Pumpkin Pancake and Pumpkin Butter Recipe

pumpkin pancakes.
Originally uploaded by msconnections

Remember this for: Pancake Day & National Pumpkin Month

Guys I really enjoy this meal & found a photo of exactly how I like to eat it too. For some reason I only eat this during the Fall season but I really should eat it more this winter. This photo by msconnections is showing it served with cottage cheese & pumpkin butter. I like it that way and I like it with whipped cream, pumpkin butter and pecans too.

Pumpkin Butter Recipe

• 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. 2. Transfer to sterile containers and chill in the refrigerator until serving.
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Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
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Old-Time Tuna Bake

Old-Time Tuna Bake
Originally uploaded by Pillsbury.com

October is National Pasta Month:

Tuna bake is one of my favorite pasta dishes so I wanted to be sure to post it in honor of National Pasta Month.  

There are hundreds of different shapes of pasta with at least locally recognised names. Examples include spaghetti (thin strings), maccheroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), and lasagne (sheets). Gnocchi and spätzle are sometimes considered pasta; they are both traditional in parts of Italy.

Old-Time Tuna Bake

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles (8 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen sweet peas
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk or 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 cans (5 oz each) tuna in water, drained, flaked
• 1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions

DIRECTIONS
1 .Cook noodles as directed on package, adding peas during last minute of cooking time; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 2-quart casserole, mix soup, milk, dried onion and seasoned salt.
3. Stir cooked noodles and tuna into soup mixture. Cover; bake 30 minutes.
4. Uncover; stir mixture well. Sprinkle with French-fried onions. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes longer or until onions are golden brown.
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Chocolate Halloween Pretzels Recipe

Chocolate Halloween Pretzels Recipe
Originally uploaded by Pillsbury.com

This easy recipe is in honor of Halloween and National Chocolate Day. National Chocolate Day is celebrated on October 28th each and every year.

Pretzels

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Icing

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 teaspoons shortening
• Assorted Halloween candy sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, combine sugar and butter; beat until well blended. Add almond extract and egg; blend well. Add flour and cocoa; mix well.

2. Shape dough into 6-inch-long roll. Cut roll into 6 slices; cut each slice into quarters. For each pretzel, shape 1 dough quarter into 10-inch-long rope. Shape rope into U-shape; cross ends and place over bottom of U to form pretzel. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake at 325°F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until set and firm to the touch. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled.

4. In small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Stir; continue microwaving, stirring every 10 seconds, until chocolate is melted and can be stirred smooth. Dip tops of pretzels in chocolate. Sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Refrigerate 10 minutes or until chocolate is set before storing.
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A Toast To All Things Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Mug

October 
October is National Pumpkin Month, October 26 is National Pumpkin Day & since we're in the last week of the month, it's our last change to make a toast to all things pumpkin. So raise your cups everyone!

We are about to say goodbye 
to October and say hello to November. I for one wish it didn't have to go yet. I just love seeing all the jack-o-lanterns all lit up. Even though pumpkins are still part of the Thanksgiving season in November, it's the end of National Pumpkin Month for October. So this post is in honor of the pumpkin.

As I mentioned on my website... The pumpkin is very versitile. We enjoy growing them in our gardens, we paint and decorate them, we carve them and we enjoy their ornimental fashions in our yards. We cook pumpkin soup, we bake them in the over and eat along side other meat and veggies, we even make sweet pies and pastries with them. We treat ourselves with roasted pumpkin seeds too. We play games with pumpkins and we place pumpkin on our porches and in our window sills. Why we even drink pumpkin spice coffees and milkshakes too. What would the Fall Season be without it? So here's to you pumpkin. We toast you.
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Pumpkin Spice Latte

• 3 cups hot whole milk
• 4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 6 ounces double-strength brewed coffee
• 3 tablespoons sweetened whipped cream
• 3 pinches pumpkin pie spice

Combine the hot milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice in a blender; blend until frothy. Pour the mixture into 3 coffee mugs to about 2/3 full. Pour 2 ounces coffee into each mug. Garnish each mug with whipped topping and pumpkin pie spice. 

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Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

• 1/3 C pumpkin, canned 
• 1/4 – 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 t vanilla
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/16 t cloves
• 1/16 t nutmeg
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 C vanilla ice cream
• 1-2 graham crackers

Mix everything all together and gradually add the milk to the thickness you want.
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Nite Nite everyone, Pam

National Bologna Day: My Bologna Meal

Bologna Sandwich

Do you know what Food Holiday it is today? It's National Bologna Day! When I was a kid I couldn't get enough of fried bologna sandwiches just smothered in yellow mustard. If I was eating it for breakfast, Mother would grill the bread for me in the same skillet she fried the bologna in. I would tell my Mother..."smash it down Mother, smash it down." I liked to eat it really hot and flat. giggle~

When I became a teenager I still enjoyed fried bologna sandwiches and we enjoyed preparing them together. We tried them all kinds of ways but we always went back to frying. By the time I was 14 years old I could cook like heck with a black cast iron skillet.ha ha ha! Mother made sure of that. The meat had to be fried though. I was forever saying "I aint eattin' no cold deli piece of bologna." 

My Mother enjoyed fried bologna sandwiches too. There were a many-ah-meals we ate bologna sandwiches together. Even as an adult, when I would go home to Alabama to visit; Mother would make sure she had a pack of bologna in the frig. We always ate the sandwich with a baked potato full of butter and a big glass of sweet milk. Yep it was traditional. There's just something about the combination of bologna, mustard, baked potato and butter with a glass of milk. It's making me want it right now as I type.

Ya know.... I have a fond memory of making this meal with my Mother; even more so now. Mother sadly died this year and it was one of the last meals we shared together. But this time I fixed it for her as she watched. She came to visit me here in Florida and we ate it for lunch one day, right before we went to watch the waves on the beach. At the time I had no idea she was sick but it was the one and only time I fixed it for her. In the past, we always cooked it together. 

It's great to have good memories. Even something as simple as a bologna sandwich can mean so much once time passes. That's why it's important to Live everyday like a holiday. Because one day you too may have a bologna sandwich story to share.
Happy National Bologna Day!  Now go fry some bologna and eat it! Your blog friend, 
Pam 

Here's my links:  

If you want to know more about bologna I have a page on my website. See National Bologna Day.  Now if you want to make your own yellow mustard I have a recipe on my site for that too. For fun: I list the different types of sandwiches. Ya know.. like the bologna sandwich.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Originally uploaded by fakeginger

Hello everyone! This post is in honor of National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day which is celebrated on October 21st every year.

Cheesecake is a real favorite of mine. If it's not to heavy on the spices, I can easily eat 2 slices. Each slice has to have whipped cream topping too. But this post is not about cheesecake is it- Nope- Today I've decided to celebrate this holiday with a pumpkin cheesecake dip instead of a cheesecake cake/pie. Below is a recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

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1 brick (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 – 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (optional)
gingersnaps and/or fresh fruit for serving

Using a mixer, beat cream cheese and pumpkin puree until smooth. Add powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time), pumpkin pie spice, and ginger until combined. If your dip is too thick, add 1 – 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to thin it out. Keep in refrigerator and serve cold. fakeginger
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Happy National Cheesecake Day everyone! Remember this recipe for your Halloween, Autumn or Thanksgiving get-to-gether. Or treat the kids for a after school snack. If you've tried this recipe before, what did you serve it with? Cookies? Apples? Or? Let us know your suggestions.
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Seafood Bisque with a bite

The Crisfield Seafood Restaurant
Originally uploaded by twofishblu

Happy
Seafood Bisque Day!

This is my personal recipe for seafood bisque with a bite. I adapted a easy seafood bisque recipe from.... I think allrecipes.com. I love any cream soup & I love seafood too. I can't make the traditional recipe which uses pureed shells because I'm allergic to the shells. My lips swell up. LOL! So I adapted my own easy, creamy bisque & added a bit of heat... well because I like a bit of heat in my food. But you can leave it out.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of shrimp soup, undiluted
1 can of diced tomatoes or tomato soup
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 (8 ounce) package imitation crabmeat, chopped
2 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
I tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a 3-qt. saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Cooks Note: 

For less heat just leave out the cayenne pepper and hot pepper sauce. If you don't like tomatoes just leave them out. Serve with crusty bread for dipping. (I'm a bread girl so this is A must for me!!)

Chicken Cacciatore Day

Chicken cacciatore
Originally uploaded by judithsweet

October 15 means it's National Chicken Cacciatore Day! Did you know that In cuisine, "alla cacciatora" refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, herbs, often bell pepper, and sometimes wine.

Cacciatore is often served on top of pasta with rustic bread on the side. Add a crisp tossed salad and you have a meal the whole family will love.

A basic cacciatore recipe
usually begins with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil heated in a large frying pan. Chicken parts, dusted with salt and pepper, are seared in the oil for three to four minutes on each side. The chicken is removed from the pan, and most of the fat poured off. The remaining fat is used to fry the onions, mushrooms, peppers or other vegetables for several minutes. A small can of peeled tomatoes (drained of liquid and coarsely chopped) is added to the pan along with some oregano and a half cup of dry red wine. The seared chicken parts are returned to the pan which is then covered. The dish is done after about an hour at a very low simmer. definition by wikipedia

Do you love Chicken Cacciatore?
I know I do! It tastes like spaghetti to me with chicken in it instead of hamburger meat. If I cook it heavy on the bell peppers I like to eat it with rice. If I cook it heavy on the mushroom I like to eat it with pasta. Either way it works but I think traditionally it's served with pasta. Hey that reminds me... October is National Pasta Month too. ~Pam

Do you know what else is celebrated on this day?

National Grouch Day

Sweetest Day

White Cane Safety Day

Pecan Pie Cookies

Pecan Pie Cookies
Originally uploaded by Shutterfool

This recipe is in honor of National Cookie Month & National Cookbook Month which is celebrated every October. These little pecan pie cookies pack the sweet flavors of traditional pecan pie into bit-size jewels. It's perfect for special parties and holiday gatherings. You got-ta stick this one in your holiday cookie recipe collection!


Shout Out: Months of Edible Celebrations (blog) is having a cookbook party and we joined in on the fun! Happy Blogaversary!


Southern Living 2000 Annual Recipes Cookbook
We found many versions of this recipe on the Internet but the one I decided to share was found in Southern Living 2000 Annual Recipes. If you have the cookbook it on page 290. It's a favorite cookie that I make for food gifts during the holiday season and for special family gatherings.


Pecan Pie Cookie Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes
Chill: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Bake: 16 minutes per batch

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
2 large eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Beat 1 cup butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and egg yolks, beating well. Gradually stir in flour; cover and chill 1 hour.
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; stir in powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons corn syrup.
Cook, stirring often, until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans; chill 30 minutes.
Shape pecan mixture by 1/2 teaspoonfuls into 1/4-inch balls; set aside.
Shape cookie dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Beat egg whites until foamy; brush on dough balls.
Bake at 375degrees for 6 minutes. Remove from oven; place pecan balls in center of each cookie. Bake 8 to 10 more minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Freeze up to 1 month, if desired. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen
Patty Vann- Birmingham, Alabama


Personal Note: 
I love this recipe and I also love walnuts. Try making it with walnuts it's just as good. I'v also added cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg sometimes just to change it up. It all works- :)
Also... these cookies look beautiful on a serving platter I kid you not!
Happy National Cookie Month & National Cookbook Month- and remember.... mark your calendars for these holidays plus others like it. (National Cookie Day, celebrated on December 4th) (National Sugar Cookie Day is on July 9).