Two Recipes, One Can of Pumpkin

For some reason, the arrival of fall triggers something in my brain that tells me I HAVE to eat pumpkin.  Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie.  This afternoon was gorgeous.  Balmy temperatures in the low 80s aren't really the beacons of fall for most people, but in Houston, they are!  Dinobaby and I spent the afternoon together (as if we don't spend every afternoon together) and enjoyed the breeze and sunshine.  On the drive home, I picked up my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and, once Dinobaby was sweetly napping, I savored every bit of that thing!

While baby was sleeping, I set out to think of ways to use up the canned pumpkin that I'd just stocked in the pantry.  Of course I could have baked, but I wanted something less time consuming and maybe a bit healthier, so here we have a snack time recipe and something for dinner.  Two (three?) recipes, one can of pureed pumpkin.


Spiced Pumpkin Dessert Pizzas

You'll need:

• Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread (recipe below)
• 2 Whole wheat English muffins
• Apple, grated or thinly sliced
  
• Golden raisins
• Cinnamon
• Brown sugar
• Pumpkin seeds
  
• Walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:
Toast English muffins to your desired crunchiness.  Lately I've been toasting them whole, then again after separating the two sides, but make them as toasty as you like.

Spread each half with Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread then top with any combination of your favorite toppings.  Apple and cinnamon.  Brown sugar and pumpkin seeds with the sugar melted under the broiler.  Walnuts and raisins.

I thought it would be cute and more fun for kiddos to grate the apple since I'm calling these dessert pizzas -- you've got your pumpkin 'sauce' and apples stand in for the mozzarella.  Top it off with any combination of goodies and enjoy!  

Serves 4, with leftover pumpkin spread for later in the week.

Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread Enjoy as a dip for apples, pretzels, etc. too!

• 5 oz. reduced fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 3 Tbs. pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
• 2 Tbs. pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

Blend all ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth and the spices and pumpkin are well incorporated.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

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For dinner, I used up the remaining pumpkin puree with this tasty, yet heavily modified recipe from the Whole Foods website.  It worked well as a base recipe for experimentation and the results garnered a 10/10 from my husband ("As in, I'd eat this everyday.")!

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

The reviews complained that the chili lacked enough spice, so I nearly tripled the amount of chili powder (I didn't have jalapeños on hand), doubled the cumin, and added some garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, and a dash of cinnamon.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, simple guacamole, or chips.  If you test this one out, I'd encourage you to spice and taste until you find the most pleasing mix of flavors.  I was happy that I did.