Pumpkin Pizza

From: Rochelle

Last night, Austin's work had an iron chef competition. Of course I was ALL over that one! The secret ingredient: Pumpkin! Huzzah! My favorite! I was this close () to making my favorite double layer pumpkin cheesecake, but I am SO glad I didn't because two others made it to the competition. I decided to make Pumpkin Pizza and oh my goodness readers, it was delightful! The best part? We won! : ) Try it out to break up your regular pizza night. It reminded me of something you would see at California Pizza Kitchen.

Pumpkin Pizza
Adapted from About.com

Ingredients:

2 C	*Roasted Pumpkin, Cubed
1 T	Basil Pesto (If you don't have this, use 2 t basil + 1 t garlic powder)
1	Prepared Pizza Dough
3/4 C	Cheese of your Choice (I used cheddar, but Mozzarella or Colby jack would be good)
2 T	Cashews, salted, roasted, and crushed
3/4 C	White Cream Sauce (See Recipe Below)
1/4 C	Feta Cheese, Crumbled (Goat cheese would be yummy too!)
2 T	Parmesan Cheese, grated
Garnishes	Extra Chopped Cashews and Parmesan Cheese, and Parsley (dried or fresh)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2. Gently toss roasted pumpkin with basil pesto to lightly coat evenly. Set aside.

*To roast Pumpkin, I cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scooped out the seed and placed, cut side down in a glass dish. I added 1/2" of water to the bottom and covered in plastic wrap. I then cooked in the microwave for about 15-20 minutes. After which I carefully removed the plastic wrap, drained the water, and turned cut side up and placed into a 500 degree oven until browned, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Roll out pizza dough and spread evenly with a layer of white sauce and cheese. Add crushed cashews and cubes of pumpkin. Drizzle with white cream sauce.

4. Scatter crumbled feta cheese and grated Parmesan evenly over the surface.

5. Cook pizza for 7 to 10 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cut into slices.

6. Garnish with parsley, extra cashews and Parmesan cheese before serving.

White Sauce

3 T	Butter or Smart Balance
1/4 C + 2 T	Flour
1 1/2-2 C	Milk
1/2 t	Garlic Powder
1 t	Italian Seasoning (or basil/Oregano mix)
Dash	Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/3 C	Cheese of our Choice (Parmesan, Cheddar, or Colby Jack work well

Preparation:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add in flour, stirring until thick and pasty.

2. Slowly add milk, whisking together constantly to avoid lumps. Add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until thickened.

3. Stir in grated cheese until welted. Sauce will thicken further as it cools, so add in a bit more milk if needed.

This recipe makes more than enough white sauce for one large pizza.

Healthy Pumpkin Banana Muffins

From: Rochelle

These are GREAT muffins because they have pumpkin, banana, oats, AND applesauce in them, in addition to having whole-wheat flour! Talk about a power-packed breakfast! So yummy warm OR cold!

Healthy Pumpkin Banana Muffins


1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
2 C Whole-Wheat Flour
1 1/4 C Rolled Oats
4 t Baking Powder
2 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
4 t Cinnamon
2 t Ground Ginger
1 t Nutmeg
1 t Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1 C Applesauce
1 (15 oz) can Pumpkin
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
1 C Walnuts, toasted & chopped (Optional)


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners
3. Combine flours, oats, baking powder, spices, baking soda, and salt and wisk together until mixed well.
4. Combine wet ingredients and sugars in another bowl and beat until smooth, Gradually add in flour mixture. Beat just until combined.
5. Spoon into prepared pans or tins (fill cups until just about full).
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
7. Remove muffins from pan and cool on wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

From: Rochelle

I LOVE fall because that means pumpkin is everywhere! I LOVE pumpkin probably as much as I love chocolate. . . . no joke. Pumpkin shakes, pumpkin frozen yogurt, pumpkin anything! When I saw this post on pintrest I KNEW I HAD to make it! Oh baby was it worth it! If you are craving some pumpkin. . . THIS is what you need to make!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting


Cake:
4 Eggs
1 2/3 C Sugar
1 C Canola Oil
1 (15 oz) can Pumpkin
2 C All-Purpose Flour, Sifted
2 t Baking Powder
2 t Ground Cinnamon
1 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8oz) pkg Fat-Free Cream Cheese, Softened
1/2 C Butter (or Smart Balance)
2 C Sifted Powdered Sugar
1 t Vanilla Extract
2 t Ground Cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, and oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flower, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix at a low speed until throughly combined and the batter is smooth.
5. Spread the batter into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

From: Rochelle

We made this over the Christmas break and oh, man was it good! I throughly enjoyed it! It isn't really a pie, it is more of a pudding or a custard, or even like a cheesecake and is served cold. You actually don't even bake this. This is probably one of my favorite pumpkin desserts because it is creamy and smooth. Here is my ALL-TIME-FAVORITE Pumpkin Pie:

Home-made Pumpkin Puree
First, we made our own pumpkin puree. Right before Halloween, the Farmer's Market had their Sugar Pumpkins for $1. Steal! So I grabbed 2 of them. One we used for Thanksgiving and other we saved for Christmas. We just cut the pumpkin up, cooked it in a glass dish with about 1 inch of water, covered with plastic wrap. We cooked it for about 10-20 minutes until the flesh was tender and peeled away from the skin. We then scooped out the pumpkin flesh and threw it in the blender until it was smooth. Then we let it sit for an hour or two to get the extra moisture out. You can even set it in the fridge and let is drain overnight in a sieve lined with strong paper towels or cheese cloth. If you don't want to make your own pumpkin puree, you can just buy it but $1 versus $4-5 for a can . . . you decide.

Home-made Pumpkin Puree

Then we did the recipe:

Rochelle's Double-Layer Pumpkin Pie

10 servings

4 oz	Cream Cheese-Softened
1 C	Milk
1 T	Sugar
1 T	Milk
1 (8 oz) Tub	Cool Whip (Thawed & Divided)
1	Graham Cracker Curst
1 (15 oz) Can	Pumpkin
2 pkg	Jell-o Vanilla instant pudding
1 t	Ground Cinnamon
1/2 t	Ground Ginger
1/2 t	Ground Cloves

Mix cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk, and sugar. Stir in half of whipped topping and spread in crust.

Pour 1 cup milk in bowl and add pumpkin, pudding, and spices. Beat with a wire whisk 2 minutes until blended. It will be thick. Spread over pumpkin layer.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with whip cream and refrigerate leftover. 

*We tried making it a few days ahead and then froze it, but we decided we liked it better thawed. I wouldn't freeze it until you REALLY had to.