Recipe Exchange - Week of 10/20

Back by special request is this week's recipe exchange.

So, with fall in the air and Thanksgiving coming up on us, this week's secret ingredient is........

PUMPKIN

Did you know.....

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking, from the fleshy shell, to the seeds, to even the flowers; most parts of the pumpkin are edible. Traditionally, pumpkin is a very popular Halloween and Thanksgiving staple. Although most people use store-bought canned pumpkin, homemade pumpkin purée can serve the same purpose.^[22]

When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked, steamed, or roasted. Often, it is made into pie, various kinds of which are a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holiday. Pumpkins that are still small and green may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable marrow/zucchini. Pumpkins can also be eaten mashed or incorporated into soup. In the Middle East, pumpkin is used for sweet dishes; a well-known sweet delicacy is called halawa yaqtin. In South Asian countries such as India, pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar, and spices in a dish called kadu ka halwa. In Guangxi province, China, the leaves of the pumpkin plant are consumed as a cooked vegetable or in soups. In Australia, pumpkin is often roasted in conjunction with other vegetables. In Japan, small pumpkins are served in savory dishes, including tempura. In Thailand, small pumpkins are steamed with custard inside and served as a dessert. In Italy it can be used with cheeses as a savory stuffing for ravioli. Also, pumpkin can be used to flavor both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.

So...tell me your favorite pumpkin recipes.  They must be your own (or give credit where credit is due), must be figure friendly and tell me why it is your favorite recipe.

Here are mine:

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake - I made up this recipe one night while craving for a pumpkin pie blizzard from Dairy Queen.

1 scoop favorite vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup Skim Milk/Carb Countdown/Soy Milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp canned pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie in the can)
2 tsp Splenda (or to taste)
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 S/F Murray's Ginger Snap Cookies, Crushed

Put everything in the blender (except the cookies) and blend until well mixed.  Add more ice if you want a Blizzard consistency, less ice for a thin milkshake consistency.  Fold in crushed cookies.  For an extra special treat, add a dollop of S/F Cool Whip and sprinkle nutmeg on top.

Pumpkin Oatmeal - I wanted a pumpkin cookie and came up with this instead.  It worked for me.

1 Packet of favorite oatmeal (mine is Kashi Go Lean)
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 - 2 tsp Splenda to taste

Prepare oatmeal as directed.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for 45 seconds in the microwave.  Stir and enjoy.

Pumpkin-Peanut Curry Noodles with Five-Spice Seared Pork (this one is a family favorite because it is a very different take on the tradional curry dish.  It screems autumn)  This is a Rachel Ray recipe that I tweaked so I could eat it, too.

 

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
Salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 inches ginger root, minced or grated
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 to 1/3 cup tamari dark soy sauce, eyeball it
1 (15-ounce) can cooked pumpkin
2 rounded tablespoonfuls mild or hot curry paste (recommended: Patak's) found on international foods aisle 
2 tablespoons five-spice powder
3 thick cut boneless pork chops (I get mine from Costco) thin sliced
4 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces, then thinly sliced lengthwise into matchsticks

 

 

 

Heat a large pot of water for noodles. When water boils, salt it and add pasta to cook to al dente or with a bite to it.

While pasta cooks, heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil. Add garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, and pepper flakes to the pan and cook together a couple of minutes, then add peanut butter and melt it. Whisk soy into peanut butter, then stir in pumpkin and curry paste. The sauce will be very thick. Turn down the heat to low. Add a ladle or 2 of pasta cooking water to thin sauce a bit and simmer over low heat. Adjust salt, to taste.

Heat a small to medium skillet over high heat. Pour the five-spice powder onto a baggie.  Add the thin sliced pork to baggie, shake to coat.  Add 3 tablespoons of remaining oil to hot skillet. Place the pork chop in the pan and cook 1 minute, flip and sear the other side until cooked.. Remove pork to a plate and set aside.

Drain pasta and return pasta to the pot. Add the curry-pumpkin sauce and toss thoroughly. Serve noodles on 4 plated and top with pork.
 
I serve this with green beans.  I eat the pork, the sauce and the green beans (noodles and I don't agree).

Ok....I've given you a dessert, a breakfast and a lunch/dinner.  It's your turn!
 

A friend sent me this recipe a few weeks ago!!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

4 cups canned pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1  large mild (sweet) onion, chopped
6 fresh carrots (finely chopped or grated)
3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
one half teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1 pint ff half-and-half
2 teaspoon thyme
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 stalks of celery chopped


Sauté the onion and celery in butter until tender
Add remaining ingredients except half-and-half. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add half-and-half, and heat through. Serve warm. Makes 6-8 small servings.

It's my favorite recipe because it's creamy, delicious and filling and pumpkin is one of my favorite foods, I could eat it in anything!!! :)

OMG!  This sounds GREAT!  I LOVE pumpkin so I'm definately doing this this weekend.  Esecially with the cooler weather coming in.

THANKS!!!!

This is SOOOOOO yummy!

Spice Pumpkin Mousse

2 small packages of instant sugar-free vanilla pudding
2 cups of no-fat (skim) milk
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
15 ounce can of pumpkin
8 ounces of fat-free Cool Whip

Make pudding first, then fold in ingredients. Serve!

These recipes sound great!

Thanks so much!

Jeane

OMG!  Sounds awesome!  In fact, I think I am going to do this for Thanksgiving.  My sister wants an apple cake this year, but, well....that would be too dangerous.  But, this would be GREAT!

THANKS!!!!

Kat - I'll be making this one for sure...so simple!  However....do ya chill the pudding for 5 minutes (as the puddiing box tells you to) BEFORE adding the other ingredient or do you just mix it for 2 minutes then immediately add the other ingredients?

TY!

Chill then mix! It "sticks together" better that way! Then add the whipped topping and oh my mou****ering yummy for the tummy (not mine right yet) eats! Enjoy!

Yumm! Sounds super good. Will have to try it out!

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake
A tall, creamy cheesecake with the taste of pumpkin pie.
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup splenda 4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) melted butter
For filling:
2 pounds (4 8-ounce packages) fat free cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups splenda
2 cups or 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all crust ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Press the crust onto bottom and a little up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes and cool. When the crust is cool enough to handle, wrap the outside of the pan with foil so that some of the filling doesn't ooze out of the pan.
While the crust is cooling, fill a baking dish large enough to hold a 9-inch spingform pan with 3/4 inch ho****er and place in the hot oven.
Make filling:
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and spices and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Carefully transfer the springform pan to the pan with water and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the custard no longer shakes when you move the pan slightly. Turn heat off, open oven door and allow the cake to cool for two hours or more before removing from the oven and chilling, covered in plastic wrap until cold or overnight.
To serve, run a thin sharp knife around the inside edge of the springform pan and carefully remove the outside of the pan. Place the cake (bottom attached or removed) on a serving plate. Sprikle the cake with cinnamon if desired, and cut the cake with a thin sharp knife or with dental floss that's been stretched tightly between your hands.