Pumpkin Seeds- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

 Ok, so have to admit that my favorite part of Halloween... is the pumpkin seeds.  I LOVE them and they are really  not hard to prepare, BUT the process can be ooey, gooey and really kind of gross.

 Not one seed left, OK, maybe one!

 ALL DONE AND READY TO EAT!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!!

PUMPKIN SEEDS

I had always just baked my pumpkin seeds with a bunch of sea salt, UNTIL I found this recipe from here!

Seeds from 2 or 3 large pumpkins

sea salt

olive oil

sugar

Rinse seeds from pumpkin guts and place in a medium pan. Fill with salt water and boil for 12 minutes.

Strain seeds in a colander and spread seeds on a cookie sheet over night. You can bake instead of waiting over night, but they are much crunchier if you wait.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle seeds with olive oil and sea salt. Toss lightly. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar (about 1T).

Streusel Topped Pumpkin Pie

Ok, so you are probably saying... "WHY CHANGE AN ALREADY GOOD THING?" Well, because it is AMAZING!!!  Try it, you won't be sorry, and if you are, then I'm sorry! :)  TRUST ME!

CRUST

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

FILLING 

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

TOPPING 

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.

In large bowl, beat all filling ingredients with hand beater or wire whisk until blended. Pour filling into pie crust-lined pie plate.  Bake 15 minutes. Remove pie from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Cover crust edge with 2- to 3-inch-wide strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 35 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly with fork; set aside.

Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake about 10 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled before serving. Store pie covered in refrigerator.

(recipe and picture from here)

It's been awhile... Pumpkin Gingerbread

Good morning, afternoon and evening to everyone! 

 I'm back and oh how I have missed you!  Life is crazy sometimes and you just need to take a break, but I am here and ready for new recipes, AND, I will be adding some fun family crafts, home projects and much much more.... 

so, get READY, SET, GO!

Fall is my FAVORITE season, well I just lied.... Winter is, but we can pretend it's fall for the purpose of ALL the wonderful harvest recipes there are. 

There is so much to bake, cook and do in the fall and one of my favorite ingredients is PUMPKIN! 

I LOVE pumpkin in just about everything!  Drinks, breads, soups, pies, and YES, even candy! (Have you tried the Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses?!  TOO DIE FOR!)

Anywho, this week is going to be all about FALL and PUMPKINS!  I want to share with you one of my favorite pumpkin recipes!

Enjoy and HAPPY COOKING/HOME!

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PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD
3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Cream cheese Frosting (recipe here or you can use store bought)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or you can do one medium size bundt pan.  It makes is so pretty and almost looks like a pumpkin!
In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.

In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.  Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Let cool and drizzle with Cream Cheese Frosting.

(recipe from here and picture from here.)