by Mandi | recipes
I love decorating my house with pumpkins during this time of year.
But what I love the most is using them to make fantastic deserts! You can read a previous post I wrote about to cook or to carve here.
This past weekend the mister and I took all of my pumpkins and put them up to the challenge. What is the best way to cook the pumpkin and what pumpkin type works best. There was a CLEAR winner!
The Blue Pumpkin cooked in the crock pot. It worked PERFECTLY! Here is how we did it!
1. Cut the pumpkin into fourths, this makes it much easier to handle.
2. Remove all of the stringy insides including the seeds.
3. Leaving the “skin” on, wash the pumpkins really well with warm water.
4. Add about 1 – 1 1/2 inches of water into a crock pot, add the pumpkin and cook on high for about 3-4 hours.
5. Scrape out the pumpkin and set aside to cool. The pumpkin will be very soft and easy to scrape out.
PIE TIME!
We let our pumpkin cool for about 2 hours and then were ready to start baking. I went to my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for the recipe and it did not disappoint! Here is the recipe online – and note, you can now use your own pumpkin instead of the canned mess!
Add a little cool whip to the top and you have a masterpiece – our friends were very impressed last night!
What goes great with pumpkin deserts? Turkey of course. Make sure you qualify for our Turkey Giveaway!
by Mandi | creative tips
I have always wondered which pumpkins are for cooking and which are for carving. Well, this past weekend my mom and I took a trip up to the mountains and my questions were all answered at the local farmers market in Asheville, NC.
I always search for that perfect orange pumpkin, the one that I can see with a face cut right into it! I usually buy two, one to carve and one to cook. I never could seem to cook it just right. My pumpkin “meat” was really stringy and often times I had to throw it out, so sad. This past weekend at the Asheville Farmers Market and a woman working one of the booths told me “The bright orange ones are for carvin’, the only thing you want to eat out of those are the seeds.” (Toasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe).
Then she walked us over to another group of pumpkins. There were all kinds. The picture below is where she had all of them sitting around together. She said that the ones that are green, blue or random in size are better for cooking. You will get much better quality pumpkin out of these for your pies and other deserts! I just loved the bubble ones in the top right hand corner of the picture – how unique!
Then of course there were some that they suggest to only use for decoration! These are tiny little pumpkins and gourds. They reminded me of the last post I did when I painted mine pink for breast cancer!
I think me and the Mister are going to carve my pumpkin tonight or tomorrow… I love that moment when you light it up for the first time!
Are you carving and cooking pumpkins this month? What are your favorite pumpkin faces and recipes?
by Mandi | creative tips
It’s October! Time for Halloween, football games, apple picking and pumpkin patches. You can walk into any store these days and be surrounded with skulls, bones, costumes and candy. It is an easy time to decorate your house.
For many of us though, October takes on another meaning, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Everywhere you go these days you hear of someone that has been affected by this awful disease. I am blessed to know to strong SURVIVORS! My mother and dear friend Emily. Click here to read an article on Emily’s story and hear her talk about the support of her family.
I decided that I wanted to celebrate this month in my home decor by adding in some pink! Pink pumpkins – why not!
I went to a local grocery store and picked up a few inexpensive pumpkins, got out some paint, made a light and dark shade of pink and got to work! It is simple really… I added stripes, dots, zig zags and ribbons!
Here is what my living area looks like for the fall! I love having a daily reminder to be aware of breast cancer for myself, my friends and my family!
How are you decorating this fall?
