All things Pumpkin

Thanksgiving is coming!

Not that my neighbors know this... because they all have their Christmas lights & trees up already

Ahem.... anyway.

I am thinking about all things pumpkin & baking

I normally don't do this, so I'm going to go with it

I bought some cute little pie pumpkins for my boys to paint before halloween

We ran out of time to do that so they've just been sitting here staring at me for a few weeks

I couldn't just let them go to waste

But, I've never done anything with a real pumpkin besides carve it

I assumed cooking it was similar to cooking squash but I wasn't sure

So, I googled "how to cook a pumpkin" and found this handy dandy site

I also saw some great recipes online and decided to make a few of them

I am sick of plain old pumpkin pie... so I am opting for a pumpkin cheesecake

And some pumpkin scones ( I am hi-jacking those off my friend kara's site)

These will all be in my up & coming Holiday posts

I promise they won't be difficult recipes....

Pureeing your own pumpkin, however, is a pain in the butt ( I won't lie)

But, I had to try it... and now I have to share it!

This is what I did to my little pie pumpkins this morning.

In case you a have a few pumpkins that you're feeling angry with.....

You'll notice that they are not all nicely cut... 2 of them were so hard that I had to smash them on my tile floor because the knife wouldn't even penetrate them.  Not fun!

Anyway.... here we go!

Ingredients:
- 4 pie pumpkins (yes, there are "pie" pumpkins ... not all pumpkins are good for making pies)

Directions:
** I made these 2 different ways... just to see if there was a difference or one was easier than the other
I would recommend the boiling.. it's faster. But I will post them both

• Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.
• Cut the pumpkin in half. 
• Scoop out the seeds and scrape the insides.  You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface.
• Baking in the oven:
• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• place pumpkin pieces face down in baking dish
• fill dish with about 2 inches of water

• Bake for about 45 minutes or until pumpkin is soft and a knife goes right through it

OR

• Boiling in a pot:
• Place pumpkin in large pot
• cover with water
• Once the water is boiling it should take about 10 minutes until done
• When pumpkin is really soft it's done
• Scraping the cooked pumpkin:
• Using a spoon gently lift and scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin.  It should separate easily and in fairly large chucks if the pumpkin is cooked enough
• Place in a bowl then add to food processor in batches


• Blend the pumpkin until smooth

And ..... you're Done!

Now the pumpkin can be placed in freezer bags and frozen until you are ready to use it...or start baking your pumpkin goodies right now.  You can use this just like canned pumpkin.

I am using some today & tomorrow and freezing some to use for a thanksgiving treat!

***Review:
This was not the most difficult thing to do.... but I wouldn't say it's something I would do all the time.  Honestly, opening a can of store bought pumpkin is much much easier.  But.... this is not difficult... just time consuming.
It was fun to do... the kids always love helping me do something different... so that was a bonus.  Today was one of those rare days that not much was going on so I was able to make this stress free..... and in my jammies!  At least now I know if there's ever a time that I can't find canned pumpkin, I can make my own.

**Tips:
Well, as I mentioned above, boiling the pumpkin was much faster and the pumpkin cooked more uniformly.  I thought baking it would give it a different flavor... more rich & roasted tasting...but it didn't.  Same exact flavor... so I say, if you have a large enough pot... boil it.  Either way... it's cooked.
I was also thinking that this would make great baby food.  I mean, how fresh and natural can you get?
Also, it would be good to use in recipes from Jessica Seinfelds book Deceptively Delicous (which you can actually see in my kitchen in the background of this photo)
Here's a tip from the site I found: "To eliminate watery pumpkin, I strain my pureed pumpkin through a cloth overnight. If I use frozen pumpkin I do the same again as it thaws out. It works great and my pies cook beautifully."


I am looking for some different ways to use this pumpkin puree!
Do you have any yummy pumpkin recipes you want to share with me?
E mail them to me at thedinnerdrama@hotmail.com

Homemade Peanut Butter!

Sorry about not getting this posted last night.

We are having some major computer issues

Not quite sure what it is, but my internet access last night was almost zero

It was like having dial up all over again.... do you remember dial up?  Blech!

This morning, it seems to be working ok.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my peanut butter recipe.

Well, it's not mine, and it's not exactly a recipe... but you get the idea.

Here are the reasons I make my own peanut butter

1. It's very very easy
2. It's healthier than any of those store bought ones with trans fats and all that other junk in them
3. It is 100% peanuts and NOTHING else... no preservatives no oils... nothing!
3. It's cheaper
4. Kids LOVE it

I never thought it would be this easy .... the thought of making your own...well, anything seemed a bit
over achiever-ish. 

Let me assure you that this is not the case.  This is E-A-S-Y!  Really!

My friend Alisha makes fun of me for making my own peanut butter... but that's ok because her daughter loves my peanut butter and thinks it's the best in the world... I can live with that :)

All the kids LOVE making peanut butter. 

My friend Kara's daughter has helped me make it too..as well as a few of my son's friends. They just think it's so neat how the nuts turn into peanut butter right before their little eyes!

Kids love to cook and it's such a fun & easy thing to do with them! 

It makes a healthy snack too!

Ingredients:
- 2 (1 lb) Jars of  honey roasted peanuts ( I use any kind that's on sale)
- Food processor ( I know it's not an ingredient... but you have to have this to make the peanut butter)
- Air tight storage container 32 oz or larger (yes, also not an ingredient... but necessary)

Directions:

Place 1 jar of the nuts in the food processor at a time

Turn it on high for 2 to 3  minutes
(it will get lumpy and look like a crumbly dough at first)
***(If you like crunchy peanut butter then here is where we add another step
      When you first turn on the food processor and the nuts are just getting ground up, stop the mixing & take out about a cup of the ground up nuts.  You can add those back in at the end to make it "crunchy")

When it's done it will be smooth like this:

If it's not smooth enough for you, then blend it for another minute or so.

Next scrape it out with a spatula into your storage container like this:

2 (1lb) Jars of nuts make 32 ounces of  yummy peanut butter

***Review:
This is good peanut butter.  Everyone loves it.  I don't know what more I can say.  It's a healthier and tastier option than store bought.  Even the natural store bought isn't this good!  One thing you might notice is that it's a bit more grainy than Jiffy, but that's because we aren't adding all the stuff used to soften it.  It didn't take much to get used to the texture at all.  The kids have never noticed.  If you're used to store bought natural PB then it's pretty much the same texture as that.

** Tips:
This peanut butter can stay on the shelf in your pantry for about 3 months.  If you have kids, it won't last that long anyway...lol
You can easily make this organic by going to trader joe's and buying organic nuts.  I haven't gotten around to that yet... but that's the plan.
I used to use plain nuts and add real honey as I made it, but I don't do that anymore.  I found that the honey crystalized in the PB and makes it hard and not that spreadable. 
Using honey roasted nuts still gives it a sweet honey flavor but it stays nice and smooth.
I recommend putting this in a container with an open top.  If you let it sit a while, the oil separates and you need to mix it a little (not near as bad as the store bought).  If you have an open top, it's much much easier to mix than if it's in a jar. 

Let me know what you think!

Would you ever try this?

Does it look do-able?

Do you want to make fun of me too?  LOL

Leave me a comment and let me know!

Chicken again? Yes!

Well, the hubs decided he wanted grilled chicken tonight.

  So I had this idea.

 Grill a whole bunch of chicken at one time and use it for multiple meals throughout the week.


Basically, when you grill your chicken the first night..... grill a whole

bunch more than you would normally need. 

Use it for the next few days or freeze it and have it ready for when you need it next!

Easy enough right? 

I sure hope so... because with the kind week I have planned, I need some quick easy meals.

 I know you're thinking "Ha! Don't we all?" 

Lucky for you, I like to share :)