Pumpkins

[KYHeirloomer]

Why Mama, just give them my good neighbor recipe:

To one cup rice flour add 3-4 tbls habanero powder, one egg, and enough flat beer to make a thin batter. Add 1/2 small bottle Franks hot sauce, 16 garlic cloves, finely minced, and salt & pepper to taste.

That'll larn 'em.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

mama, sounds like you need to pick-up a bb-gun! ...or a constipated pit-bull!

[Mama Mangia]

KYH - they'd probably like it! But you left out a key ingredient - 2 packages of X-Lax!

CAB - if I had to resort to a gun - it would not be a BB gun! I want them to remember this!

Mama's going off to make some more concrete shoes...............

[CookingExperiment]

I imagine roasting pumpkins with veggies might be a good idea. Or baking them like yams or sweet potatoes also sounds good...

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Pumpkin certainly is versatile, that's for sure. From soups to breads & pies, to porch-decor and more! I agree w/ you, CEX- much like our buddy the sweet potato!

[Mama Mangia]

May I add a bit here?

DINNER IN A PUMPKIN - there are many variations for this one:


1 medium pumpkin
2 lbs. ground beef, cooked
1 chopped onion
3 sliced carrots
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can sliced mushroom, drained
1 tablespoons garlic salt
1 celery stalk, sliced
2-3 potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Bring all ingredients (except pumpkin) to a boil in a pot. Boil 10 minutes. Place pumpkin in sturdy baking pan. Fill pumpkin with hot mixture. Bake at 350 degrees, for approximately 45 minutes, until pumpkin is tender and brown.


1 medium Pumpkin or you can use squash
1/4 cup Onion -- chopped
1 1/2 lb Ground beef
2 T Soy sauce
2 T Brown Sugar
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Clean stringy pulp and seeds from pumpkin. Saute onion and ground beef. Add soup, soy sauce and brown sugar. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cooked rice. Put meat-rice mixture into pumpkin. Replace lid. Place the pumpkin in a 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 for 60 min to 90 minutes until pumpkin is tender. Slice in quarters to serve. (I have also made this in winter squash.)


HUNGARIAN BAKED PUMPKIN

1 small pumpkin or squash, skinned, sliced
2 T. butter or margarine
Salt and pepper
Cream or sour cream

Place slices in foil; add salt, pepper and butter. Bake at 350* F. for 30 minutes , or until it is soft. Test for softness with a skewer. It can be served with just about anything- cream, sour cream ,salt.


Pumpkin Cheese-Swirled Pie


1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup light corn syrup, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry pie shell


Preheat oven to 325 F.

In small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup corn syrup and vanilla until smooth; set aside.

In medium bowl combine pumpkin, eggs, evaporated milk, remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Beat until smooth. Pour into pie crust.

Drop tablespoonfuls of cream cheese mixture onto pumpkin filling. With knife or small spatula, swirl mixture to give marbled effect.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 8 servings.


Pumpkin Soup
(8 servings)

2-1/2 lbs pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup scallions, white part only, chopped
2 cups half-and-half cream
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
pinch of grated nutmeg
3/4 cup finely chopped scallions, green part only


In large pot combine pumpkin, chicken stock, onions, and white part of scallions. Bring to boil and simmer until pumpkin is tender. Put mixture through fine sieve or puree in food processor.

Stir half-and-half cream into the soup and season to taste with salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg.

Serve soup at room temperature, garnished with sprinklings of the green part of scallions.

[Mama Mangia]

Pumpkin Crisp

1 18 oz.box yellow cake mix
1 29 oz. can of pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon or pumpkin spice
1 cup chopped nuts I prefer pecans MAY OMITT
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
2 sticks or 1 cup butter

Grease and flour 9x13 pan. Mix pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs and cinnamon and put in pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over this. Pat nuts on evenly. Spoon melted butter over top. Bake at 350 50-60 minutes.


Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

Filling
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Whipped cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F. Set aside.

Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl; mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin, eggs, and spices; beat until smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut with dental floss. Serve with whipped cream.


Pumpkin Fudge

1 Teaspoon Butter
2 Cups Sugar
1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk or Cream
3 Tablespoons Pumpkin
1/4 Teaspoon Cornstarch
1/4 Teaspoon rounded Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line and 8 x 8 sqaure pan with aluminum foil allowing the edges of the foil to hang over the edges of the pan . Grease the pan with 1 teaspoon of butter.
Place sugar and milk, pumpkin , cornstarch , pumpkin pie spice in a sauce pan and cook quickly, stirring them constantly until they boil . Cover and cook 2-3 minutes . Uncover ,reduce heat and cook until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (234 degrees), or when a small amount dropped into chilled water forms a ball and flattens when picked up. Remove from heat and place in mixing bowl. Cool to 110 degrees. Add vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy. Add nuts, if desired. Pour into prepared baking pan. When firm, remove fudge from pan, peel away from foil and cut into squares.

[Mama Mangia]

PUMPKIN APPLE BUTTER

1 ¾ c. canned pumpkin
1 c. apple juice
1 c. apple, peeled, grated
½ c. brown sugar, packed
¾ t. pumpkin pie spice

Combine pumpkin, apple juice, apple, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Pour into container. Cover, chill. May be stored in refrigerator for up to two months.

[Mama Mangia]

Mama makes her own pumpkin puree:

Select a ripe and firm medium pumpkin. Larger pumpkins can be used, but they begin to take on a grainy texture the larger they get. Cut open the pumpkin and remove the seeds and fibrous strings. Cut the pumpkin into four to eight pieces. Line a large baking pan aluminum foil. Place the pumpkin pieces onto the baking pan. Bake at
375* F. 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until pulp is soft. Remove the pulp from the rind with a spoon and discard the rind. Blend the pulp until smooth using a blender, food processor or mixer. To create a really thick puree, put the pulp into a cheesecloth and squeeze out excess water.
Make and use fresh puree whenever possible for the best taste and freshness. Leftover puree can be frozen for a short period of time. Canning of pumpkin puree is not recommended by the USDA.

I prefer the sugar pumpkins and I freeze in 1/2 cup and 1 cup portions - easy for baking and cooking.

[cookie]

From Cookie



Pumpkin Raisin Cake

2 Cups all purpose Flour ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp.cloves
2 Cups Sugar 1 cup oil
2 tsp.baking powder 4 eggs
1tsp. baking soda (1 15oz.) can (2 cups) pumpkin
1tsp.cinnamon ½ cup of chopped nuts
1tsp. nutmeg ½ cup Sun Maid Raisins

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease two 8x8 baking pan. In large bowl combine all ingredients except nuts and raisins; beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in nuts and raisins.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Frosting

1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 (3-oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients until smooth.