Last year around this time I became completely obsessed with pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin bread... you name it. It got so bad that Will actually ended up putting his foot down and telling me he wanted no more pumpkin! To which I responded with more pumpkin spice waffles. I continued with the pumpkin until finally it was time for Spring to pop up and I became obsessed with other yummy things. Well now it is that time of year again, my most favorite time- Pumpkin season! Pumpkin season means pies and homemade crusts, baking, cookie smelling candles, cozy Christmas socks (my Christmas socks make an appearance way before December) and extra blankets on the bed that make it even harder to get up in the morning. I haven't made a single batch of pumpkin waffles yet (Oh but I want to!) because I feel so bad for Will, but I have discovered that nobody in this house ever gets tired of pumpkin pie. Which I love because a lot of people I know actually do not like pumpkin pie!
I truly believe most people who don't like pumpkin pie have just never had a pie made with fresh pumpkin. It is so simple to do and tastes worlds different so I can't understand why people don't do it more often. Then I thought that maybe they just do not know how. So folks, here is how you roast a pumpkin!
Step 1- Buy a pumpkin. I found they do not carry sugar pumpkins at Stater Bros. which is just silly. C'mon Staters! How I miss the days of having a Whole Foods right down the street... But luckily Dowlings has "Jack O Lantern" pumpkins which are the little guys and those are what you want. Some people also call them sugar pumpkins. Trader Joe's has them for very cheap.
Step 2- Cut your pumpkin's little head and butt off, then cut it down the middle. Scoop out the seeds, sprinkle with some sea salt, lay it cut side down onto a tray lined with parchment paper.
Step 3- Roast your pumpkin in a 415 degree oven for about an hour. Check that it is nice and done with a fork. If you can easily stab it then it is done.
Step 4- Let it cool then scoop all of the goodness out of the skin and plop it into a food processor or powerful blender. Puree (adding a little water if necessary) until it looks like mush.
And there you have it... can you seriously buy canned after seeing how easy it is?? Plus, a can of pumpkin will cost you anywhere from $2.50-6 and I just bought 2 good sized pumpkins for under $5 that will make me twice the amount I would have gotten from 2 cans! Now all you have to do is choose from the many many pumpkin pie recipes there are out there and bake away! I like vegan pumpkin pies and Paula Deen's cream cheese pumpkin pie.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Getting back in the groove
I have been avoiding my little recipe box full of Aunt Pearl's weathered recipes. To open the little box and see all of the sweet black and white pictures and casserole recipes would mean I would have to admit that I am not the cute, old-fashioned little wife I am trying to be. If I open that little box then I would also have to put away the laundry that is piling up, scrub the shower and revive the flowers that are slowly withering away in the backyard. And this is just not something I have the energy to do lately! It turns out that raising toddlers is exhausting and when you spend your days reading books, coloring, watching Yo Gabba Gabba and singing songs there is little room left for anything else.
However, for the last few days we have had various pasta dishes because I haven't really felt like cooking and this morning I woke up and decided enough was enough! I scrubbed every corner of my kitchen, made an open faced egg and bacon sandwich, put away the laundry and made a grocery list. And even though I know the pasta dishes have to go (at least for a little while) I made one in particular that I think is worth sharing! A delicious grown up version of macaroni and cheese for days when you really don't feel like cooking at all.
It is incredibly simple to make, all you need is some whole wheat cheese tortellini (they sell some in the fridge section of the grocery store), a bag of frozen mixed veggies and an organic packet of cheese sauce. (I got mine at Clarke's)
Cook your tortellini in a pot of water then drain. Cook your veggies according to the package directions and cook the sauce. My sauce only required 1/4 cup milk, a couple tablespoons of butter and the powdered mix. Once it is thickened, toss together the sauce, veggies and pasta. And there you go! Impossibly easy and impossibly delicious. Ally liked it too which is always a plus.
I also decided it was time to pull down Aunt Pearl's recipes. After flipping through the various casseroles and desserts, I settled on a pineapple upside down cake. I have seen many fresh pineapples in the store lately and I think it sounds like just what I need to snap myself out of this funk and get back into awesome wife mode! Being an awesome mom comes easy, that is no problem. But every once in a while we need a little nudge and extra energy to be able to pull off mom AND wife!
However, for the last few days we have had various pasta dishes because I haven't really felt like cooking and this morning I woke up and decided enough was enough! I scrubbed every corner of my kitchen, made an open faced egg and bacon sandwich, put away the laundry and made a grocery list. And even though I know the pasta dishes have to go (at least for a little while) I made one in particular that I think is worth sharing! A delicious grown up version of macaroni and cheese for days when you really don't feel like cooking at all.
It is incredibly simple to make, all you need is some whole wheat cheese tortellini (they sell some in the fridge section of the grocery store), a bag of frozen mixed veggies and an organic packet of cheese sauce. (I got mine at Clarke's)
Cook your tortellini in a pot of water then drain. Cook your veggies according to the package directions and cook the sauce. My sauce only required 1/4 cup milk, a couple tablespoons of butter and the powdered mix. Once it is thickened, toss together the sauce, veggies and pasta. And there you go! Impossibly easy and impossibly delicious. Ally liked it too which is always a plus.
I also decided it was time to pull down Aunt Pearl's recipes. After flipping through the various casseroles and desserts, I settled on a pineapple upside down cake. I have seen many fresh pineapples in the store lately and I think it sounds like just what I need to snap myself out of this funk and get back into awesome wife mode! Being an awesome mom comes easy, that is no problem. But every once in a while we need a little nudge and extra energy to be able to pull off mom AND wife!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A New Member of the Family
Hello everybody! I realize it has been a very long time since my last post (a little over a month to be exact) but I have not given up on this blog. Especially now that my life has calmed down just a little bit, I would like to keep doing this, mostly for myself. I don't have any recipes for you today but I would like to introduce the newest member of our family!
He is a black and white Pit Bull and before I go any further I realize some of you will already be turned off because I said "Pit Bull". I understand that they have a very bad reputation, I myself was raised to be afraid of them and I always was... until we stopped at an adoption event just for fun and I laid eyes on this little cutie pie. Some people say that every once in a while you will have a moment where a dog chooses you and I absolutely feel like that is what happened to me with Ringo. I usually like fluffy dogs or really big dogs... preferably big fluffy dogs! Like a Saint Bernards or something like that, but little Ringo was sitting in his little wire cage thing and he looked up at me with these big chocolate eyes and that was that. I needed him in my life. We fostered him for a week and he adapted amazingly well, did fantastic with Ally and pulled on every one of my heartstrings. After that week I adopted him officially and I am so glad I did! So for all of you Pit Bull haters... you just haven't met the right Pit Bull, they are actually great dogs! did you know they were once called "nanny dogs"? It's true! Anyway, I am not here to convince you of the wonderful-ness of pit bulls, but I am sure you will be hearing the name Ringo a lot in future posts. I will be experimenting with making my own dog food and dog treats, in addition to trying to create meals that Ally will actually eat (she is in the wonderful phase where she does not want to eat anything at all unless it is covered in cheese... ugh) and healthy meals for me and my husband.
So I hope you stick around! I have recently deleted my Facebook page so I am counting on my regulars to find me without me posting my newest blogs on my page! I promise, I will make it all worth while, now that the weather has cooled off I am looking forward to being able to use my oven again! Yay!
This is Ringo Starr!
He is a black and white Pit Bull and before I go any further I realize some of you will already be turned off because I said "Pit Bull". I understand that they have a very bad reputation, I myself was raised to be afraid of them and I always was... until we stopped at an adoption event just for fun and I laid eyes on this little cutie pie. Some people say that every once in a while you will have a moment where a dog chooses you and I absolutely feel like that is what happened to me with Ringo. I usually like fluffy dogs or really big dogs... preferably big fluffy dogs! Like a Saint Bernards or something like that, but little Ringo was sitting in his little wire cage thing and he looked up at me with these big chocolate eyes and that was that. I needed him in my life. We fostered him for a week and he adapted amazingly well, did fantastic with Ally and pulled on every one of my heartstrings. After that week I adopted him officially and I am so glad I did! So for all of you Pit Bull haters... you just haven't met the right Pit Bull, they are actually great dogs! did you know they were once called "nanny dogs"? It's true! Anyway, I am not here to convince you of the wonderful-ness of pit bulls, but I am sure you will be hearing the name Ringo a lot in future posts. I will be experimenting with making my own dog food and dog treats, in addition to trying to create meals that Ally will actually eat (she is in the wonderful phase where she does not want to eat anything at all unless it is covered in cheese... ugh) and healthy meals for me and my husband.
So I hope you stick around! I have recently deleted my Facebook page so I am counting on my regulars to find me without me posting my newest blogs on my page! I promise, I will make it all worth while, now that the weather has cooled off I am looking forward to being able to use my oven again! Yay!
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