...September Love…

Happy Sweater Wearing, Boot Loving, Cider Sipping, Back to School, Pencils Sharpened, Apple Picking, Pumpkin Cooking SEPTEMBER!

I for one love Autumn! Every year in September, with the return of my favorite season, I’m giddy with the anticipation and delight of all things amber and pumpkin spiced!  I decorate for fall and start making comfort meals before the temperature says its time.  Pumpkin puree begins to make an appearance in just about everything I eat, from my lattes to my pancakes, pastas and more. So it is in that vain that I share a few of my favorite recipes with you to get your Fall taste buds ready! 

Amy’s FAMOUS Pumpkin Cookies

(SOURCE: http://landoffruitsandveggies.blogspot.com)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. honey

1 (15oz) can of pumpkin

3/4 cup oil (you can use melted virgin coconut oil or substitute w/ unsweetened applesauce)

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour (you can use spelt flour or whole wheat or any combo)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger (if you have pumpkin pie spice on hand you can use that instead)

1 to 1 1/2  cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Beat until blended sugar, honey, pumpkin, oil and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and mix well.

By hand, stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greases cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they slightly firm up and bounce back after being touched.

Cool on wire racks.

 ***

Cake Mix Pumpkin Cookies

One Box of Spice Cake Mix (or Carrot Cake Mix if Spice is unavailable)

One 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Water

Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350

Mix the can of pumpkin with the cake mix, if too dry add water about a tablespoon at a time until just wet all the way through.

Add desired amount of chocolate chips (at least 1 Cup, but I usually do more)

Drop by rounded teaspoonful’s onto slightly greased cookie sheet

Bake at 350 for 10 – 15 minutes

*This is great to make with kids because it is so easy!

{here are some pictures of how we made them last time}

***

Pumpkin Sausage Lasagna

(SOURCE: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/pumpkin-sausage-lasagna/)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)  

1 1/2 pounds bulk sweet Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey, whatever you like), casings removed 

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into small pieces  

1 medium onion, chopped 

2 garlic cloves, grated  

Salt and freshly ground black pepper  

3 tablespoons butter  

3 tablespoons flour 

3 cups milk (eyeball it)  

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)  

Few dashes fresh nutmeg  

1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles  

1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about two turns of the pan. Add the sausage and cook until golden brown, breaking the meat up as it cooks with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the eggplant, onion and garlic. Cook 7-8 minutes, until tender, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the veggies are cooking, place a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into roux, breaking up any clumps. Bring the mixture to a bubble and add the pumpkin puree and nutmeg. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper, reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Spread about 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 13 x 9" casserole dish. Layer three lasagna noodles over the sauce, then top them with about 1 cup of the meat mixture, a cup or so of the sauce and a palmful of cheese. Repeat these layers two times, topping the casserole with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbling and pasta is baked through, about 45 minutes.

During the last ten minutes of baking, remove the aluminum foil to brown the cheese. Once out of the oven, allow the dish to rest a few minutes before serving.

*I use butternut squash instead of the eggplant…and it’s AMAZING!  Also, if using pork sausage try to find the sage kind…the sage goes so well with pumpkin…YUM!

***

Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Latte

(SOURCE: http://stephanieodea.com/...adapted from Taste of Home's Halloween 2008 edition)

--2 cups milk (I used 1%)
--2 T canned pumpkin
--2 T white sugar
--2 T vanilla (not a typo. it asks for tablespoons)
--1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
--1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

Add the coffee/espresso and milk to the crockpot. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices, sugar, and vanilla.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours if everything is cold. Whisk again.

Ladle into mugs, and garnish with whipped cream and additional cinnamon. You can add a cinnamon stick to be fancy.

*Garnish with whipped cream (optional)

**This will make enough for 2 people to have a big mug with a bit leftover. If you are having friends over, adjust the recipe accordingly. I used a 4-quart crockpot, but as small as a 1.5 quart will work with these amounts.

{You can simply buy some pumpkin spice syrup and add that to a homemade latte as well...I love how quick it is...Yum!}