Dinner in a Pumpkin

From my sister-in-law, Erin! (Or more accurately, from her mom, Patty!)

1 small pumpkin
1 chopped onion
1.5 pounds ground beef/turkey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4 oz mushrooms
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup (I made a white sauce)
1.5 cups cooked rice
1-8oz can sliced water chestnuts- drained
Additional vegetables, if desired

This is a very forgiving recipe. You can add green beans, bell pepper rings, zucchini slices, or peas for added color. Any other vegetables or corn mixed in are great too.

1. Clean pumpkin and scrape out seeds (easier to do if zapped in microwave first –like 7 minutes. Turn often so sides don’t get soft). Paint a face on the pumpkin in permanent marker.
2. Saute onion until tender. Brown meat and drain. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, and soup, and any other veggies you choose.
3. Simmer 10 minutes, add rice and water chestnuts.
4. Spoon into pumpkin shell.
5. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees (may need to be baked longer for the side of the pumpkin to be soft enough to scrape out when you serve it). Bake the top of the pumpkin on the cookie sheet also so it will shrink to fit the opening of the pumpkin.

Try #1 - November 18, 2010
We made this for William's first birthday (happy birthday, buddy!). It definitely needs a full hour (or maybe longer) to cook the pumpkin through - I took it out a little early and ended up having to stick it back in after we'd eaten some of the filling out of it. The original recipe from Patty called for doubling or tripling the soy sauce and brown sugar... I think next time I would follow that advice. It was good, but could have used a little more flavor. I didn't have any water chestnuts so I used celery instead, which gave it a little crunch. I also added frozen beans, peas, and corn.

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

From allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dash salt
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Try #1 - November 2010
This was good, and the pumpkin more or less disappeared into the chili. I used tomato paste because I didn't have any diced tomatoes, and it was just as good. A good way to use up/disguise pumpkin (we were starting to get sick of it, but still had a ton left!).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix sugar, oil, and eggs. Add pumpkin and water and mix well. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add in the pumpkin mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill greased or lined muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Source: Let's Eat!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

From MOPS newsletter, recipe by Rachel Gough

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 beaten eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree (15 oz can)
1 1/2 cups white unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ginger
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (1 1/2 12 oz. bags)

Cream butter, add sugar, cream until ight and fluffy. Add eggs and pumpkin; mix well. Stir flour, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

Try #1 - November 6, 2010
Yummy! I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour. I also used only one 12 oz bag of chocolate chips (which was plenty... although the more chocolate, the better!). These cookies are a bit cake-like, but delicious!

Pumpkin Coconut Curry

From allrecipes.com

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into small chunks
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (2 pound) sugar pumpkin -- peeled, seeded and cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 pinch ground turmeric
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt to taste

1. Season the chicken pieces with poultry seasoning and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to the skillet; cook and stir until browned on the outside and cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger; cook and stir until onion is transparent. Season with coriander, cumin, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook and stir until spices are fragrant. Add pumpkin, cooked chicken, coconut milk and chicken broth. Season with salt to taste. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat. Serve over rice or noodles.

Try #1 - November 2010
This has probably been my favorite pumpkin recipe so far. Delicious, creative way to use pumpkin!

Pumpkin Soup

From allrecipes.com

1 2/3 pounds sugar pumpkin -- peeled, seeded and cubed (I used 6 cups of pureed pumpkin)
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 onions, cut into wedges
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large potato, sliced
1 quart water (or use some pumpkin stock!)
3 cubes chicken bouillon, crumbled
1 cup heavy cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 1/4 tablespoons ground nutmeg (I used 1/2 Tbsp)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Place pumpkin, carrots and onions in a baking dish or roasting pan. Drizzle with vegetable oil.
3. Bake in preheated oven 40 minutes, until soft but not blackened.
4. In a large pot over medium heat, bring water and bouillon to a boil. Cook potato in simmering water until soft, about 20 minutes.
5. Combine potato and water with roasted vegetables and puree in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender until smooth. Return to pot over low heat, and stir in cream, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Heat gently; serve.

Try #1 - November 9, 2010
I made some changes to this recipe - I sauteed the onions, potatoes, and carrots together in the olive oil instead of roasting them. This just seemed easier to me, and less chance of error. Plus I already had pureed pumpkin cooked from last weekend. I also used plain yogurt instead of the heavy cream. I could definitely taste the yogurt flavor in the soup, but it was still good. Made a lot! I don't know how much a nearly 2 pound pumpkin would make, but I used 6 cups of pumpkin puree. I also used about 2 cups of pumpkin stock (so I only needed to add 2 more cups of water). Also, 1 1/2 Tbsp of nutmeg sounded like a lot of nutmeg, so I only used about 1/2 Tbsp.

Pumpkin Soup with Chorizo

From Prevention Magazine, November 2010

Diced chorizo (or other sausage)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
Sweet onion, chopped
Celery, chopped
2 peeled and diced apples
Salt and pepper
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
16-ounce canned pumpkin
Chicken stock
Heavy cream

Brown diced chorizo (or other sausage) in 2 Tbsp each olive oil and butter. Remove from the pan and saute chopped sweet onion and celery. Add 2 peeled and diced apples and cook a few minutes longer. Season with salt, peppr, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in a 16-ounce can of pumpkin and chicken stock to thin it somewhat, and let simmer about 30 minutes. Finish with a touch of heavy cream, season again, add the chorizo, and serve.

Try #1 - October 2010
This was very interesting. I used Italian sweet sausage, which wasn't exactly the right choice for this soup. Next time I would pick a spicier sausage, to balance out the sweetness of the soup. I'm also glad I let it simmer for a while (sometimes we're in a hurry to eat!), because it really thickened the soup up. I added plain yogurt on each serving instead of cream at the end - another good way to cut the sweetness a bit. This might be a once-a-season soup for us.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Lasagna

From allrecipes.com

3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
9 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 1/3 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
2. Brush the butternut squash halves with vegetable oil and season with salt. Roast in the preheated oven until golden and easily pierced with a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then scoop the flesh into a bowl. Set aside.
3. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Cook and stir garlic in the butter until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer, and cook until thick, about 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Stir in the butternut squash and season with salt and pepper. Sauce can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated.
4. Reduce oven temperature to to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Beat the heavy cream until foamy in a large glass or metal mixing bowl. Gradually add the salt, continuing to beat until medium peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the tip of the peak formed by the cream should curl over slightly. Set aside.
6. Pour 1 cup of the butternut sauce into the baking dish and place 3 lasagna noodles on top in a single layer. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the noodles and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Place another layer of noodles and spread the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Place the final layer of noodles on top. Spread the whipped cream over the final layer of noodles making sure the pasta is completely covered. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is bubbly and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Try #1 - October 26, 2010
This was very good, although a bit time-consuming. I also skipped the whipped cream step - it seemed a bit excessive to me, and I didn't have heavy cream nor did I want to take the time (or extra dishes) necessary to make it. I think the dish was rich enough without the addition of the cream. But very good - I would make it again.

Butternut Squash Bake

From allrecipes.com

1 (4 pound) butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1/3 yellow onion, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese (can use feta)
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Toss the squash, onion, olive oil, 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, thyme, and blue cheese in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a large baking dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs over the squash.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 35 to 40 minutes.

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
12 fresh sage leaves (or 1 tsp dried)

1. Heat oil in saucepot over medium heat. Add squash, apples and onion and cook until almost tender. Stir in sugar, coriander and red pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes.
2. Add broth. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 10 minutes. or until squash is tender.
3. Place cooked squash mixture in food processor, using a slotted spoon. Cover and blend until smooth, adding enough cooking liquid to make soup of desired consistency.
4. Heat butter in small skillet. Add sage and cook until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Reserve butter in skillet. Divide soup among 4 bowls. Drizzle each with sage butter and garnish with fried sage leaves.

Source: allrecipes.com

Try #1 - October 8, 2010
This was a thick, creamy, filling soup. We didn't have any sage, so I added a little cinnamon to the soup instead. We served it with fresh bread. A delicious fall soup!

Try #1 - November 5, 2012
I guess the last time I made this was 2 years ago... and it was just as good this time around!  I do now have rubbed sage, so I added 1 tsp of that to the soup.  Really yummy, although Abby said she didn't like it... not sure why, since at first she told me it tasted like honey...

Pear Crisp

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
4 cups sliced peeled pears
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form; set aside.
2. Place pears in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, ginger and remaining cinnamon; toss to coat.
3. Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until pears are tender.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Note: You can use this recipe if you want to, but this one is definitely better.

Sausage-Sweet Potato Bake

1 pound bulk sausage
2 medium raw sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 medium apples, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

1. Brown sausage in skillet. Break up large pieces and drain excess fat.
2. In a 2 quart casserole, arrange sweet potatoes, apples, and browned sausage.
3. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and water, and pour over.
4. Cover and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes, or until potates and apples are tender.

Source: More-with-Less

Try # 1 - August 9, 2010
Soooooooooooooooooooooo good. Definitely an autumn-tasting meal, though, so I will wait until fall to make it again. But soooooooooooooooooo good.

Pork Chops with Onions and Apples

From allrecipes.com

2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 bone-in center cut pork chops (1 inch thick) (I used pork loin chops)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped (I used Granny Smith, unpeeled; second time I used Fuji)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar (probably only need 1 Tbsp, if any)

1. In a small bowl, combine the pepper, salt and garlic powder. Rub over pork chops. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat for 7-9 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F and juices run clear.
2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onions and apples in butter until tender. Add brown sugar; cook until thickened and bubbly. Serve with the pork chops.

Try #1 - March 14, 2010
YUM YUM YUM! This recipe is a keeper! We served it with a side of butternut squash.

Notes:
1. The pork was nice and tender and juicy - it was a fairly fatty cut, so maybe that helped...
2. There was no "sauce" in the apples and onions after cooking them (not sure where it would come from - the butter? juices in the apple?), so there was no "thickening or bubbling" after adding the brown sugar... but that was not a problem at all. Still tasted great!

Try #2 - April 1, 2010
Still yum yum yum. Used a Fuji apple this time, and served with a side of brown rice and salad. I'm thinking the brown sugar isn't really necessary to add to the apples - the onions and apples are pretty sweet on their own.

Pumpkin Enchiladas

From Angela's blog

½ rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 can black beans (or 1 ½ cups cooked)
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1 15oz. can)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 tsp. chili powder
8 corn tortillas (6-inch) (I can usually get at least 10 tortillas filled)
1 ½ cup (6 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, beans and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. In a blender, puree the pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 ½ cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold the top firmly as the blender will be quite full).
3. Pour 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
4. Lay the tortillas on a work surface; mound the chicken mixture on half of each tortillas, dividing evenly. Roll up each tortillas into a tight log; place seam side down over the sauce in the baking dish.
5. Pour the remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with the cheese. Place the dish on a baking sheet; bake until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling; 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Try #1 - November 7, 2010
This was pretty good. I made a few changes based on what I had - fresh pumpkin, regular onion instead of scallions (next time I would try to use scallions or else saute the onions a bit first - they didn't cook very much and were a bit too strong for my taste), 1/2 a green pepper instead of jalapeno, and 8 homemade flour tortillas. The pumpkin mixture was interesting - the spices changed it from sweet to savory. I did feel like something was missing though... I think the jalapeno (or diced green chiles) would definitely give it a good kick, and perhaps next time I would add cheese (or sour cream or yogurt) to the chicken filling.