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Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Holy cow, this is so yummy. It definitely tastes like a pumpkin milkshake, but it's actually really healthy and filling. I've seen a lot of different recipes for this floating around Pinterest, so I sort of combined elements of those with what I like in my usual smoothies, and threw together my own recipe. This would be really good with butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix, too.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
makes 1 large smoothie
Ingredients:
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
a hand full of ice cubes
1/4 cup dry oats
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional- makes it more filling)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 packet Jello Sugar Free White Chocolate Pudding mix
1/4-1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk (to consistency)
Throw all ingredients in blender and blend until it's the consistency you like. Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
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Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal:
This is another recipe I sort of just threw together this morning. It was so lovely outside, so I decided to grab my (pumpkin spice) coffee and a bowl of pumpkin pie oatmeal and dig through some cookbooks for some nice, warm, comfort foods to cook this week. (BTW- does anyone else find that they have a TON of cookbooks, but get their recipes mostly from Pinterest? I had forgotten how much I love just sitting and reading cookbooks!) This is another really filling breakfast, and perfect for chilly mornings! I think I'm going to make a big batch to take to work for breakfasts throughout the week.
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
1/2 cup instant dry oats
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp brown sugar
splash of almond milk
1. Stir together oats and water in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes.
2. Spoon pumpkin and brown sugar on top of oats and cook another 30-45 seconds, until brown sugar starts to melt.
3. Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and almond milk. Enjoy!
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Biscoff Cookie Pumpkin Bread
*I totally forgot to take a picture of this. I found the recipe on another blog, but with copyrights and stuff, I'm not sure if I can use their pictures...not sure how that works. I don't want to be a copyright infringer, so look here for the original recipe and pictures! Hers are probably better than mine, anyway!*
We have the sweetest neighbors ever. You see, Garrett adopted my crazy pup when I moved in. Rocky is a sweet, adorable, loving dog, but has a bit of separation anxiety, which worsened when we moved here. Let's just say a couple of windows, a bathroom door, and some fishing poles have been harmed while Garrett and I were out running errands (on more than one occasion). After a lot of brainstorming (and trial and error), we ended up building Rocky a pretty sweet shaded pen in the backyard (and when I say "pen," I mean bigger than some bedrooms I've had). Our neighbors moved in shortly after I did, and just happen to LOVE dogs. They lost 3 doggies in one year to old age, and couldn't bring themselves to go through that pain again so they never got a new dog. One day, our neighbors talked to Garrett and ASKED if they could watch Rocky sometime. They watched him for a couple of weekends when we went out of town, and then ASKED if they could come over and get him during the day when we're at work! Lonely pup in need of ear scratches and belly rubs + super-sweet doggy-loving neighbors who love giving pup attention all day = win-win situation. Our neighbors always tell us how much they love Rocky, but we are SO grateful to have such loving sweet people to watch him for us when we're gone! I think it's just as good for Rocky as it is for them!
Last week I wanted to take them a small thank-you gift. I decided to bake them something special and had been wanting to try this recipe for awhile (how can you go wrong with Biscoff cookies and pumpkin?!?!). I doubled the recipe and took a loaf next door, and kept a loaf for us (and by us, I mean me, since I think I ate the whole loaf, minus the one bite I made Garrett try). If you make any pumpkin bread this fall, make this one. Holy cow. So delicious.
Biscoff Cookie Pumpkin Bread
makes one loaf
recipe courtesy of Will Cook for Smiles
Ingredients:
FOR THE BREAD:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup Biscoff cookie crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice (I used a heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of the 3 spices)
STREUSEL TOPPING:
1/2 cup Biscoff cookie crumbs
1/2 stick butter, cold
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan.
2. For cookie crumbs: pulse half a package of Biscoff cookies in food processor until you get fine crumbs. (Or do what I did and put them in a Ziplock baggie and pound the heck out of them with the can of pumpkin).
3.. Whisk wet ingredients and brown sugar together in a bowl until smooth.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into the wet mixture. Add cookie crumbs and whisk until incorporated.
5. Pour batter into pan, spreading evenly.
6. For the streusel: pulse cold butter, cookie crumbs and cinnamon in a food processor until crumbly. (Or do what I did and cut the butter into cubes and cut cookie crumbs and cinnamon in with a pastry cutter/fork). Sprinkle crumbs evenly over the batter.
7. Bake 55-60 minutes and cool on wire rack (if you can wait that long). Remove from pan and eat the whole loaf eat a small slice. :)
I hope you enjoy these pumpkin recipes as much as I do! This week since it's getting chilly (for Florida) I'm making a couple of different soups and a pasta dish that will be some nice, yummy comfort food. I'll share those recipes later this week. :)
