UH-mayzing Pumpkin Cream Soup

I'm not going to beat around the bush for even a moment here. I made the most delicious soup last night and I am so excited to share my recipe with y'all. Sadly, I did not take a picture because I was too excited to sit down and consume my delicious meal of pumpkinny creamy goodness.

So last Friday, I got my wisdom teeth removed and had been subsisting on protein shakes for the better part of a week. Naturally, I ended up getting sick of them, so I decided to whip up a few batches of soup. First was my old broccoli cheddar standby. It was delicious, but nothing that knocked my argyle socks off. The next night, I decided to try my hand at mashed potato soup, which was good, but needed a lot of sour cream in order to give it that extra something it lacked. And let's face it, I've gained back nearly every pound I lost during recovery, so the last thing I need are gobs of cellulite-causing gremlins adorning my food. Anyway. Anxious to experiment again, I decided to go for my favorite ingredient, and make... pumpkin soup! The recipe that I found was a little bland, but with modifications, it was definitely the best out of the three I had made in the previous days. I think I may even like it better than carrot soup.

So here it is, ladies and gentlemen... the recipe you've been waiting for to satisfy each and every one of your orange-hued urges!

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1 tbsp butter for sauteing (I nearly omit butter in soup recipes, but trust me on this one)
1 standard-size can of pumpkin
1 12-oz can evaporated milk (reduced fat or fat-free works just fine!)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Method:
1. In a stock pot, saute onions in butter. Once the onions have begun to brown, add the garlic and continue sauteing for another 2-3 minutes.

2. Add stock, water, pepper, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir.

3. Add pumpkin and evaporated milk. Stir until well incorporated.

4. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a dash of salt if necessary. I did.

5. Pour into blender and puree. This may seem like a ridiculous suggestion since the pumpkin is already pureed, but you want to get the onions all chopped up and mingled throughout.

6. Eat and enjoy! This didn't even need sour cream. Yum! Pin It

Pumpkin Pop Cuties

As some of you may know, I am obsessed with all things pumpkin.There's just something so remarkably sweet about those cute little orange, plump, ribbed spheres of goodness. I love the way they taste, look, and smell (when combined with cinnamon et cetera). I should also mention that pumpkins are the only things I like about Halloween. To me, Halloween is just a scary time of year when evil-- and harlots-- are welcomed into society for a whole day. That's right... a whole day of scary and slutty. Oh dear.

So what's a girl to do during the season of Halloween madness? Well, my friends, I turn to pumpkin... and not the tainted ones that some creepy individuals choose to carve rather frightening faces into, either. I mean pure, unadulterated pumpkins in their unmarked flesh.

 

Anyway, I know it's early in the month, but I am already getting pumpkin fever, and Naturally, I wanted to try something creative that showcased my love for the sacred squash. So this is what I came up with: "White" chocolate covered marshmallows. It doesn't sound like much, but they're Ay-de-orable and I plan to make about three hundred more of them and force feed them to my loved ones in a last ditch effort to appear thin.

Ingredients/ Supplies:
1 cup orange candy melts (I used Wilton)
10 marshmallows (I used the store brand because they had a stronger shape. I bet it's because they were stale, but I found this preferable anyway.)
1 graham cracker
candy sticks
4 x 3 candy bags
green ribbon


Method:

1. Melt chocolate on the stove or in the microwave. If you're using the microwave, make sure to melt it in increments of thirty seconds so as to not burn the candy.

2. Crush your graham cracker and place the crumbs in a small dish. 

3. Poke the candy sticks into the center of each marshmallow and dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate. I had to end up "frosting" my marshmallows because the chocolate wasn't thin enough. If you would like your chocolate to be thin enough to dip into, I'd suggest adding a teaspoon or so of shortening to the dish before microwaving.

4. Once the marshmallow has been adequately coated, press the bottom into the graham cracker crumbs. It looks like hay, doesn't it?! Let's just pretend it does.

At this point, my boyfriend said that he couldn't envision the final outcome. Instead, he said that they looked like pumpkin ejaculate. I can't make this stuff up.

5. Place your candy treat on a wax paper-lined dish. Once your treats are all made, pop the plate into the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.

6. After lots of time has passed, remove the marshmallows and bag 'em up. Then tie a ribbon and admire your little pumpkin cuties. 

Here, he admitted that they looked cute and stated that if I chose to pack one in his lunch tomorrow, all of his coworkers would be jealous. I'm all about making eighteen year old girls feel inadequate about their kitchen skills.

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Frozen No-Bake Pumpkin Pie

What the flip was I thinking when I decided to make this? It's so unbelievably good and will probably be the demise of my "diet". By the way, I use the word "diet" very loosely because I always say that I'm trying to lose weight, yet I'm the one whipping up pies and shaking a pot like a mad woman in an effort to make the perfect pot of popcorn. I rest my case.

Anyway, pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors of all time. I am a crazy person who eats pumpkin out of the can... all year long, and finds an excuse to incorporate the orange stuff into any recipe. This includes cookies, oatmeal, scones, pancakes, and of course, pie.

Being that it's summer, however, who's really in the mood to turn on their oven and heat up their house even more than the blasted sun has already done? I would say not me, but that's entirely false. Most people, however, aren't keen on turning their oven up to 350' and letting it run for an hour.

That's where this pie comes in. It's super delicious and if you buy a graham cracker crust, will free you from having to bake. I was hoping that this blog would feature only healthy recipes, but what can I say? I'm human, and can't resist the occasional urge to fill my tummy with sugar in the form of marshmallow fluff. Are you going to judge me? Of course not, because that would mean that you're not going to make this, and if you DID judge me, and you DID make this, you'd be a hypocrite, right? Right.

So let today be a judgement-free day and we'll all celebrate by eating pumpkin mousse pie.

Ingredients:
1 Graham cracker crust (or if you want to be super fancy, you could make your own, but come onnn... why would you want to show me up?!)
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
7 ounces fluff (you can usually find 7 oz jars)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (another one of my favorite "all in one" spices)
1 container cool whip (divided, if desired)

Method:
1. Combine pumpkin, fluff, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated.

2. Fold whipped topping into pumpkin mixture. **If you want your pie to look fancy schmancy, reserve about 1/4 cup of the cool whip to garnish with at the end.

3. Spread pumpkin/cool whip mixture into the pie crust. Garnish if desired. Pop this little sucker in the freezer for at least four hours.

4. Take out of freezer about 30 minutes before serving. Pin It

100% Whole Wheat Pumpkin Banana Muffins

I am in love with these muffins! They are moist and have a lovely pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin is one of those things that I could eat every day, regardless of how many strange looks I get when loading my cart up with Libby's in July. That's right I said it... Libby's. While I'm sure fresh pumpkin is a zillion times better than the canned stuff, I'm not denying myself of the orange sphere of wonder when the only thing currently in season is sunscreen. I'll admit that even in the autumn, though, I cheat and jump aboard the aluminum express. It's just too labor intensive to cook and scoop a pumpkin for a dozen muffins. Who knows... maybe if I get enough angry hippie comments, I'll buy a pumpkin this coming October and become a believer.


Anyway, I've been making these muffins for a while now and do not see myself stopping anytime in the near future. Although, I might recruit my awesome boooyfran to whip up a second batch tonight... maybe? We've got a bunch of severely speckled bananas that need to be used or tossed ASAP (Not Ay-Sap... AY, ES, AY, PEE).


So the recipe below looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but hold onto your hat because it's not that bad! It should all be stuff that you have in your cabinets, so please... don't worry.

Sorry this picture is kind of blurry! It was taken with my cell phone, which despite its brick-like appearance, actually has a camera in it. This is what .5 mp looks like.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (Rhode Islanders- it's okay to get this at Job Lot)
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup very ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk (I usually use 1 tsp vinegar + enough milk to equal 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins (I usually let these soak in water for about half an hour before adding to my batter
Old fashioned oats
Sugar

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400'.

2. Grease or line 12 muffin tins.

3. Combine wet ingredients in one bowl. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients. You know what I mean.
*** Read if you're making your own buttermilk: Measure 1 tsp vinegar. Pour it into the measuring cup that you'll use to portion out your milk. Add enough milk to reach 1/3 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.

4. Add raisins to batter.

5. Pour batter into muffins cups and sprinkle with sugar and oats.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I usually let these sit in their tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a container with a tightly fitting lid. I know this probably promotes mold growth, but I've never had a problem. This helps lock in the moisture, which is important when you're working with whole wheat flour. Pin It