Easy Pumpkin Pudding

Here's a 10 minute pumpkin pudding that'll knock your socks off.

What you need:
1 can of pumpkin
1 box of vanilla pudding (instant)
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

In a bowl, mix together milk and pudding mix on low. Chill for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin and spices. Mix well. Spoon in dessert dishes, top with sweet whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Quick, easy, and satisfying!! This pudding would be perfect in a tart shell or puff pastry shells topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Pumpkin Walnut bread with Cream Cheese filling

I love the way my house smells when a loaf of bread is baking and Lord have mercy, this pumpkin bread is AHHHHmazing. My favorite part is eating a nice thick slice topped with butter.

This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread, but I wanted to make one loaf and a dozen muffins, so I could share with the office.

Here's what you do....

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounce package softened cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter two 9" loaf pans.

Cream Cheese Filling: Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and mix slightly. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

Pumpkin Bread: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla, and walnuts.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix, the bread will come out too tough.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter. Bake the breads for about 50 minutes, or until cooked through.

Allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I have always loved pancakes. My mom used to make them a lot when I was a kid. I especially loved her homemade maple syrup! It was so delicious! When mom visited just over a year ago, she brought her secret ingredients just so she could make a batch when she made breakfast for the kids.

Here's a couple of recipes for fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes that are irresistible! IHOP has nothing on me!! The pumpkin flavor is very subtle and the cinnamon is the perfect addition. Pair this with your favorite maple syrup, sausage and a cup of coffee and you'll be craving these throughout the autumn months!!

I made them for breakfast and heard, "These are really delicious!" Even my pickiest eaters loved them. The plate was wiped out within a few minutes. Try them, you'll be glad you did!!

Quick and Easy:
2 cups complete pancake mix (the ones where only water is added)

1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine pancake mix, water and pumpkin in medium bowl. Stir just until moistened. Don't overmix, batter should be smooth, but some lumps are okay. Spray griddle with nonstick spray or you can use melted butter. Heat over medium heat.

Cook on each side 1-2 minutes...until golden on each side. They'll have just a slight orangey color and will be very fluffy.

From Scratch recipe:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-3/4 cups milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup cooking oil

In a large bowl combine flour and other dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine eggs and remaining ingredients. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until slightly lumpy.
Heat a lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook until golden on each side.

*For some extra spice, add 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon

Pumpkin Brownies

I never thought I'd love the combination of chocolate and pumpkin together. I mean, I like chocolate with things like strawberries, nuts, raisins, caramel...you get where I'm going. Pumpkin is great with cinnamon, cream cheese, nutmeg, ginger....so why would I have ever considered putting these two things together?

I'm not even sure why it struck me to combine the two and make a delicious fudgy brownie with a velvety pumpkin filling. I mean, I had heard of the WW recipe for mixing a box of cake mix with a can of pumpkin for a light dessert, but I wanted something to really make a flavor statement with the distinct separation of flavors. And one can never have too many brownie recipes...I mean, come on!!

This pumpkin brownie recipe is the perfect way to blend the savory essence of pumpkin with the richness of chocolate.

Here's how I start....Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 4 oz of softened cream cheese and 3 Tbl white sugar until well blended, add 3/4 of a cup of pumpkin, 1 egg,1/2 Tbl cinnamon, & 1 tsp. nutmeg and mix until smooth.

In another bowl, mix together 1 box of your favorite fudge brownie mix. (You can easily substitute your "from scratch" recipe here). I mix the brownie mix, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup of applesauce and 2 eggs just until blended.I used a disposable baking pan, because I had planned to share these with the office. *Note: they didn't make it to the office, because I couldn't keep the kids out of it!!


Pour the brownie batter evenly in the bottom of your baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of the pumpkin mixture into the brownies and using a knife, cut through the batter several times to marble it. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the brownies are set.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

No introduction is really necessary for this one, I know this is a long awaited recipe!! Everyone keeps asking!

You want something to wow them, but still be a little traditional? This is definitely a winner!!
A cookie base creates the perfect balance for the sweet creamy filling. You'll even be amazed at just how easy this recipe is, which already meets my criteria for cooking.

Cheesecake in under an hour?? Oh, yeah! It's possible!!

Cookie Base
1 pouch of oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup of chopped nuts (I prefer pecans for this, but walnuts would be good too)
1 stick of cold butter (must be cold to achieve the crumbly consistency you'll need)

For your filling:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup of canned pumpkin (not pie mix, I always like just a little bit extra pumpkin, so you can add another 1/4 cup)
2 Tbl. all purpose flour
1 Tbl ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbl whipping cream
2 eggs

Directions:
In a large bowl, stir together cookie mix and nuts and cut in butter (you can use a fork) until crumbly.
Press in the bottom of an ungreased pie plate (you'll have a lot of cookie base, so definitely recommend a 9", you can always make this into squares using a 13x9 dish too)
Bake for 10 minutes, then cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the other ingredients until everything is well blended. Pour over the warm cookie base. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 2 hours.

Happy October!!!!

Yes, it has finally arrived and yes, it is my favorite month, and Yes, I realize it's already the 14th! But Happy October!!! However, I've been working so hard this month on wonderful delicious pumpkin recipes. It is a month of pumpkin!!!!

Let me tell you just how hard it is to find pumpkin...mid October and I have yet to find it on the shelves at any grocery store locally and I'm not the type of girl to prepare my own pumpkin from a real pumpkin. It's just not my style. So, in my frustration, I ranted and raved on Facebook at just how hard it is to find pumpkin and lo and behold, a friend from Arkansas was kind enough to ship me 11 cans of this harvest time favorite!

I'm sure you can imagine the ideas I have for all of this!!

Aside from the traditional pumpkin pie, pumpkin can make some of the most decadent desserts, but can also be used in soups, stews, and as a base for all kinds of recipes.

Here's a great recipe from BHG for Pumpkin Barley soup with Andouille Sausage.

8 oz. cooked andouille or smoked sausage links, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh sage
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup quick-cooking barley
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

In a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven cook sausage, onion and sage in hot oil over medium heat 3 minutes, stirring often. Add barley, 4 cups water and bouillon granules. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in pumpkin, maple syrup and vinegar; heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. garnish with apple and more sage.

*I omit the maple syrup.
*Instead of water, you can substitute chicken stock.
*Barley will cook up, be sure you have enough liquid to even out the soup.