Cooking Challenge: Pumpkin

maeadair

Those muffins look Yummy!

ttaylortulsa

Don't be intimidated by the length of this recipe! The spice mixes have quite a few ingredients, but also share many of the same ingredients. I might recommend buying the spices from a store that allows you to purchase spices in measurements (tsp, tbsp, etc) rather than buying entire containers. This will help save a LOT of money.

Also, the Curry Spices blend makes 1-2 cups! It will last you a VERY long time.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the recipe(s)

I've made this soup for my bf and myself at home, and also served it for Chef's Table today for a luncheon. People raved. I love this stuff. Without further ado...

Curry Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

Curry Spice:
Yield: 1 ½ cup

½ cup long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds (may substitute fennel seeds)
1 teaspoon whole cloves
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Toast rice, fenugreek and cloves in a small dry pan just until smoke appears. Add remaining ingredients and remove from pan to cool. Grind together in a coffee grinder/mill (or using a mortar and pestle)

Per tablespoon:
Calories – 21, Fat – 1, Protein – 1, Fiber – 1, Sodium – 2, Calcium – 2


Sweet Potato Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 garlic clove (or more to taste, I prefer 2-3)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Toast coriander, cumin and fennel in a small dry pan until aromatic. Add remaining spices (oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, peppercorns) and remove from pan to cool. Grind together in a coffee grinder/mill (or using a mortar and pestle)
Finely mince the garlic.
Combine all ingredients. The mixture will be slightly dry and mealy

Calories – 180, Fat – 17, Protein – 3, Fiber – 5, Sodium – 1178, Calcium – 20


Curry Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 10
Serving Size: 1 ½ cup

Sweet Potato Spice Rub
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 oz onion, finely chopped
1 lb sweet potatoes
1 and ½ can of pure pumpkin (15 oz cans)
1 can light coconut milk
2 boxes chicken stock (or low-sodium chicken broth)
2 tablespoons Curry Spices

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)
Scrub potatoes and cut lengthwise into 6 wedges (I don’t peel my potatoes. You may if you want to. Personal preference).
Smear potatoes with spice rub and place on sheet pan (cookie sheet).
- The rub is a little hard to work with at first. But keep at it, it will eventually start sticking)
Roast potatoes in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until just tender and beginning to blacken on the ends.
In a large pot, over medium-high heat, cook onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent.
Pour canned pumpkin and roasted sweet potatoes into pot. Be sure to scrape the spice paste off the sheet pan and add to pot. Use a little chicken stock to deglaze the sheet pan (you want all that spice goodness, don’t you?).
Add can of light coconut milk and about 2 cups chicken stock to pot. Use immersion blender to puree mixture.
- You may also puree everything in batches in a blender or food processor.
Once mixture is thoroughly pureed, stir in more chicken stock until it reaches desire thickness.
*Note* This is a fairly thick soup. You may thin it out with additional chicken stock or water if necessary.

Now, this is where you take control of the reigns. Feel free to add as much or as little of the Curry Spices according to you taste profile preference.

Bring soup to a simmer. Serve.

This soup is delicious with toasted French baguette slices. You may garnish soup with Greek Yogurt, chopped parsley and smoked paprika for a very pretty presentation.

Per Serving:
Calories – 102, Fat – 4, Protein – 4, Fiber – 4, Sodium – 428, Calcium – 3

* Curry Spice blend came from Chef Rene Jungo
* Soup recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spicy-Pumpkin-and-Sweet-Potato-Soup/Detail.aspx

meagalayne

Was in search of pumpkin recipes today and found these great ideas: from this source: http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/Recipes/5-Pumpkin-Puree-Recipe-Ideas.html

We always grab a can or two of pumpkin purée for making pumpkin pies. But why not grab a couple more cans of this vitamin A– and fiber-packed ingredient to use in new and delicious savory ways? Here are some ideas:

1. Stir about 1 cup pumpkin purée into 3 cups marinara sauce. It will reduce the sodium and get the little ones to eat vegetables without knowing it!

2. For a new spin on mashed potatoes, add some pumpkin purée, a bit of fresh or ground ginger and/or ground nutmeg, and some sliced scallions.

3. Pumpkin and chili are a match made in heaven! Stir some purée into homemade or canned chili. The flavor combination is delicious, you’ll reduce the sodium, and it also extends the chili so it will feed more people.

4. Try adding some pumpkin to corn muffin mix. It will add beautiful color and moistness. Just stir 1/2 cup into batter made from an 8.5-oz box of corn muffin mix, then follow package directions for baking.

5. Hummus is delicious, but can be high in fat and calories. Stir some pumpkin purée into prepared hummus—it will reduce the fat and calories per serving and still be super-yummy.

I'll be posting my recipe tomorrow, I think! Have a great day everyone :bigsmile:
-Meag

meagalayne

Ok so here's what I'll post for the challenge... Since I eat pumpkin every day I wasn't sure what to post, but this is something I tried last night for the boy. He LOVES pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks and I figured I would try my hand at making some kind of low-fat, low-cal substitute at home... The recipe calls for NO COFFEE, but I'm a coffee addict so naturally I added some

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte, altered from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Famous-No-Coffee-Pumpkin-Latte/Detail.aspx
Serves 4

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups full fat milk (I used PC Blue Menu fortified soy)
2 tablespoons white sugar (I used brown, but you could use substitute, honey or whatever else - maple would be amazing!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (not in original recipe, but why not?)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups prepared coffee (half pot or so)

Combine pumpkin, milk, sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium heat. Use a whisk to blend well. Heat to a simmer; do not boil. Strain well using a fine sieve and reserve (can blend if desired but I didn't find this necessary at all).
Half-fill 4 large mugs with freshly brewed coffee. Top each cup with 1/4 of the milk mixture and serve. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Per my changes, per serving:
Calories 80
Carbs 13
Fat 2
Protein 4
Fiber 1
Sodium 78

Not quite as good as Starbucks, but it does the trick. I found that the spices stayed a bit powdery and I might try to find cinnamon extract next time around. Also, make sure you heat to a simmer for a few mins - this will help infuse the spices with the milk and make the drink less powdery. Using a fuller fat milk, or half milk and half cream would make it SO rich and creamy, but obviously it would increase the calories and fat substantially. Since I'm a soy-drinker anyway, this was fine for me. Would also be SUPER tasty with half a mug of chai tea I think I might try that next since I love soy-chai fogs this time of year...

Other ways I have pumpkin every day...

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal (had this today for breakfast)

1/3 cup old fashion oats
2/3 cup water
cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to taste
1 packet splenda/stevia (if desired)
1/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Cook the oats and water in the microwave on high for 1 min. Mix in spices and sweetener to taste. Return to microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in pumpkin until combined. Fold in cold greek yogurt, just until ribboned (I like to taste it separately from the oatmeal but in every bite - I am picky like this, but do it however you like). Drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy! If I don't have greek yogurt, sometimes I'll use cottage cheese or 1% plain yogurt. It all tastes good!

Later today I am going to try the pumpkin + homemade chili combination! Mmmm so much pumpkin :bigsmile:

Grokette

PUMPKIN SAUSAGE SOUP
serves 6

ingredients:
1-1.25 lbs bulk breakfast sausage - I make my own sausage, but you could use Jimmy Dean or some other sausage
1/2 a large onion, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 small cooking pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (or one 15-oz can of pumpkin)
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
pinch of dried rosemary
1 tsp paprika
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp sea salt or to taste
2 T butter or some other more paleo cooking fat - I like to use Coconut Oil
1/2 cup coconut milk

Heat the butter in a heavy deep pot and saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until golden. Remove from the pot to a small bowl, leaving the butter. Add the onions to the pot and saute them until golden, then remove them to a separate bowl. Add the sausage to the pot and brown it until it is cooked through and looks tasty. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside.

Add the pumpkin to the pot and deglaze with the chicken stock. Add the onions back in and simmer until the pumpkin is soft, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup (a hand blender is easiest, but a regular blender will do). Add in all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk (don't forget to add in the cooked mushrooms and sausage!), and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk.

---

That's the hard way to make the soup. The easy way is to cook the onions, mushrooms and sausage all together at once and use canned pumpkin, saving some steps and a dirty blender. The easy way makes perfectly fine soup, but it won't have the same layers of texture and flavor that the harder version does.

jessmomof3

Amazing pumpkin butterscotch pudding! It's like the pumpkin pie filling but a LOT less calories! Skip the crust, that's where a TON of calories and fat are hidden!

I added this as Jess's homemade pumpkin butterscotch pudding if anyone is interested!


Ingredients:



Libby Canned Pumpkin--30 oz can, 3.5 cup
Meijer All Natural Nonfat Plain Yogurt, 1 cup
Almond Milk - Silk Pure Almond (Original), (you can use skim milk if desired)
Jello Fat Free Sugar Free Butterscotch Instant Pudding Mix, 1 box
1 tsp. cinnamon + 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice + sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves (or more spices if desired!)




Mix together well. I added it all to the blender to make it extra creamy. Top w/ extra cinnamon and a few walnuts or fat free Reddi whip if desired.



Butterscotch Pumpkin Pudding


8 Servings

Amount Per Serving (calculated at Sparkrecipes.com)


Calories 77.5



Total Fat 0.8



Saturated Fat 0.0

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1

Monounsaturated Fat 0.2

Cholesterol 1.3

Sodium 128.1

Potassium 96.3



Total Carbohydrate 12.8

Dietary Fiber 4.5

Sugars 6.6

Protein 3.5


Vitamin A 264.8 %

Vitamin B-12 0.0 %

Vitamin B-6 0.0 %

Vitamin C 1.8 %

Vitamin D 3.1 %

Vitamin E 9.8 %

Calcium 9.3 %

Copper 0.3 %

Folate 0.0 %

Iron 4.0 %

Magnesium 0.5 %

Manganese 0.8 %

Niacin 0.0 %

Pantothenic Acid 0.0 %

Phosphorus 0.8 %

Riboflavin 0.3 %

Selenium 0.0 %

Thiamin 0.0 %

Zinc 0.3 %

inskydiamonds

NAME OF RECIPE: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Muffins/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS:
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a muffin tin.

2. Mix oil, sugar, and eggs in a bowl with a spoon. When mixed, incorporate the pumpkin puree and water. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. When combined, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Mix well to make sure it's all combined; add chocolate chips.

3. Spoon mixture into the muffin tins. I use an ice cream scoop, which always ends up being the right amount. You want the cups to be 2/3 full.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 210 calories, 32 carbs, 8 fat, 4 protein, 2 fiber, 133 sodium

HOW MANY IT SERVES: 12

OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: I made these last night but didn't eat one until this morning for breakfast. I stuck it in the microwave first to recreate that fresh-baked treat. I know this isn't the healthiest thing I could have made, but my sweet tooth has been acting up lately so I decided to fulfill it. The muffin is about the same amount of calories as a smoothie, so it still works perfectly for me for breakfast. They taste DELICIOUS. The pumpkin and chocolate together is SO good. And now there's breakfast for a week, so long as the boyfriend doesn't start sneaking them out of the kitchen.

PICTURE (optional):

meagalayne

NAME OF RECIPE: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Muffins/Detail.aspx)

I saw this while I was searching yesterday... Looks SO good!! I wish I could bake just one - having them in the house would be bad news, for sure!

inskydiamonds

NAME OF RECIPE: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Muffins/Detail.aspx)

I saw this while I was searching yesterday... Looks SO good!! I wish I could bake just one - having them in the house would be bad news, for sure!

You could make half the serving! OR MAKE THEM AND GIVE THEM AWAY AS GIFTS!
They're seriously yum.

inskydiamonds

Don't forget to enter this! You have until Saturday night!
I'm probably going to be late getting the voting up and the new challenge up, because I'll be doing Thanksgiving number two with my boyfriend's family. BUT it will be up Saturday, so get those pumpkin recipes in before then!

SusanRN2b

oh i actually tried making a pumpkin casserole last week!
i tried to combine these two recipes using food i already had at home:

http://webesharin.com/2007/11/05/pumpkin-casserole/
http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/baked_pumpkin_casserole.htm

NAME OF RECIPE: Pumpkin Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

1 29oz can of Libby's Pumpkin
1 cup light vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup almonds (crushed)
3 eggs
3 Tbsp blue agave sweetener
2 Tbsp promise light butter
what else did i use... just any pumpkin pie spices you think would be good, i had a pumpkin pie spice mix from trader joe's

whole almonds to decorate the top

feel free to change the ingredients as you see fit, this is just what i did.

DIRECTIONS:

mix all of it except the whole almonds in a bowl, put in a casserole dish.
then decorate the top with the whole nuts!
bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes depending on your oven.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 152
HOW MANY IT SERVES: depends on how you cut it. i cut the whole thing into 9 pieces of about equal size
OPINIONS ON HOW IT TASTED, ETC: i liked it a lot! a little too almondy for me, but it's a great pumpkin pie substitute. or at least i'm going to make it for my family for thanksgiving! but this time i will use pecans instead of almonds, as i like them better.
PICTURE (optional):

Hey Double!

I just want to know where you got your before & after graphic. It's neat!

Susan

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the recipes!

JensLogin

Bump... too yummy!

inskydiamonds

Join the challenge before tomorrow night!

inskydiamonds

Vote for the best pumpkin recipe! You have until Wednesday the 1st at 5PM PST to get the votes in!

http://www.scribbld.com/customview.cgi?user=whiskey&styleid=27146

maeadair

PUMPKIN SAUSAGE SOUP
serves 6

ingredients:
1-1.25 lbs bulk breakfast sausage - I make my own sausage, but you could use Jimmy Dean or some other sausage
1/2 a large onion, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 small cooking pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (or one 15-oz can of pumpkin)
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
pinch of dried rosemary
1 tsp paprika
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp sea salt or to taste
2 T butter or some other more paleo cooking fat - I like to use Coconut Oil
1/2 cup coconut milk

Heat the butter in a heavy deep pot and saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until golden. Remove from the pot to a small bowl, leaving the butter. Add the onions to the pot and saute them until golden, then remove them to a separate bowl. Add the sausage to the pot and brown it until it is cooked through and looks tasty. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside.

Add the pumpkin to the pot and deglaze with the chicken stock. Add the onions back in and simmer until the pumpkin is soft, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup (a hand blender is easiest, but a regular blender will do). Add in all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk (don't forget to add in the cooked mushrooms and sausage!), and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk.

---

That's the hard way to make the soup. The easy way is to cook the onions, mushrooms and sausage all together at once and use canned pumpkin, saving some steps and a dirty blender. The easy way makes perfectly fine soup, but it won't have the same layers of texture and flavor that the harder version does.

What is the damage?...Calories per what size serving?

maeadair

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (pure pumpkin)
1 egg
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp vinegar

Mix the wet ingredients and stir. Combine the dry ingredients and stir into the wet just until combined. If batter is too thick, add more milk. Make as normal pancakes. Serves 4.

We love pancakes! What are the values....Calories, carbs etc ? Do you know?

Grokette

PUMPKIN SAUSAGE SOUP
serves 6

ingredients:
1-1.25 lbs bulk breakfast sausage - I make my own sausage, but you could use Jimmy Dean or some other sausage
1/2 a large onion, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 small cooking pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (or one 15-oz can of pumpkin)
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
pinch of dried rosemary
1 tsp paprika
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp sea salt or to taste
2 T butter or some other more paleo cooking fat - I like to use Coconut Oil
1/2 cup coconut milk

Heat the butter in a heavy deep pot and saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until golden. Remove from the pot to a small bowl, leaving the butter. Add the onions to the pot and saute them until golden, then remove them to a separate bowl. Add the sausage to the pot and brown it until it is cooked through and looks tasty. Remove the sausage from the pot and set aside.

Add the pumpkin to the pot and deglaze with the chicken stock. Add the onions back in and simmer until the pumpkin is soft, about 10 minutes. Puree the soup (a hand blender is easiest, but a regular blender will do). Add in all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk (don't forget to add in the cooked mushrooms and sausage!), and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk.

---

That's the hard way to make the soup. The easy way is to cook the onions, mushrooms and sausage all together at once and use canned pumpkin, saving some steps and a dirty blender. The easy way makes perfectly fine soup, but it won't have the same layers of texture and flavor that the harder version does.

What is the damage?...Calories per what size serving?

I will have to calculate it from the recipe converter and then re-post it. I don't count calories, only carbs (and I do that loosely) since I don't eat packaged or processed foods. Typically, I just eat since going "Paleo" style and you are eating local and organic foods........

inskydiamonds

Make sure you vote before Wednesday 5PM PST!

jchapman1957

I know it's too late to enter the challenge, but here is a recipe that has helped get through the past week without craving pumpkin pie. MFP recipe database had this at 118 calories/serving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding (Low Calorie)

2 boxes Jello Instant Sugar & Fat Free Cheesecake Pudding Mix
1 can pumpkin (16 oz)
3 cups skim milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 each Honey Graham Cracker (Low Fat)
16 tbs Cool Whip Lite

1. Blend 1st 5 ingredients in blender for 2 minutes. Pour into 32 oz container and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve with 1/2 low fat graham cracker crumbled on top and 2 tablespoons No Fat or Lite Cool Whip.

Servings: 8

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (6.6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 148.01
Calories From Fat (15%) 21.86
% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.53g 4%
Saturated Fat 2.15g 11%
Cholesterol 1.84mg <1%
Sodium 528.91mg 22%
Potassium 273.79mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 27.62g 9%
Fiber 2.32g 9%
Sugar 10.54g
Protein 4.3g 9%

inskydiamonds

Voting will be closed tonight at 5PM! Make sure you vote!