Pumpkin Week 2011 : Desserts

Today, we're focusing on Pumpkin desserts.......well I should say dessert, since I was only able to make one of the things that I wanted too.  Oh well....I'll also show you want I wanted to make {and maybe I still will in the future}.

First,

Paula Deens Pumpkin Roll

{Recipe found Here}

October's Issue of the Food Network magazine contained this recipe inside.  In fact, it was probably the magazines fault for me wanting to make/try so many recipes.  My in-laws make a pumpkin roll around Thanksgiving/Christmas, but I never partake because it is too rich {all that cream cheese}.  I liked Paula's idea of using whipping cream, and heck, the toffee bits sounded delicious as well.

This was the first time I've ever made a "jelly" roll.  But everything went smoothly, especially since I didn't have parchment paper {I used wax paper though}.  We also skipped the rum part.  But I did substitute vanilla & rum extract when it came to dissolving the gelatin.  It worked, so I'm not complaining.  Also, the store didn't have just plain toffee parts, so guess what I used???  SKOR bars.  Holy Cow...that took it over the edge.

Carmel Sauce also took it over the edge.  This dessert for sure has the name "YUMMO" attached to the end of it :)

Here are some of the desserts that I wanted to try:

Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

{Recipe found Here}

Frozen Spiced Pumpkin & Chocolate Pie

{Recipe found Here}

Cheesecake Caramel Pumpkin Cups

{Recipe found Here}

Pumpkin Filled Cannoli Cones

{Recipe found Here}

Thanks for stopping by :)

Pumpkin Week 2011 : Savory Foods

Welcome to the Savory edition of my Pumpkin Week!

Today, it's all about the savory side of Pumpkin.  I've only experience sweet treats when it comes to Pumpkin, so this was totally new to me.  In fact, my husband was a little leery when I started looking up dishes that would be main courses.

First up,

Pumpkin Stuffed Shells

{Recipe found Here}

Oh my gosh....this was delicious.  And the consensus was....we couldn't tell that it was pumpkin.  Whether or not that's a good thing, I don't know.  And as you can tell, I used Manicotti shells instead of the big pasta shells {the store was all out when I went shopping}.  The filling was super easy to make, and I used a pastry bag to fill each shell up {which made it super easy}.

I also thought that this would be super yummy with an Alfredo sauce.....I might have to try it that way :)

Next,

Pumpkin Curry Alfredo

{Recipe found here}

Holy Cow!  This was definitely a YUMMO dish :)  Although, again, we couldn't taste the pumpkin, but we so enjoyed the curry flavoring.

I think one of my favorite aspects of this dish was that I threw all the Alfredo ingredients into a pot & let it all melt together....no worrying about a roux and such.

One thing that I particularly didn't like was the fact that I had to use 3 different dishes to cook everything.  If you've seen my kitchen, it's not that big, and when cooking I like to try and keep everything minimal {that's why I like one pot dishes}.  My husband was very kind though, and told me before dinner that he would wash dishes, so I guess it made it just a little bit better to dirty-up those few extra dishes.

There were things that I did different though:

• I halved the Alfredo sauce.  When I was reading through the recipe, the author had said that they had sauce leftover; I really didn't want that.
• I used an Italian blend cheese, instead of just Parmesan cheese.
• To thin out the sauce, I used some pasta water until I got the consistency that I wanted.
• I also halved the pumpkin sauce, except for the curry....my family loves the taste.
• Even though I halved the sauce ingredients, I still used a full box/lb of pasta, and it worked out fine.  Maybe a little bit too fine because we had no leftovers :)
  
  

And that was all the savory dishes that we tried, and really isn't that scary I guess.

Pumpkin Week 2011 : Pumpkin Pies

Welcome to the Pie edition of Pumpkin Week

I think one of the first things we think about when it come to treats & pumpkins is pie.  It's one of my favorite pies, especially around the holidays.  And you have to have cream on top.  That is a definite must.

First,

Pumpkin Streusel Pie

{Recipe found here}

This was a pie that I made last year for Canadian Thanksgiving.  I mean....streusel & pumpkin....you can't go wrong with that :)

Second,

Pumpkin Pie Bites

I was in the mood for some Pumpkin Pie {since I had been baking with alot of pumpkin lately}, but I didn't want to make a whole pie I guess, just to feel guilty about eating the whole thing.

So I got out my trusty food processor, and ground up some graham crackers.  Combine that with some melted butter, and I had a nice little crust.  I used my muffin pan to make these little beauties.

And with the pie filling part, I just follwed the recipe on the can...you can't go wrong with that.

I didn't cook the crusts beforehand, because I figured they would be in the oven long enough.

When these little pies came out, and cooled, I was able to eat it with my hands....Awesome!  What a nice little snack :)

Pumpkin Week 2011 : Breakfast Foods

Welcome to the Breakfast edition of Pumpkin week.

Again I went trolling around the internet to find some yummy recipes.  One of the first recipes I immediately pinned was a recipe I remembered being made on MADE.  So I clicked on over to the recipe, and I loved the simplicity.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

{Recipe found Here}

These were probably some of the best tasting cinnamon rolls I've ever made.  No joke.  I think one of the best things was the filling that came out and created a sort-of caramel sauce on the bottom of the cinnamon rolls.  Pumpkin, Cream Cheese Frosting, and Caramel.....Yes please!

Pumpkin-Cranberry Crunch Muffins

{Recipe found Here}

Pumpkin Scones

{Recipe found Here}

These were very delicious.  I really should make scones more often; I love these traditional treats as opposed to the fried version.

This recipe used two different types of glazes, but I would probably only do one...the spiced up version was all that mattered to me.

Pumpkin Week 2011 : Cookies & Brownies

Welcome to my first ever Pumpkin Week!

Now, I'll have to be honest, I've never had a thing for Pumpkin.   That is, besides Pumpkin Pie.  So this was a real step out of my comfort zone, and boy have I been impressed.

I thought that I would start out the week with some sweet dishes.

First off,

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

{Recipe found here}

This was the first recipe that I tried after scouring the internet for pumpkin recipes.  I'm not a big fan of chocolate & pumpkin, but these sounded appetizing enough to try {I think because of the butterscotch}.

I asked both my husband and my oldest what they thought were in the cookies; the hubby thought Peanut Butter, the oldest had no clue.  I thought that these beauties freshly out of the oven tasted like Pumpkin Pie with butterscotch thrown in.  I was sold.

And you know what made them even better???  The fact that each of them were only 74 Calories.  I have not felt guilty about eating these :)

Second,
Pumpkin Walnut Oatmeal Squares
{Recipe Found Here}

 This was a very simple recipe to put together.  And the end result.  Eh....not bad.  I think I was going for something a little more crunchier, but it still tastes good.

Third,

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

{Recipe found here}

This was a delightful cookie.  Although my oldest son was disappointed that there were no butterscotch chips {he really dug those cookies}, I think these cookies were fantabulous with the white chocolate chips.

I tweaked this recipes with only one ingredient : the dried cherries were switched out with craisens.  Dried cherries were just a little bit expensive, and I always have craisens on hand.

I took some of these cookies over to the in-laws, and I think that my SIL ate half-a-dozen {granted she is breastfeeding}, but nonetheless I did not come home with any leftovers ;)