Thursday, October 15, 2009

Sweet Treats: Magic Pumpkins Holiday Desserts


I love pumpkins. I probably love decorating them more (though I prefer white cinderella ones), so stay tuned for that post, oh yeah) , but really, I love them. I tend to like them on the sweet side, but am not opposed to a hearty dinner version either. Plus, they are quite healthy for you (minus the sweets), and who can resist that? And even WITH the sweet toppings, can you resist that either?!!
*mouth waters from below image*




When I was first married (6 years this month), I got adventurous and made a pumpkin jambalaya, IN the pumpkin. Oh, it was heavenly. I made some mistakes, but nothing that still couldn't be enjoyed. And the fact that you can cut away the pumpkin as you eat, and dip it in the stew as if it were a crusty soft chunk of bread, made it all even better! I don't remember the recipe I used, but it had rice, sausage, various veggies... you can make it more stew like with beef, potatoes, celery, carrots, or jambalaya like, I've done both and both were delicious! I also read, that if you use non toxic paints, you can paint a jack-o-lantern face on it prior to baking, how fun would that be for the kids or even a Halloween party!! Here is a good recipe, but there are way more out there, just search for "dinner in a pumpkin".


You can also make mini pumpkins into desserts by baking them with butter, brown sugar and spices and topping with ice cream or whipped cream. Lots of possibilities. I used an acorn squash for this one, as shown in my pic above. Just cut that sucker in half, add some butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, then pop it in the microwave for a few minutes and you are done. Top it with whip cream or ice cream for some extra yum factor. You can also bake it, but you have to put it in a thin layer of water... too much work!



And though, I am not a huge pumpkin pie fan, I do love pumpkin bread, cookies, those swirl things. Also, canned pumpkins are one of the few natural canned foods that is just as healthy as a fresh pumpkin. This pan cooked pumpkin with duck fat looks amazing! Lots of good and simple pumpkin recipes here!


If you have any good pumpkin recipes or food ideas, please share in the comments... or bring me a sample and I will love you forever ;)

8 comments:

undomestic mama said...

I LOVE pumpkin! I'll have to try some of these recipes

Winchester Manor said...

Yummy post! Everything looks so delicious! I'm hoping to get some baking done this weekend...thanks for the inspiration. Happy Anniversay month!!

Hugs to you!!

boatbaby said...

oh you hit a soft spot for me. i LOVE pumpkins. I love the look, i love the taste, i love the smell.
I have a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins I will share when I can dig it up later.

Anne said...

Pumpkin Cheesecake. It's amazing! I'll be posting it on my blog in the near future!

Chanda said...

I made pumpkin cobbler the other night - OH BABY! Unbelievable. I found the recipe here:

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2009/10/super-moist-pumpkin-cobbler.html

vivian said...

omg! love that libbys pumpkin roll recipe! havent had it in a long time. and.. due to my current obsession of losing weight.. I wont be having it anytime soon!
but it sounds soo yummy!
dinner in the pumpkin sounds like fun! would love to try it sometime!
hugs
vivian

LittleLovables said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Emmy said...

Oh, thank you for all the good ideas! I am hungry now.

Related Posts with Thumbnails