Pumpkin-palooza!!!!

In honor of the temperatures hitting the high 50's this morning (it's practically about to snow!), I wanted to share a few pumpkin recipes I've made the past couple of weeks!  The first two are real-life breakfast recipes....Pumpkin Pie Smoothies and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.  The third, Biscoff Cookie Pumpkin Bread, I like to pretend it's a breakfast food.  Yes, it's basically a loaf-shaped cake with cookies on top.  But it's called "bread," and bread is totally acceptable for breakfast.  
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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. :)  

PUMPKIN! PUMPKIN! PUMPKIN!

We're all going to turn into pumpkins.  At least the pup and I.  Wait.  He already did.   

Don't you LOVE his pumpkin suit??  That was his Halloween costume last year.  It's almost time to dig it out again! 

This time last year, BFF Michael and I were in Savannah. 

Yes, we took a Martini Tour.  It was amazing. 

My favorite place in the whole world.  And October is my favorite time of the year to be there.  While we were there, the city was hosting Wag-O-Ween.  Everyone in Savannah dressed their pups in costumes and trick-or-treated around the historic district for doggie treats.  I was DYING and squealing "omigosh! Michael!  Look at that doggy!"  Michael was not so ecstatic.  He just rolled his eyes in that special way he does and said "Oh God...."  We both know I'm a little crazy.  And that's why he loves me.

So when I got back home to Florida, I immediately decided Rocky needed a Halloween costume.  I was sad Bradenton didn't have a Wag-O-Ween.  Rocky was a little sad too.  But he dutifully dressed in his pumpkin suit and greeted all of our trick-or-treaters like the happy, excited pup that he is. 

This year, this pumpkin suit is going to get some public exposure.  There are a few doggy-ween events here in Tampa over the next couple of weekends, and you can bet Rocky is going to be making an appearance.  Alert the paparazzi.

Until Rocky can actually be a pumpkin, we're going to make do with just eating lots and lots of it.  It sounds gross, but I can eat pumpkin out of a can with a spoon.  Michael is rolling his eyes right now.  Mmmhmm.

I have a couple of other friends who are pumpkin fananatics too.  My friend/baking buddy Ali likes to send me links to recipes.  Lots of them.  I love it!  Last night she sent me a link to a recipe for pumpkin pie oatmeal.  Uhm, excuse me?  Yes, please.  It looked amaaaazing.  I made a few modifications this morning when I made it.  I think soymilk is weird.  And I'm not a huge maple fan so I don't keep maple syrup on hand, but I made do and had the most AMAZING breakfast this morning.  Rocky got a treat when I dropped the can of pumpkin and it splattered EVERYWHERE.  I was about to grab a wad of paper towels to clean it off myself/the floor/the walls/the fridge/the ceiling/the stove/the cabinets when he came in and went to work on the floor.  And my feet (yuck).  So he got most of it off the floor.  I had to scoop it out of my hair (wtf?) and off my face and elbows (again, wtf? how did it get THERE?) and the higher surfaces Rocky couldn't reach, but he took care of the floor for me.  My boy LURVES pumpkin.  Just like his momma.  Luckily I was able to salvage almost half a can of the remaining pumpkin.  Thank God.

If you want the original recipe for the oatmeal, click above.  That version is vegan.  I used real milk in mine.  And that version also says this is one serving.   Sure.  For a lumberjack.  It's definitely 2.  2 HUGE servings.  So here's my recipe:

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Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

adapted from The Family Kitchen

makes 2 servings (or 1 for a lumberjack)

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup milk

2/3 cup water

pinch of salt

2 tsp sugar (I used Splenda)

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 tbsp liquid coffee creamer (I used sweet cream flavored, but get creative!)

Put oats, water, milk, and salt in a medium saucepan and heat on low-med heat.  While heating, stir in pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and sugar.

Stir, stir, stir, until it comes together and oats are cooked.  I used quick cook oats, so this took about 1-2 minutes. 

Spoon into bowls and top with 1 tbsp each of coffee creamer.  Yum! 

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And yes, Rocky licked the bowl when I was done eating.

P.S. Like my new blog design?  It needed a little face lift.  Thanks to Ali and her fab photography skills for my new pic. 

Black Bean Soup, Pumpkin (Finally!), and Drag Queens

Eeek!  It's been a few days since I've written.  Boooo me.  I've actually had a pretty busy week, which is unusual.  I normally come home from work and sit on my butt, watch TV, eat dinner, go to bed.  Not this week!  Tuesday night, I baked up something yummy with pumpkin (I couldn't wait any longer!), and last night, I had an experience that involved drag queens, twinkies, and fugitivies.  But more on that later. 

First, I have to tell you about the best black bean soup I have ever had.  My friend Sherry brought some black bean soup to work Monday for her lunch.  (I don't usually put whole names, I know, but she TOTALLY gets credit here.)  I told her how good it smelled and she asked J- and I if we wanted to try some.  We practically ran over each other to get to our desks to grab a plastic spoon.  Wow.  It was wonderful!  Smoky, perfectly spicy, not too soupy (not a huge fan of soupy-soups). 

As a side note, let me say that I'm a connoisseur of black beans.  I think I'm secretly part Cuban.  I have tried my fair share of black beans/black bean soups, and when I tell you this is the best I've ever had, I MEAN IT!!! 

Anyway.  Sherry's black bean soup got such a reaction out of J- and I that she brought in a whole crock pot of it for us the next day!  (We are lucky little worker bees to have such a cool boss!)  I ate a bowl of it for BREAKFAST.  And another bowl for lunch.  And another bowl after that.  I would've eaten another bowl but it was all gone.  J- so kindly brought some Cuban Bread and Corn Muffins to go along with the soup, and I crumbled a Corn Muffin in one bowl and it was OUTSTANDING.  Although this soup is just amazing on its own and doesn't need a corn muffin.  I asked Sherry if I could share her recipe on my blog.  And she said "of course!"  So.  Here is my very first guest recipe! 

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Sherry's Super-Duper Amazing Best Black Bean Soup in the Whole World

2 cans of black beans (one drained and rinsed, one not)

1 onion

One bag of sliced carrots

1 can of jalapenos, chopped (save the juice) 

1 package of diced ham

1/2 cup chicken stock

salsa

1.  Caramelize onions in a skillet with butter olive oil.

2.  Drain one can of black beans and add to large pot (or crock pot).  Add the other can of beans with the sauce from the can. 

4.  Add in diced ham, onions, jalapenos, carrots, and jalapeno juice. 

5.  Add in chicken stock. 

6.  Simmer for a few hours.  (Sherry cooked hers overnight in a cast iron pot, and then brought it to work in a Crock Pot).

7.  Stir in a couple of spoonfulls of salsa and let cook for a bit longer.  

8.  Get a big bowl and eat a whole bunch of this amazing soup!  

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TRY IT.  YOU WILL LOVE IT (especially if you're secretly Cuban like me). 

So after all the beans I ate Tuesday, I was in the mood for some PUMPKIN.  I've been trying to hold out and wait until it's cold before I started on my fall baking, but I couldn't do it.  Florida weather sucks and it's still 90 degrees here.  My family in Missouri and Illinois and friend in Indiana all told me it's such nice fall weather up there.  It even got down into the 30's this morning in Chicago.  Sigh.  I hate fall in Florida. 

Needless to say, I couldn't wait another month to make something with pumpkin.  I didn't have any cream cheese, so I couldn't make pumpkin bread or pumpkin cake (it's not right without cream cheese icing).  I was in the mood for something with a crumble topping, so I googled recipes for pumpkin crumble bars.  And found this little gem from Sweet Sista'.  Yay!  Another blog for me to read!!!  This recipe looked perfect the way it was, so I didn't make any alterations.  Except I left out the nuts.  Not because I don't like nuts, I just didn't have any.  I didn't take any pictures- sorry- but my pictures aren't that great anyway so you're not missing much.  I took these to work the next day and everyone loved them.  Maybe everyone else is in the fall mood too.  You just can't help but want some pumpkin in the fall. 

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Pumpkin Crumble Bars

from Sweet Sista'

For the base and topping:

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temp

For the filling:

2 cups canned pumpkin (I used one 15 oz can and it worked fine)

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.

2.  Combine ingredients for the base.  Beat with a hand mixer until crumbly.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the greased baking pan.

3.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

4.  Prepare the filling.  Beat all ingredients until well blended.  Spread over crust and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake for 25 minutes at 375.  Cool and cut into bars. 

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So last night, I had quite an adventure.  I met a really nice girl B- at my book club Sunday, who told us she was going to Drag Queen Bingo on Wednesday night.  She invited us to come along and of course I couldn't miss that!  I had been once before and it was a blast!  Sherry came with me too!  Drag Queen Bingo is hosted by Hamburger Mary's in Ybor City, every Wednesday night.  Before I went, of course I had to look up their menu. I was drooling.  Their burgers look fantastic (even if they are 15 bucks...) but their desserts looked the BEST.  Everything was fried!  Fried cheesecake, fried brownie bites, fried bananas foster...fried TWINKIES?  Uhmm....excuse me?  Wow. 

So when you go to this particular Drag Queen Bingo, you buy a bingo card for $10.  There are 10 games of Bingo with different patterns you have to get for a Bingo (and they have hilarious names, which I cannot repeat here).  I figured the prizes would be something kind of silly- but they were really great!  (And of course I didn't win any).  A tequila gift basket, a $150 gas card, 2 nights stay at a resort, a massage package, concert tickets....nice!  And all of the proceeds go to a non-profit, so it's all for a good cause! 

You know I had to try those fried twinkies, but first Sherry and I shared some fried mac and cheese.  Yum!  Not quite as good as the fried mac and cheese at Cheesecake Factory, but pretty close.  Then a big burly man came up to our table with a plate and said, in a very monotone voice, "Did someone order some Twinkies?"  And I screeched "meeeee!"  Ohmigod.  Sherry could only eat a few bites and she was done.  Yes, they were rich.  I ate every last bite.  The cream kind of melts into the rest of the twinkie when it hits the deep fryer.  They had a raspberry sauce around them and some whipped cream.  Ohmigod.  I can't stop saying that.  They were crisp and hot and gooey.  Ahhhh!   I was practically licking the plate. 

So Bingo wasn't a success, as far as prizes go, but Sherry and I had a mission.  A particular friend is a police officer (who shall remain unnamed) and had us on the lookout for a drag queen (who shall also remain unnamed) who is wanted for a certain crime (which shall remain unnamed).  We had a mission to find this drag queen and we were sent a mug shot to compare with.  First of all, in the mug shot "she" was in man form, but with eyeliner.  No wig, no other makeup.  Just a pretty man with eyeliner.  Well you all know drag queens go all out with their hair and makeup, girl.  So it was a little hard to find Ms Fugitive Tranny.  I thought I found her and tried to get a picture, but it was all blurry and she was making some scary face into the camera.  I sent it to Police Officer Friend and I haven't gotten a response, so maybe Sherry and I shouldn't quit our day jobs to become bounty hunters....Weekly Bingo players?  Definitely.