kattitudes

This is utterly fantastic with gingersnaps or (my favorite) tart Granny Smith apple slices.

Another knock out accompaniment is pear slices, believe it or not. It was a strange combination at first, but once you got used to the flavors together, it was amazing. And I definitely like the fruit with this dip much more than the gingersnaps (and I love gingersnaps!).

Ingredients:

1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 - 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon pure orange extract
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Blend cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar until smooth in food processor. Remove cover; add pumpkin and remaining ingredients. Blend thoroughly.

Chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Oh, and as an experimentation note, once I added a little bit of fresh grated ginger I had left over from a different recipe. It was *fantastic* so I do it regularly now - really gave the dip an extra zing. I probably had about a teaspoon or so, maybe a little more. I really recommend the addition.

This is such an unusual presentation and a perfectly wonderful main meal. The fun of this recipe is that you really can experiment with the vegetables, replacing those you don’t love or adding veggies that you think might really add to the fun. This is a fantastic WOW meal that really will surprise your family and your guests. Take a gamble and try baking one this weekend.

Ingredients:

1 medium-size pie pumpkin (about 6-8 pounds )
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium-large eggplant
Salt to taste
1 cup basmati rice
3-1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 small carrots, sliced
1 cup green beans, cut in pieces
1-2 small zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1-1/4 cups cooked kidney beans
1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon each oregano and thyme
2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 scallions, sliced
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a circle out of the top of the pumpkin (leaving the stem intact). Carefully scrape out all the seeds and thready pulp. Wash out inside.

Make a marinade with 1 tablespoon each of the lemon juice and soy sauce. Rub on the inside of the pumpkin. Bake pumpkin for 30 minutes at 400 degrees and cover with aluminum foil to keep it moist.

Wash the eggplant and slice it crosswise with 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle the slices with salt on both sides and allow them to sit for 20 to 30 minutes as the excess water seeps out. (This will help the eggplant not to absorb so much oil when cooked.)

In a medium-size saucepan, cook the rice in 3 cups of the broth over medium heat for 30 minutes with the chopped onion and garlic. While the rice is cooking, assemble the carrots, green beans, zucchinis, cooked kidney beans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and herbs for the stuffing.

Rinse and pat eggplant dry. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the eggplant for about 10 minutes. Turn to low and add the scallions, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Immediately cover, and steam for 1-2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice and eggplant to the stuffing mixture. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of vegetable broth and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the pumpkin and replace the lid. Bake in the preheated oven (400 degrees) for 1 hour, or until the pumpkin is soft to the touch.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
* 1/2 cup oil
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1/4 cup molasses
* 1 egg, lightly beaten

PREPARATION:
Directions for cranberry pumpkin muffins
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing just until the dry ingredients are moist.

Do not overmix. Generously grease a 12-muffin tin and dust with flour or line with paper muffin cups. Fill muffin cups about 2/3-full with batter. Bake pumpkin muffins in preheated 350° oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove pumpkin muffins from tins to wire rack to cool. Makes 12 cranberry pumpkin muffins.

Ingredients for pie:

* 1-2/3 cups (11 ounce package) butterscotch chips, separated
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Powdered sugar (optional)

Ingredients for butterscotch sauce:

* 1/3 cup evaporated milk
* Remaining 2/3 cup of butterscotch chips (separated as above)

Microwave 1 cup butterscotch chips in a small, microwave-safe bowl on medium-high (70%) power for one minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in medium bowl. Stir together melted chips, pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon batter into greased 10-inch bundt pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional). Serve with butterscotch sauce.

To prepare butterscotch sauce: heat 1/3 cup evaporated milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat just to boil; remove from heat. Add remaining chips, stir until smooth. Return to heat; stirring constantly, bring mixture just to boil. Cool to room temperature. Stir before serving.

via Libby pumpkin site

Autumn just seems the perfect time to mix up multiple batches of this wonderful treat to pass along to friends and neighbors.

Hey, we have posted a number of Halloween treat bags. This would be a good filler if you wanted to move away from chocolate (if you were willing to dare…or had no little monsters to menace you for avoiding the chocolate menace in your home).

Mix up a batch and keep some on hand in place of plastic greasy potato chips. Grab a small handful of these with some chopped veggies and you have a pretty tasty snack. If you feel up to it, you could toss in some dried fruit to keep the pecans company, maybe even crystallized ginger pieces.

Ingredients:

* 5 cups pecan halves
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons coarse salt
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 2 teaspoons canola oil

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the nuts in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Toast until the nuts are fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, salt and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the honey, two tablespoons of water and the oil in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the roasted pecans. Cook, stirring once or twice, until all the liquid as been evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the sugar mixture and toss until well combined. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a sheet of parchment paper to cool. These pecans may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for one week.

This is the first official entry into our dinner under a dollar category. Dry legumes are so inexpensive and they really should be a regular stock item in your pantry. I have so many bags in my pantry that I have to keep a box in there to keep them organized. Dried legumes can be added to very little leftovers and water to make healthy and homemade soups, stews and casseroles and really stretch your grocery dollars and get every last penny out of your meals.

If, for example, you know you are going to have ham in your menu, plan ahead to keep that bone after you cut all the meat away from it. Rather than throwing that bone away, toss it in your stock pot, fill it with water and get your family another meal (or more…depending on just how much soup/stew you make!). We love soups and stews around my house, so my freezer is usually full of quickly rotating soup leftovers.

It seems basic, but sometimes we forget how easy it is to use all the pieces of what we purchase. While you may not hear people use the idiom “waste not want not” much any more, the truth of it still holds.

Also, if you are purchasing with an eye to cooking at home, you are in the habit of buying to stock your pantry pretty regularly. This means that you probably have a bag of onions and carrots somewhere in your kitchen right now. Am I right? So review: the ham bone, you are using from the last ham dinner, so cost is negligible. Onions and carrots you have on hand already. Dried peas about a dollar a bag. Water.

Notice that there is not a bunch of spices in there? Oh there are some spices that really taste wonderful in split pea soup, but you should experiment to see what you like. Also we all know that spices are good once you know what you are doing, but can really be overdone. So let us go back to basics, and just focus on one or two flavors. Make just the soup with the peas, carrots and the salt from the ham. If you are vegetarian, you probably want to add salt to get the most flavor from the peas and carrots.

If you are nervous about cooking, this is an utterly fantastic recipe to practice. Even if everything goes really horribly wrong, the results usually come out pretty tasty anyway. The flavor combination is wonderful and the recipe takes on different aspects (and names) with different legumes and different consistencies, so do not be worried about wrecking this dish! If you are timid in the kitchen, I really encourage you to try this. It is a great confidence builder. After you have made it enough times to feel comfortable, start adding spices like garlic and even curry. But keep it simple for as long as you like it that way!

Ingredients:

* 1 chopped onion
* 1 large carrot, chopped
* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 (16 ounce) package dry split green peas
* 1 ham bone or 2 cups chopped ham
* Water, salt and pepper to taste

In a medium stockpot, sauté onions in oil. Remove from heat and add split peas, chopped carrot, ham bone or chopped ham. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until there are no beans left, just a green liquid (this will take a couple of hours). Keep in mind that the ham is going to be salty so be careful not to over salt your soup.

While soup is cooking, check to see if water has evaporated. You may need to add more water as the soup continues to cook.

Once the soup is a green liquid, remove from heat and let stand. The soup will thicken as it cools. Once thickened, you may need to heat through to serve. Water can be added at any time if you find the soup too thick.

This recipe makes a thick but relatively smooth split green pea soup, with small pieces of carrot and ham. This is not a chunky consistency, but very smooth and soothing. Cooking time can be reduced according to your palate preference.

Ingredients:

* 3 eggs
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup butter (melted)
* 1 cup light corn syrup
* 1 cup pecans
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 teaspoon rum (optional)

Combine and beat thoroughly eggs, sugar, salt, butter and syrup.

Stir in pecans, vanilla and rum. Fill a prepared 9-inch pie shell.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

This is such an easy pie. It is just amazing how simple it is to make. One thing to remember however, the middle will still be pretty wiggly when you take it out of the oven. The pie will continue to cook a little and firm up in the middle so please be careful and don’t overcook.

Oh, if you want to make this pie outrageous, start adding handfuls of things like chocolate chips or dried cranberries. No. No. Never mind. Not yet. Just practice making a basic pecan pie.

Handmade gifts are appropriate in any given holiday season or for any occasion under the sun. You’ll find all types of gifts to make here, including jams and jellies and other kitchen presents, gifts made with flowers, handmade jewelry and even just assembly line gift ideas (larger gifts assembled with different bits and pieces).

• Potpourri (explanation and instructions)
• Epsom bath salts and variations
• Herbal Bath sachet
• Bath bomb balls
• Smells of Christmas potpourri
• Blackberry jam
• Pumpkin Apple Butter
• Good morning basket with cinnamon oat pancake mix
• Oriental vinegar
• Raspberry (or Strawberry) Vinegar
• Jalapeño jelly
• Rosebud candleholder
• Peanut Brittle - Ole Fashioned recipe
• Microwave Oven Peanut Brittle
• chocolate covered spoons (with variations including butterscotch, white chocolate, and cinnamon)
• almond biscotti
• gingered biscotti (with white chocolate)
• cappucino biscotti
• biscotti with chocolate chips
• Rosebud basket
• Instant Russian tea
• Ginger scented pecans
• Rose Covered Frame
• Romantic Picnic Blanket
• Homemade Caramels
• Rose Tree Topiary
• Rose Covered Pillow
• Rose Petal Votive Candle Holder
• Rose Cologne
• Rose Wreath
• Rose Shadow Box
• Ribbon Roses
• Rose Pomander
• Moroccan Dry Rub for Meats
• All Purpose Dry Rub for Meats

Thanksgiving recipes, autumn taste delights and even halloween fun. A party in your mouth to go with the dinner party in your home.

• Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy
• Sautéed Mushrooms and Green Beans
• Extra Spicy Creamed Corn
• Southern Style Biscuits
• Italian Sausage Stuffing
• Pecan Pie Baked In Pumpkin Shells
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Country Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
• Brussel Sprouts with Bacon
• Cranberry Sauce with Zesty Pearl Onions
• Southern Greens
• Pearl Onions glazed with Mustard and Brown Sugar
• Green Beans Caesar
• Bourbon Sweet Potato Puree with Buttered Pecans
• Hot and Spicy Cranberry Salad
• Cranberry-Orange Relish
• Fillo Pecan Pie
• Green Bean Bundles
• Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts
• Pumpkin Biscuits
• Pumpkin Apple Butter
• variation on a stuffing/dressing recipe
• Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
• Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake
• Cream of Pumpkin Curry Soup
• Ginger Scented Pecans
• Basic Pecan Pie

The last book in the Harry Potter series is due for release in a mere four days. Because it is the end of what is probably the most popular series of books in the 21st century, many people are planning a great party (and here at Kattitudes, we fall solidly on the “any excuse for a party” end of the spectrum). As our part of the fun, I thought we would throw in a few more recipes, some personally tried and true and some ideas (particularly for the sweeties part of the feast) we pulled from the great www.

How about a recipe for those wonderful pumpkin pasties that everyone enjoys so much? The first recipe is an Americanized version, basically a pumpkin pie in a handheld crust. Down South, we call those fried pies.

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1 lb. can pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1 2/3 c. evap. milk (1 can)
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 9 oz pie crust pastry (enough for two single standard pie crusts)

Bake the pie filling only (no crust) in a large casserole dish in hot oven (425 degrees) for 15 minutes. Keep oven door closed and reduce temp to moderate (350 degrees F/180 degrees Celsius) and continue baking for 45 minutes or until table knife inserted in center of dish comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Make or purchase pie crust pastry. Roll thin and cut into circles approx 4″ in diameter. Put a spoonful of the cool pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed. Slice three small slits in the top for venting, place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake only until crust is a light golden-brown.

We lived in London for a few years, and know what a real pasty tastes like, and so I am still looking for a good pumpkin pasty recipe. Pasties were originally nothing but pie crusts folded over the remains of Sunday roast dinner in an easy to hold lunch for the miners going into the mines in Cornwall. In theory, the pasties had the meat on one end, and fruit on the other end in the crust, allowing miners two courses to their meal. I have been experimenting with my own recipes, so I will have to dig one out to share.