara joined me in the kitchen to chunk up the chocolate.

All in all, it was a fabulous recipe that made fabulous cookies.  They are a hit with everyone in the house!
Click this to head to the cookie recipe page

Day 14 - Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes

Tonight our youngest daughter asked for pumpkin cupcakes so I went to a website that a friend had recommended (thanks Donna!) & found a super easy pumpkin recipe.  You start with a yellow cakemix & just add a few ingredients from there.  They are baking now & smell wonderful.

Click here for the Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes recipe from Justapinch.com

Day 13 - Pumpkin Soup (again!)

So, the pumpkin soup was such a hit the first time that we had it back for an encore!  This time it was even better because the chicken broth we used was home-made broth we had frozen from some of our own chickens.  We paired the soup with some ham, so we had protein, carbs & vegetable fiber for a well-rounded meal.

Click below for the recipe link:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-pumpkin-soup/detail.aspx

Day 12 - Sauteed Pumpkin Seeds

Butter & hot sauce coated pumpkin seeds? Yep...this great buffalo inspired snack is super easy.  Just add the three ingredients, saute the seeds until lightly browned & your ready to eat! Oh, and sprinkle with salt at the end if you wish.

Day 11 - Pie Pumpkin Cake for Kat

Today is a benefit for an amazing young lady in our community, Kadison Warren. She is important an important person to all three of our children & her mom was actually my college room-mate.  So, I have become a "old lady" and baked up a cake for the benefit.  Really?  Isn't that something that only women over 65 do??  But the truth is I've come to grips with my enjoyment of these things & I've taken GREAT joy in knowing it was for Kat.

Click here for the recipe

While the cake recipe is fabulous & I could talk about the amazing streusel that's inside or the great texture of the batter since the recipe maker included the sour cream...that's not the real story here.

The real story today is that there are people everywhere, everyday that are facing some pretty tough things. If you aren't one of those people right now, be an encouragement to those who are.  Pray for them in their valleys.  If you are facing a giant in your own life, take comfort in the voice of truth from God's word. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." from Psalms 34.

Day 10 - Pumpkin Bread for Veterans!

Today is Veteran's Day here in America & our local high school has a program to honor those men & women who have served.  Before the program they offer them a nice breakfast and our daughters took some home-made pumpkin bread for them that I had baked last night.  It's something that I'm thankful they do.  You can never thank veteran's enough for the time they have served our country.

Here's the recipe I used.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, dream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

After I finished slicing & plating all the bread for the veteran's our son asked if he could take some for one of his teachers who is currently on maternity leave.  We sacked up some pieces & ran it by her house before school.  I love it that he is thoughtful.  And, I love it that we live in a small town where things like that are possible. It's a pretty good life!

Day 9 - Pumpkin Pie (the classic)

This morning I was blessed with time to bake & cook.  I chose "Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipe" from the allrecipes website.  And, this recipe has certainly lived up to it's fame!  Plus it's a very healthy recipe in comparison to most.  Less than a cup of sugar & two eggs in this two pie recipe.  Well, I made two pies, I guess you could just make one.

Click here for Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Classic pumpkin pie is one of Tony's favorite things...these before & after pics say it all. Don't you love how guys have no "need" to cut neatly into something??

Day 8 - Repeat of sauteed pumpkin

Today I sauteed more pumpkin - just a little butter, salt & pepper.
Can't tell you how simple & good it is!  Of course I'm just sauteeing pumpkin that's already been roasted so the flavor is incredible on it's own.  We finished up the ham & greens today too.
And, to those of you who have expressed concern, my kids are not tinted yet....of course we still have a couple of weeks to go!!

Day 7 - Sauteed Pumpkin with Ham & Greens

I'm not completely done with our supper for tonight, but I'm blogging now because tonight promises to be one of those late nights that are full of great things!

I have just put a city ham in the crock pot, it's on low for the rest of the afternoon.  I'm pairing the ham with fresh greens I just picked from the garden & sauteed pumpkin that I'm going to just give a quick warm up when I get home tonight. Since the pumpkin is already roasted, I'll just add it to a skillet with some melted butter & give it a good sauteeing until I see some brown on it.  I read Mr. Food's recipe for sauteed pumpkin just a minute ago & am attaching it to this entry just because I've always enjoyed watching him cook.  I may even add a little maple syrup to the pumpkin to give it a try like he suggests. If I have more time than I think I'll whip up some home-made hoecakes to go with the meal, if not I have some Sister Schubert's rolls in the freezer to add. To me this is a perfect meal....a strong green, a great yellow & a protein!  This is fall cooking at it's best.

Here's Mr. Food's link:
http://www.mrfood.com/Vegetables/Sauteed-Pumpkin#

Day 6 - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

This afternoon I have baked some Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  How could those ever be anything but good??  The recipe is great.  Here's a pic of the product & a link to the recipe.

Click here for cookie recipe.

Day 5 - Fabulous Pumpkin Lasagna

Tonight I have used pumpkin to make Vegetarian Four Cheese Lasagna, you can view the recipe by clicking the link below.   It's in the oven now & should be fabulous!!  I'm guessing it will be much like the ratatouille that we have come to love making with all our fresh summer vegetables. I'm really enjoying this pumpkin challenge, I never knew pumpkin was so versatile.  Our pile of pumpkins is dwindling & we are thankful!

Click here for Vegetarian Four Cheese Lasagna Recipe

Day Four - Pumpkin Swirled Brownies

My intentions tonight were to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, but when I went to gather all the ingredients, I was out of butter.  I came up with an alternate plan that merged two recipes.  The end result was some pretty great Pumpkin Swirled Brownies. 

Basic Brownie Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Pumpkin Swirl ingredients:

1/4 cup pureed pumpkin

3 ounces cream cheese

I mixed the oil, sugar & vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a time.  In a separate bowl I mixed the flour & cocoa & then slowly added them to the wet mixture.  I poured half of this into a 9x9 greased pan.  Next I mixed the two pumpkin swirl ingredients together & dropped that mixture by spoonfuls on top & then the remaining brownie batter over that.  I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  I refrigerated them after baking.

Day 3 - Pumpkin Cheesecake!!

This pumpkin cheesecake destroyed my little hand mixer - but I think it was probably worth it!!  This is a great recipe!!

You can tell by the little white pieces of cream cheese that my mixer bit the dust...but it didn't effect the taste at all.  This was also the first time I had ever baked a real cheesecake of any kind.  I loved it!!  Recipe is below.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-cheesecake/detail.aspx

Day 2 of Pumpkinmania - Pumpkin Frittata

Today I used four cups of cooked pumpkin to make a pumpkin frittata for supper.  Here's a pic of the four cups - I do think pumpkin is a very pretty food.

The recipe also called for fresh spinach, which we still have growing in our garden.  It is absolutely beautiful at this time of year & it's such a great power food.  

The recipe that I used is posted below.  All in all, it was okay.  If I used this recipe again, I would add alot more flavor...probably with some freshly chopped basil.  I didn't get a frittata pic tonight, but might try to take some pics tomorrow of the leftovers. 

I really am enjoying this pumpkin marathon & the fact that we are using what we have & trying to be thankful for it - but a funny scriptural thought just hit me.  In the New Testament there is a story of a man who was faithful with a few things & because of that faithfulness he was given much more....I sure do hope God doesn't given us more pumpkins!!!  Of course, that would be funny.

The story is from Matthew 25 - and the summary verse for me is this - "Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share you master's happiness!"  

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-spinach-and-feta-frittata/detail.aspx

24 Days of Pumpkin Begins Now!

We have lots of pumpkins left over from this year's farmer's market. So, in  an effort to be truly thankful for all we have - we are embarking on a 24 day pumpkin eating marathon!!

We began today with pumpkin soup.  

I baked the pumpkins whole in the oven - six pie pumpkins at a time fit into my oven. 

They finished baking after about an hour & a half at 350 degrees. Next I sliced them down the center & started dividing out the pumpkin.  I scooped out the seeds & center pulp for the chickens.  Then I scooped out all the great pumpkin meat into a large mixing bowl.  I froze part of the pumpkin, cooked with some tonight and saved some for use later this week.  We even fed the leftover pumpkin shells to the cattle so nothing was wasted.

Creamy pumpkin soup was what I made tonight.

Here's the recipe I followed.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-pumpkin-soup/detail.aspx

As always I didn't follow the recipe fully, I left out the nutmeg simply because I didn't have any here.  But I added garlic during the simmering process and added a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream cheese at the end to the entire pot instead of everyone adding sour cream on their own.  It was such a hit that we didn't have enough for everyone to have all they wanted.  Next time I will make two batches of this at once.