Pumpkin Puree

I was hoping to get this posted before Thanksgiving, but I didn't get done quite as soon as I would have liked.
There are many different ways to cook your pumpkin- basically just bake or boil, etc. until the pumpkin meat is soft and then make a puree.
You can bake the pumpkin skin side up (cut pumpkin in half, oil the edges, place on baking sheet that has some kind of edge so the juices don't spill), you can piece it up and put in in a pot of water to steam or boil, you can even microwave it with water. I prefer an oven method, then I don't have bother removing excess water.
Here's what I did:


Cut the pumpkin.


Remove "guts" (I do have a recipe for pumpkin seeds that are really good- not sure when I'll get that posted though!).


Place in baking dish. Bake at 350˚ until fork tender- somewhere between 45 minutes and 1 1/2 hours- depending on the pumpkin.


Here they are out of the oven, soft enough for a fork to go in with no resistance.


Allow to cool so you can touch it without burning your fingers, then peel the skin off and discard.


Here is all the pumpkin meat. I used a hand held blender (the type you can use in a drinking glass). I tried a regular blender once, but the pumpkin was very hard to get in and out of it and it took a long time. A food processor would be great as well. With my hand blender it took 1-2 minutes to get it to a smooth consistency.


Once the pumpkin is smooth it is ready to use in your favorite pumpkin recipe. I froze mine with 2 cups of puree in each bag. I don't have a set recipe but was planning to try this one: Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie.

Life

Just wanted to let you all know, that life is in the way of the blog right now. :-) I'm trying to get everything ready for the baby, who can come at any time (but hopefully will at least wait till next week!) and am tired and napping each afternoon while Naomi is napping.
I have a few posts that I can edit and post, but not sure that I will even get that done- so it might be a month or more before you hear much from me on this blog. I will try to post something after the baby is born and I will probably get some pictures up on our family website.
Thanks for hanging in there!

Rhubarb Torte

I love this one so much I have to make myself not take that second piece. This is really sweet- so if you like your rhubarb tart, then you might want to ease up on the sugar a bit, but we love it this way.




Rhubarb Torte
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Mix with beater until it forms a ball of dough. Press evenly into a 9" pie plate and bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes.

Rhubarb filling:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup milk
3 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
In a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, yolks and milk. Stir together, then add chopped rhubarb. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour into hot crust.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar
Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over rhubarb filling, covering completely.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Haystacks

Stephen had his birthday this week, so he got to choose what he wanted for dinner that night. He chose Haystacks. Sorry I didn't get a picture of this on a plate- I was too busy scarfing it down. :-) I love this!

Haystacks
Rice
Turkey or Chicken Gravy*
Chopped turkey or chicken mixed into the gravy
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Shredded coconut
Chopped fresh tomatoes
Chopped onion
Chopped bell pepper
Pineapple chunks
Sour cream
Tortilla chips

Layer everything on your plate- starting with the rice and gravy, then adding whatever else you want. The combinations might not sound appealing, but it's really delicious. We mix the rice mixture up, then scoop and eat with the tortilla chips.

*I normally use a soup stock to make this gravy. I start with about 4 to 6 cups of stock, stir in the flour/milk mixture, add salt and pepper to taste and then stir in the meat.

What do you strive for?

I set up a poll to get an idea of what my readers are looking for in my blog- There are 7 days left before it closes, so please let me know!

Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake

I've been trying to blog this one for the last month... the first time I made it I wasn't thinking (typical pregnancy brain) and put in twice the amount of milk- so the streusel and cranberries sank. I took a picture, but it didn't look right (took me a while to figure out what I did wrong), so I made it again- well, then I didn't keep track of the measurements for the topping. Then there were 2 times I got it right- but forgot to take pictures. LOL- no one has complained that I keep making the same coffee cake.

Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake:
2 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
---
1 c. dried cranberries

Mix well, spread into greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle cranberries over the top.

Streusel Topping:
1/4 c. butter melted
1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix Streusel topping and sprinkle over cranberries. Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes.

Pizza Rolls

I apoligize in advance: I don't have a "recipe." This is one that I wing it, I know that will bother some of you but here's what I do:

Pizza Rolls
1 recipe basic roll dough
Pepperoni
5 c. shredded cheddar cheese (approximately)
Artichoke hearts
(This would also be good with: onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, etc.)

This works best if you split the dough in half and roll out each half separately, which is what I normally do- but didn't this time and it was alot harder to manage.
Roll the dough into a rectangle, place pepperoni pieces on, followed by cheese and separated artichoke hearts.
Roll up like a cinnamon roll and cut into equal slices (full recipe makes 24).
Place in greased muffin tins, let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350˚ for about 30 minutes- until slightly brown on top.


A picture to show you the approximate amount of pepperoni I used. This counter is 21" x 25".


Naomi only pigs out on cheese when I'm cooking.


And she only eats artichoke hearts when I'm cooking... See my torn up kitchen? I'm getting used to it.


I cut the rolled dough into 4 equal portions, then marked out 6 on each piece before cutting.


If you just work with 1/2 of the dough at a time these look alot prettier. Though after they are cooked, they all look the same.


And the finished product!