Pumpkin Pudding

My family really likes pumpkin treats, so when my mother in law showed up with this on Thanksgiving Day, we were happy! She got the recipe from a Silver Dollar City cooking class, and it is a good one!

Pudding -

2 15 oz cans of pumpkin
1 can of Eagle Brand milk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of pumpkin piespice
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all of the pudding ingredients together and spread in a 9x13 pan

Topping -

2/3 box of spice or yellow cake mix (I saved my other 1/3. Make it twice, and you have enough to make a third time without buying cake mix!)
1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
1 cup of chopped walnuts

Sprinkle 2/3 box of cake mix and nuts over pudding. Pour over melted butter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

Remember how I bought like 6 lbs of cranberries last week? In my search for cranberry recipes, I came upon this recipe for pumpkin cranberry muffins. I was a little wary of the cranberry and pumpkin combination, but I figured with the high ratings, I didn't have much to lose!

I made these for the first time last Sunday as an after dinner snack. We ate them warm out of the oven, and we were a little "eh" about them. Both my big girl and my husband thought the cranberries were too tart. The other half of the family (being me and the little girl) thought they were just fine but nothing to excited about. Incidentally, I took one to work for an afternoon snack and Oh.My.Gosh. these were so delicious the next day. Really, REALLY delicious.

I did adjust these a little bit for health purposes the first time I made them. The second time I made them, I decided to ramp up the spice a little bit too. Here is my adjusted recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar; add the pumpkin and oil and mix well. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the cranberries. Fill foil-or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Top with cinnamon and sugar.

I hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Brownies

I know I said "no baking" due to an egg and milk shortage...but...I forgot about this pumpkin brownie recipe I've been meaning to try. I had a brownie mix that desperately needed to be used, so I gave it a shot! The brownie recipe is not so much of a recipe as it is a brownie mix and a can of pumpkin. It's basically the same principle as substituting applesauce for oil, but when you sub pumpkin, that's all you need! The health benefits are even better as the pumpkin provides more fiber and is a good source of vitamins A and C, among others.

I was a little bummed because I thought we were out of ice cream. Alas, I found two Klondike bars shoved in the back of the freezer. We dined on big ol' brownie sundaes for dessert, and we didn't even feel bad about it because we were using stuff up!

And, just in case you are thinking eating from the pantry week is looking not so healthy, here's what we had for dinner:



We haven't had tuna noodles in a LONG time, but boy was my hubby happy! Plus, I am always happy to feed my girls a good dose of omega 3s AND greens (brain foods!) This is a great recipe for making sure some essential nutrients find their way in to your kid's diet. To make this, I just mixed a family pack of tuna, about 1/2 cup of light mayo, 1/4 cup of sweet pickle relish, some chopped celery and peas and salt and pepper. Then, I stirred cooled Ronzoni Smart Taste noodles in to it, and voila! Super easy and just like my mom used to make for me!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

Maybe it's a little early for the Christmas plate, but I love it! Not only that, but I've NEVER used it! My mom bought it for me two Christmases ago, and I totally forgot I had it. I hope I have MANY chances to use it this season.

Moving on to the issue at hand....

We are having a sort of last minute Thanksgiving with my in-laws tomorrow, and I offered to bring dessert. I thought something casually pumpkin would be fun and appropriate, and when I stumbled across this recipe on one of my favorite baking blogs, I thought I'd give it a shot.

Recipe (from http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/)

2 c all-purpose flour (could use white whole wheat here)
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1 c unsalted butter, room temp
1 & 1/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 c pumpkin puree
12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom and side of 13x9" pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.

Whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high until smooth. Beat in the egg & vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree (it will look curdled...do not worry).

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Using an offset spatula (or the back of a spoon), spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few crumbs, not batter). Cool completely in the pan.

***

One thing I will say is that I thought this recipe was pretty darn easy. I can't always get in to baking from scratch because it can just be so darn fussy. This recipe totally wasn't though, which was great!

I'm excited to share them with the family tomorrow. We might try them with vanilla ice cream. Regardless, I think everyone will really love them. Hopefully everyone likes pumpkin!

Our Crazy Kitchen, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, LifeasMom and Mouthwatering Monday.

Double-Spiced Pumpkin Pie

I made Thanksgiving pumpkin pie for the first time four or so years ago. Without realizing that it was the "non-conformist" way to go, I used the recipe from the Eagle Brand milk can instead of plain old condensed milk. After I whipped up the filling, I decided it was too bland, so I dumped in about 50% more of each spice. To my amazement, everyone loved it. I'm not gonna lie. It was (and always is) especially good. Who knew Eagle Brand milk was the way to go?

Ingredients *

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

*This is the recipe as I have re-written it. Original recipe calls for less of each spice.

See also OurKrazyKitchen and LifeAsMom.

Eat your frosting first!

"Bobby" and Evangeline are so excited they are giddy!

I'm unleashing a family "secret" recipe here, people -- Pumpkin Cake with Buttermilk Fudge Frosting!

This cake is PERFECT. My mom has made it every year for my dad's birthday (September 13th) for as long as I can remember. It is the epitome of fall for me. It symbolizes everything that is cozy, perfect and PUMPKIN. Try it people. It's insane. AND, eat your frosting first -- or someone else will! TRUST ME.

Pumpkin Cake -

Mix together -
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup oil
1 small can (2 cups) pumpkin

Add -
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3 tsps baking soda
1 1/4 tsps salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup of raisins
1 cup of nuts (I like walnuts.)

Beat well.

Pour in to well greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Done when knife comeso ut clean.) Cool in pan.

or: 34 muffins - bake 20 minutes
or: 2 layers plus bake 45 minutes plus 8 muffins bake20 minutes

Buttermilk Frosting -

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine in large sauce pan over medium heat to 230 degrees or "soft ball." Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Beat until it loses its golss. Spread quickly on to cake. This frosts ONE layer. We usually double the recipe.

Don't forget to join in the recipe sharing fun at LifeAsMom, JoyofDesserts, HoosierHomemade, and Beauty and Bedlam!