Virtual Bake Sale at Tales from a Kitchen Misfit

Tags

auction, bake sale, baking, Cookies, food, pumpkin, pumpkin cookies, recipes

I have an announcement to make!

My wonderful friend Amanda from Tales From a Kitchen Misfit is hosting a virtual bake sale on her blog to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team (a wonderful cause), and I am baking some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for it!

Virtual bake sales are awesome.

If you participate, you are helping a great cause PLUS getting some amazing treats delivered right to your door.

So head on over to Tales From a Kitchen Misfit, take a look around at the goods, bid on some goods (preferably my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies — I’m telling you, they’re irresistible), and enjoy your goodies when they’re mailed to you in a few weeks.

You have until January 28th to bid.

….GO!

Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup

Tags

cooking, curry, food, pumpkin, recipes, soup, vegetarian

This soup sort of just happened. It wasn’t planned at all. I went to a Healthy Living lecture at work the other day (on how to not overeat during the holidays—some words of wisdom that are always good to hear at this time of year, and all year round for me, especially at food events). Since it was all about healthy eating, there were tons of fruits up for grabs, so I grabbed four apples.

I always take free stuff. Especially food. (Let’s not discuss the fact that at a work conference yesterday they were giving out boxes of Luna bars, something I don’t eat, and I took 12. Yup. 12.) I don’t like seeing things go to waste.

Anyway, so out of my work bag the other night came four apples when I got home. My sweet tooth is a bit worn out right now. So soup sounded good. Pumpkin also sounded  good. Oh and how about some curry.

Let’s Google that.

Google never fails me (though it can and often does scare me — “why have I had a headache for 4 hours”, for example, turns into “brain tumor”). But sure enough, some wonderful soul had already concocted a soup full of apples and pumpkin for all of us to love and enjoy.

Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup (Adapted from AllRecipes)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 4 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 4 cups)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp curry
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, curry, and cumin; saute, stirring often, until onion is soft and fragrant. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
2. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Puree soup in blender (about 3 batches). Return to pot and reheat on low. Serve immediately.

My Two Cents: First and foremost, I put in just under a tbsp of curry and just under a tsp of cumin. Many of the reviews of this recipe stated that those exact amounts packed a serious punch. So I mellowed it just a smidge, but I think those measurements would also work just fine.

For a completely vegetarian/vegan option–use vegetable broth and oil instead of the butter.

I was totally in love with this soup, though. Curry might be my favorite spice. Actually, it is my favorite spice. Most of my favorite dishes have curry in them, especially the soups. How can you not love that sweet scent and taste, yet with a little zingy kick to it?

And don’t worry, I still have about 5 cans of pumpkin left.

My pumpkin craze is not over yet

Like the looks of this recipe? Check out Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup for another similar alternative.

Healthy and Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Bake

Tags

cheese, cooking, food, pasta, pumpkin, pumpkin pasta, recipes, vegetarian

The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend (which was spent in the beautiful Virginia!), and after an hour long cardio workout, I wanted some carbs. I took out a box of rotini pasta  and grabbed a jar of tomato sauce. Not gourmet, but I really didn’t have much else to make.

Or did I?

I had 7 cans of pumpkin (you can never have too much), lots of beans, frozen veggies, and a bag of Cabot cheddar cheese. So I got to work. I’d made countless pumpkin and black bean dishes before. I could totally do this without a recipe!

45 minutes later, I had a creamy, hearty, healthy, mouth-watering pumpkin pasta bake getting shoveled into my mouth.

And now you can, too.

Healthy and Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Bake

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 box whole wheat rotini pasta
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 oz light cream cheese (half a package)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (8 oz) pkg sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add the thawed broccoli florets and black beans to the pan. Heat through.
4. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot it was cooked in. Add the cream cheese and pumpkin, stir until melted and creamy. Toss in the mushroom, bean, and broccoli mixture. Season with the garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the pasta mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

My Two Cents: The addition of the cream cheese really made this dish. I only put in half a package, but it would be even creamier (and perhaps more delicious) if you added more.

This is a great way to use up that extra can of pumpkin you have lying around from the holidays. I think pumpkin-y pasta is a great savory way to eat pumpkin in a healthy way

I personally think the veggies and beans I used in here worked the best, but really, any combo of veggies will work here. Go wild!

Hope you enjoy

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

baking, chocolate, chocolate chips, Cookies, food, pumpkin, pumpkin cookies, recipes, thanksgiving, thanksgiving recipes

Brace yourselves for the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies your tongue will ever touch its taste buds on.

I bought 8 cans of pumpkin over the past month. Every time I went to the store I put another two in my cart. I did this because pumpkin is hard to find in the stores unless it’s around Thanksgiving, so if in mid-April I wanted to make something with pumpkin in it, I’d have a can lying around.

However, I wanted to use some seasonally as well. So when I was invited to a party this past weekend, I thought cookies would be a good treat to have on the table. Then I thought, “pumpkin cookies”. Then I thought, “but there needs to be chocolate.” So pumpkin chocolate chip cookies was entered into Google. After weeding through some of the recipes, I settled on this one from Food Network.

They were a hit. No one could eat just one of these soft, pillow-y, pumpkin-y, chocolatey goodness.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (Adapted from foodnetwork.com)

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 2 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter in a mixer until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, until the mixture is lightly and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds, scraping down the bowl as you go. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are set and browned around the edges. Let them cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Two Cents: These cookies are some of the most moist, cakey, fluffy cookies I’ve ever made. (In a tie for first are these banana chocolate chip cookies.) I attribute that to the moisture from the pumpkin. The original recipe called for only 1 cup of canned pumpkin, but after reading the reviews, a lot of people opted to put the whole can in. I decided to meet the recipe and the reviewers halfway and used 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin, bumping up the moisture (and pumpkin flavor). Most of my friends said it was like eating pumpkin cake or pumpkin muffins in cookie form.

The original recipe said to put in 2 cups of chocolate chips, and that’s all I had on hand. But I would bump it up to an additional 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. There is a lot of batter–so the more the merrier.

These would be perfect for Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for something different than the traditional pie, opt to put these on the table instead (or alongside the pie. There can never be too much dessert. Never.)

Enjoy!

Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup

Tags

cooking, curry, food, pumpkin, recipes, soup, vegetarian

I know this is way past its seasonal value, but honestly, I could care less.

This afternoon I was craving something with curry in it. I wasn’t sure what kind of dish, though. Then I thought, “hmm, I wonder what kind of soup I can make that has curry in it” (because I’m still in my soup craze with my new dutch oven and blender.) I knew I hit the jackpot when I found this after typing in “curry soup” into Google. Why? Pumpkin.

I love pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup–heck, pumpkin anything. And adding curry to it? I knew I had to try it.

Also, I learned today that it’s National Soup Month! (Thanks to Ashley at Cooking For One!) So naturally this is perfect for the occasion!

Needless to say, I whipped up this beautiful batch o’ soup the second I walked in the door after work.

Ingredients: (From Very Best Baking)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large pot or dutch oven. Cook onions and garlic, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes until tender. Stir in curry, salt, and pepper. Stir for 1 minute.

2. Add broth and pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk and heat through.

3. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. If using a blender and processing in batches, return to pot and heat through after blending.

My two cents: If you love pumpkin and curry, you are going to love this recipe. It’s also incredibly simple to whip together, and if you are an avid baker like me and stock your pantry well, you will most likely have these ingredients on hand and conveniently not have to run to the store if you want to make this on a whim

Be careful when you are blending hot liquids, and make sure your lid is both on tightly AND you hold it down when you press “puree”. Otherwise you might find yourself in a painful and messy disaster.

This is awesome as an appetizer, a side to a meal, a light snack, or a light lunch.

Yummmm It was pretty perfect. I wouldn’t change any square inch of this recipe.

Almost Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Tags

breads, dessert, food, Nutella, pumpkin, pumpkin bread, quick bread, recipes

I say almost perfect because, in all honesty, nothing beats my mom’s pumpkin bread recipe. (I’ll even include both recipes in this post so you can compare!)

This pumpkin bread is fantastic, though. I found it on one of the many food blogs I’ve been reading lately, No Empty Chairs, which was recently featured on FoodPress.com. Kelly took a basic pumpkin bread recipe and added 3/4 cup of Nutella to it. Genius. Nutella in general can be added to anything and everything and almost instantly make it better.

Also, I’d like to point out that I made this with my old baking club from last year while watching Dexter (only perhaps the best show made on Earth…)

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 16oz can of pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin in one bowl until light and fluffy.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture.

3. Remove 2 cups of the pumpkin batter and place in a small bowl. Using your mixer, beat the Nutella into the batter until smooth.

4. Grease and flour two medium loaf pans. Spoon half of pumpkin batter, and then half of chocolate batter into the loaf pans. (So 1/4 in each). Swirl the batter together with a butter knife and repeat the layers; swirl again. (As you might be able to tell from my pictures, we didn’t do the double layer swirling, so our swirls didn’t come out so nice! But it didn’t alter the taste!)

5. Bake for 45 min – 1 hour or until the top of loaf springs back when touched gently. At around the half hour mark, make sure you cover the top loosely with foil. The chocolate in the Nutella burns easily. We neglected to do this, and trust me, the top will burn if you don’t do this.

My mom’s Pumpkin Bread

I told my mom about this Nutella pumpkin bread (well, actually, I raved about it to her), and she simply said, “I bet it didn’t beat my pumpkin bread!” And I think she’s right. Her pumpkin bread recipe will always have a special place in my heart. The Nutella one is definitely a close second though…

You be your own judge.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

3 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

1 16 oz can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

Directions:

1. Mix together the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.

2. Add in the oil and water and mix well.

3. Add the pumpkin. Mix well.

4. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

5. Pour the batter evenly into greased and floured loaf pans. (Depending on the size of your pans, this batter will make 3-4 loaves. I know, it’s a lot! So if you don’t want that much, you can halve the recipe.)

6. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

I don’t have a picture for this pumpkin bread, but let me tell you, it looks and tastes so good. Pumpkin bread is one of my absolute favorite treats, with or without Nutella. It’s the perfect treat on a gray November day (or any day for that matter!)