Pumpkin Yogurt Pudding

I accidentally bought a ridiculously large can of pumpkin not thinking that its primary purpose was to be used in Pumpkin Spice Lattes (2 Tablespoons at a time...). So I tried to find some other recipe besides pumpkin pie, that would use up some of this pumpkin.  I found lots of recipes for pumpkin pudding, but many of them were complicated and used ingredients I didn't have on hand (including tofu??!!), but then I stumbled upon this beaut.

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla yogurt (I had a tub of nonfat plain yogurt and so I added a dash of vanilla and a squeeze of honey)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
cinnamon for sprinkling
whipped cream for topping (clearly optional, but mandatory for me...)

Mix yogurt, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Yummmm.

Tamale Pie

I decided to go out on a limb and out of my comfort zone on this one... This recipe calls for Tempeh, pronounced Tem-pay. It's fermented soybeans and it's actually quite gross-looking, but the original recipe touted it as being high in protein and it should be delicious if prepared properly. (have I sold you on it yet??) Well, have no fear. It really was well-disguised in this recipe and my husband actually ate it. Granted, I didn't tell him there wasn't actually any meat in there... he didn't notice:)


Filling:
1 medium onion
1 8oz package Tempeh crumbled (easiest to grate it)
2 tea. minced garlic
1 tea. chili powder
1/2 tea salt
2 tea. apple cider vinegar
1 tea maple syrup
1 14oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can beans (I used black) drained and rinsed

Crust:
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tea. baking powder
1/4 tea salt
1/2 cup milk
1 T. maple syrup
2 T applesauce
1 cup corn kernels
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Saute onion for 4-5 minutes
• Crumble/grate tempeh into pan and brown 2-3 minutes (yes, this was a bit weird looking... see the original recipe for great step-by-step pics)
• Add garlic, chili, 1/2 tea salt, vinegar, 1 tea. maple syrup, tomato sauce, and beans and simmer for a few minutes
• Transfer to a 2 qt. backing dish.
• In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a liquid measure, combine milk, syrup and applesauce.
• Stir wet ingredients into the dry and add corn.
• Spread mix over baking dish mix and sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until cornbread mix is set and chesse is melty!

This was quite good, but I think I'm going to try it next time with some ground beef just to see what happens.  I think I could even be a bit lazy and used a boxed cornbread mix supplemented with some corn kernels... we shall see.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

So I wanted to make myself a Pumpkin Spiced Latte the other day and realized I was missing a key ingredient... the pumpkin pie spice. Kinda important. So instead of putting real clothes on, getting in the car and either driving to the nearest Starbucks or grocery store, I did some searching and found out that I had all the spices that go into the pumpkin pie spice, so I made my own!

All you need is:

3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Mix all to combine and store in airtight container... or sprinkle a little on your favorite fall beverage!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

I'm a big fan of a fancy-schmancy flavored coffee on a nice, lazy fall Sunday so I can relax and catch-up on my reading, TV watching, blogging, cleaning, etc. I saw many different versions of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte floating around lately and I decided to give my friend's recipe a try. I must say, it was delish.

What you'll need:
1 shot espresso (or about a half a mug of strong coffee)
frothed milk (as much as you want- depending on how Latte you like it)
2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons brown sugar
dash of vanilla
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Mix and In Your Face, you over-priced coffee establishments;)

Ps. if you don't own a milk frother.... you're missing out. It kinda tricks you into thinking you're having whipped cream when you're not. Love.

PPS. Sorry I've been a blogging delinquent. Spending upwards of 20 hours a week coaching water polo PLUS actually trying to do my real job of teaching middle schoolers is a bit exhausting and as you can see, well, time life consuming.

A Dog's Purpose

This story follows a dog through several lifetimes.  Each life leaves the dog with bits of wisdom that he will use in the next lifetime. Each time he comes back into the world, he feels that he has not yet fulfilled his purpose. But he is getting increasingly depressed as he leaves people he loves.   I will not go into detail because there is a lot that happens in this book, but I will tell you that I cried like a baby. I mean, sitting on the couch absolutely sobbing.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that the book ends badly... This just made me look at my dog a bit differently. Like, what is he thinking? Is he having a good life? If he died and came back, would he remember me and think fondly of our time together?

Any dog owner (or animal-lover for that matter) will be able to relate to this book and will probably want to go give their pet a big hug after reading this touching story.

While I highly recommend this book, you've been warned! Come armed with a box of tissues:)

Dinner derailed...

So. I've been rather busy traveling around and I haven't been cooking all that much. So when I came home last night after a long weekend coaching, I decided to pop something in the oven for dinner. Well, that was the plan until I started smelling something quite repulsive. I thought maybe something had dripped to the bottom and was now burning. I kept opening the oven while it was preheating trying to find the source of the offending odor.  I finally looked close enough and saw it... underneath the bottom of the oven....where the gas flames were a-blazing...a bit more than usual. ICK. Really? So that is where the mice were communing. Perfect. Dinner derailed.

I knew I had mice. As much as I'd like to deny it, they popped up after my visit to Boston and we had set traps and finally caught 2.  Then I came home the other day and found my dog 'playing' with a baby mouse. Yuck.  There had been no new evidence of my furry nemeses for a few days until last night's adventure.  Luckily my handy brother was around to show me how to dismantle the oven to remove all the fluffy nesty stuff that I had almost blazed to a fiery inferno. 

So here's a tip. If you go on vacation, make sure to check the oven before you turn it on! Just in case some furry friends decided to take up residence.

Hummus

I love hummus... I've had the store-bought kind and I've had home-made.  I particularly liked the kind my mom makes and I've helped her make it. Not too difficult. IF you own a food processor.  So even though I've known how to make this for some time now, I've never actually owned a food processor and therefore haven't been able to make it.  I just recently remembered that I do in fact own one now and so I whipped this up the other day:)

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans; drained and rinsed
1 tea. minced garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 T. Tahini paste (sesame seed paste often found in the ethnic food aisles near the Mediterranean section)
1 tea. cumin
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 T. olive oil
1/2 tea. salt
1/8 tea. cayenne
1/4 tea. pepper
1/4 tea. paprika

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. This may take several minutes. You may need to add a bit more yogurt to get a smooth consistency.

Serve with toasted pita or fresh veggies:)