Pumpkin Orzo

This post is going to be short and sweet. Mainly because I promised a friend I would post it before Thanksgiving so she could make it as a side and I am pretty much getting down to the wire. Can you believe Thanksgiving is a week away?? I have no idea what I will be cooking for the big day. Of course I will be making pumpkin pie, but I don't now what other sides I should offer up to the table. Any ideas?

• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 lb orzo, cooked according to package directions
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet and add the celery and peppers. Saute until soft, then add the soup and pumpkin. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down low to simmer. Add cinnamon and simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Fold into the orzo.

This dish is best served immediately. The orzo will absorb the sauce if it becomes leftovers. Still delicious, but it looses the desired texture and taste.

Pumpkin Pie

This is a Thanksgiving staple! Who could host Thanksgiving without a Pumpkin Pie? It is probably the second most important food item after the Turkey. I am not hosting dinner this year, that is something I hope to never do. It is too much for me. My wonderful sister, who I am most thankful for, is hosting dinner at her house. I am bringing pies (only the pumpkin is homemade, the others I get through Sophia's dance class fundraiser), homemade cranberry sauce, and sweet potato biscuits. This is my favorite holiday, probably because it includes most of my favorite foods and it comes with a free pass to eat all I can. And I can eat!! Last night, my trainer and I decided I'm going to attempt to lose close to 20 lbs, so this will also be kind of a last hoorah! HOORAH!!!! God, am I corny.

• A pie pumpkin (small round and about 6-8 inches)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1.5 cans evaporated milk

Crust:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/6 cup (1 oz) cold vegetable shortening (breaks down to 2 Tbsp and 2 tsp)
• cold water

To make crust: Mix flour sugar and shortening first. Do not make it too smooth, try for pea sized granules. Sprinkle in some cold water to make it dough consistency. Roll out dough between two pieces of wax paper. Use some flour to keep it from sticking. Remove top piece of wax paper and flip dough into pie pan and shape. Press into pan and seal any broken areas. Remove wax paper before filling.

Make Pumpkin Puree with the pumpkin. Mix all pie ingredients. Pour into pie crust. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent burning. Bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes then turn down to 350 and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. When a knife comes out clean, the pie is done.




Crust protectors are available for purchase at kitchen supply stores.
Or you could do this.

So what recipe would be complete without a disaster or two? I had to run around to 3 different places Tuesday night to find a pie pumpkin. Everywhere has all their Christmas stuff up, but right when everyone should be giving thanks and making pie, I couldn't find a damn pumpkin! I eventually did find one, but next year I will be pureeing some pumpkin at Halloween time and freezing it for Thanksgiving. My last resort would have been mixing the bit of puree I have in my freezer with some of a can, but as you know, I am not a huge fan of the shortcuts that are infused with crap.

As I was mixing my pie ingredients I accidentally poured a bit more than 1 and a half cans of evaporated milk into the mix. Since other ingredients were already in the bowl, there was no way of sifting the extra out. The filling looked very liquidy and as it is my first time I was not sure if it would solidify correctly. I added a tsp of corn starch to thicken it up a little. It looks to be OK...keeping my fingers crossed for the final taste test.

I really hope my pie turned out delicious. I have not tried it yet, since I can't cut into it until dinner is done this afternoon. This post will probably be updated once I get everyone's reactions. The pie ingredients made much more filling than would fit in the crust. Instead of wasting it, I decided to make Naked Pumpkin Mini's. Aka: Cupcake sized pies with no crust.

Family Reaction: Just about everyone seemed to like my pie. The filling was pretty delicious. I was scared it would be too clovey, but not at all. My brother in law said it was too moist for his preference, which could have been due to my over pouring of the evaporated milk. I didnt like the crust. It seemed a bit chewy or soft or something. I am going to look into a new recipe for pie crust.

White Bean Turkey Pumpkin Chili

I really need to get into the habit of putting my memory card right back in my camera as soon as I am finished uploading my pictures. Tonight when I was finished cooking I took a picture of my meal with the intent of posting it on this blog. As I sat down to do so, I realized the memory card was still in my computer, not my camera. Luckily I had some leftovers I could take a picture of to share with you.

I found this recipe on a the facebook page called Skinny Crock Pot . They have a bunch of recipes that I would love to try, especially since they are lower in calories and I am on the constant battle to lose my muffin top. I 'like' a lot of recipe pages on facebook. It makes finding new recipes and ideas super easy since they just pop up right on my news feed.

• 1 1/4 lb ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 chopped yellow pepper
• 1 chopped orange pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 14.5oz can chopped green chilies

Heat a skillet over medium heat to brown the turkey. Drain and add onion, garlic, peppers, and all spices except the bay leaves. Saute a few minutes. Put in crock pot with pumpkin puree, broth, beans, chilies, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

I made a few changes to this recipe:

1. I used a green pepper instead of the orange pepper. I am not a fan of red or orange peppers at all. If something is cooked with red pepper I can't even just pick the pieces out or eat around them. The flavor infuses the entire meal and I just cant eat it. This is my own personal preference, everyone has a few things they just don't like no matter how it is prepared.
2. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. No personal preference here, I just have my vegetable broth on hand in the freezer. I would rather use what I have then spend the money. Especially when my vegetable broth was homemade from fresh veggies, while store bought chicken broth is bound to be loaded with lots of sodium and who knows what else.
3. I left out the green chilies entirely. I felt they would make the meal too spicy for Sophia. It had a little bit of spice from the chili powder so the extra heat was not needed for my family.

As I chopped the onion and peppers, I saved the top and skins from the onion and the core of the peppers. I put them in a big Ziploc bag and tossed it in the freezer. As I come across scraps from veggies I will add them to this bag. When the bag is full and my supply of vegetable broth runs low, I will use the contents of this bag to make new broth. I used to just throw these "un-useable" pieces of veggies right down the garbage disposal. It took less than a minute to save these pieces and will save a few dollars in the long run. I will not have to buy as many new veggies when I want to make broth nor will I ever have to buy premade broth. Plus by making homemade broth, I am able to better control the quality of food Sophia and I consume.

This was pretty good. Maybe not my favorite meal I have cooked, but something I would do again. I usually don't have to add salt to much, but I did have to add some salt and pepper when I sat down to eat. The pumpkin flavor was not overpowering at all. Some pumpkin flavored foods are too strong for my liking. My sister, Chrissy, stopped by and I made her try some. She is not a fan of pumpkin and even she said she couldn't taste it in there. The only taste she didn't like was the cumin. It is one of her least favorite flavors. I didn't notice a very strong cumin flavor, but maybe it is just like how I am with the red pepper. If there is one flavor in a meal that you do not like, that is what will probably stand out the most. I sent her home with some home to give to her husband and I will be bringing some to my mother tomorrow. I look forward to hearing their reactions as well.

This recipe made way more than I needed for just one night. After I separated some for my brother in law and my mom, I was able to freeze about 2 cups and still have some leftovers to have later in the week.

My Great-grandmother's Special Pumpkin Bread

Since I have been working alot with fresh pumpkin lately, I knew I wanted to try making a pumpkin bread. I researched recipes and thought I found a winner. That was until I told my sister my plan. She informed me that she just got her hands on our Great-grandmothers recipe. Obviously this recipe took priority in my desire to bake pumpkin bread. Our family isn't really one that passes down recipes from generation to generation. This is the first time I came across a gem such as this. My awesome sister shared the recipe and gave me permission to post it.

I was not fortunate enough to have been able to get to know my Great-grandmother Anna Marie Gallagher. I did meet her, but she died before I was old enough to really remember. The only actual memory I have is her looking out her front door at me while her cat sat in the window. My sister was lucky enough to have a close relationship with her. Mommom Anna would babysit my sister and in the fall they would bake pumpkin bread together for thanksgiving. She died at the age of 78 on July 30, 1990. I was only 5 years old; my sister was 10. The last time my sister baked the Great-grandmoms special pumpkin bread was for Thanksgiving of 1990. My grandmother and sister baked the bread together. As they were preparing it, the song Wind Beneath My Wings came on the radio. Both of them started to cry as they remembered the lose of the matriarch of our family.

• 3 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups pumpkin*
• 2/3 cup water
• raisins and walnuts (optional, desired amount)

*My sister said she remembers using canned pumpkin when baking the bread with our Great-grandmother. I decided to use fresh pumpkin puree. A bit more work, but take I'd rather take advantage of any chance I have to use fresh ingredients over processed food.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients. Pour into a greased loaf or cake pan. Bake for approximately one hour. Test if it is fully cooked by stabbing it in the middle with a butter knife or tooth pick. It is done when the knife comes out clean.



This bread came out delicious. I used a small amount of both raisins and chopped walnuts. I think next time I will add some extra walnuts. I like the crunch. The batter allowed me to bake two small loafs and a single layer cake (pictured). I iced the single layer cake with my sisters homemade buttercream and added some chocolate to the top of the icing. Yum!

Pumpkin Puree

After making the Autumn Pasta Carbonara, I was left with more than half a pumpkin. I have never worked with fresh pumpkin so I do not know how long it will keep in the fridge. Freezing is a great way to keep fresh ingredients, so they don't spoil. I researched freezing pumpkin and the best bet seems to be freezing it as a puree. A puree can be used for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pancakes. I am sure I could find some more recipes using pumpkin puree. Any vegetable puree makes for a great all natural baby food as well. I did not do this with Sophia, but it is something I would be very interested in if I were to have another child.

• Fresh pumpkin - I used a small 6 inch pumpkin, but any size will work. Different size and varieties of pumpkin will produce variations in flavor.

   Cut a pumpkin into fourths. Use a large spoon to remove seeds and guts. Place the pumpkin skin side down in a roasting pan or baking dish. Cover the bottom of the pan with water. Cover with foil. Place in a 300 degree oven. Bake for about 1hour. When done it will slice as easy as butter. Remove from oven, uncover, and allow to cool. Cut flesh away from skin. Place in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Your plans for the puree will determine how to store it. For pies or pastries, store in 1 or 2 cup quantities. For baby food, an ice cube tray will allow for perfect portions to pop out and be defrosted individually.

I plan to make pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie with my puree in the near future.

Autumn Pasta Carbonara

• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin - 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 lb penne
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3oz Parmesan cheese
• pinch rosemary and thyme
• 1tsp red pepper flakes   **

Toss pumpkin in a little olive oil. Spread on baking sheet and roast at 300 to 350 for 25-30 minutes, until tender.
Cook penne as directed.
Heat 1tbsp olice oil in a skillet. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add spinach and cook while stirring, until leaves wilt (about 3 minutes) Add remaining olive oil and milk. Stir. Add pumpkin and cheese. Toss and lower heat to simmer. Season with rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
Toss with cooked pasta.

** OPTIONAL:  I used half a tsp because I knew Sophia would not eat it with the heat (I'm not the biggest fan of hot spicy foods either). I should have left it out completely. The flavor was good for me, but I wound up having to feed Soph a peanut butter sandwich.



As I started cutting the fresh pumpkin up, Sophia came into the kitchen and got all excited. "ARE YOU MAKING PUMPKIN PIE!!!" Ummm, no. Pumpkin pasta. Note to me: plan on making pumpkin pie and let her help. The pumpkin was a pain in the rear to cut up into 1/2 pieces when it was raw, but that may be because my knife collection is seriously lacking.

I have a system. I keep a marble copybook, where I compile all the recipes I am interested in cooking. Whenever I find one I write it in the book that instant (or I do not close the browser until I get a minute to jot it down). If the recipe was found in a magazine or any other sort of paper source, I tend to rip it out and shove it in the pages until I get a chance to write it in permanently. When I make the recipe, I note any opinions or changes I may have in the margins.  It may seem archaic, the old "pen and paper" method, but it works! I am then able to bring the book into the kitchen to work. I definitely would not feel comfortable bringing my laptop into the kitchen with me. Things get messy! I like my system. It works for me. Most of the time. Then there are times that instructions are not so clear. Like today, my first instruction of this recipe is "Toss pumpkin in a little olive oil. Spread on baking sheet and roast 25-30 minutes until tender." OK, simple enough. Except how hot would you heat the oven to? Stupid question? I never did claim to be a chef. I am just a simple mom who likes to cook. I need this stuff spelled out to me! Sooo, I picked my fall back oven temperature of 350. Everything I cook in the oven without a recipe to follow gets shoved in at 350.

I think I will definitely make this recipe again. I will completely omit the red pepper flakes, but the fresh pumpkin was very tasty. I have never had fresh pumpkin. It is very close to a butternut squash flavor. I guess that should not come as a surprise since it is in the squash family. It was hard to cut up the pumpkin raw and I am not a fan of cleaning out the guts. My sister is hosting a pumpkin carving party closer to the end of the month. I think I will collect the eyes, noses, and teeth to use and make this recipe again or possibly another that includes fresh pumpkin. Let the others at the party do the cutting for me!!