Recipe # 37: Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice and Sausage

Fall is all about comfort foods and right in the middle of people's favorite fall comfort foods is all things PUMPKIN. Years ago, my mom found a recipe that she gave to my grandma that has become a fall family favorite. I finally got the recipe and made it for myself.

Ingredients:
Pie pumpkin
Rice
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Pepper

Recipe:
Take a pie pumpkin and clean it out.
Cook rice according to the directions.
Cook ground sausage.
Combine cooked rice and sausage, then mix with cream of mushroom soup.
Add a dash of pepper.
*Add about a 1/4 or 1/2 cup of milk to keep the fixture moist.
Fill the pumpkin with the mixture. Don't fill the pumpkin to the top as the rice will continue to cook and expand.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

Once it's done, scoop out the mixture and the perfectly softened pumpkin along with it. Mmm! Enjoy!

Recipe #33: Iced Pumpkin Cookies

My mom went a little overboard with baking again...I thought we made way too many kinds of cookies, but these, Iced Pumpkin Cookies ended up being my favorite. For the record I was wrong, we should've doubled the recipe.

They are light with the perfect amount of pumpkin and the glaze was perfectly light and sweet. Too bad they're gone, because now I'm craving another. Make them, you won't regret it.

From Gina on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg

Glaze Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Prep: 20 m
Cook: 20 m
Ready In: 1 h 20 m

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Make these, you won't be disappointed! Enjoy!

Recipe # 30: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

I've been tailgating a lot this year and have been waiting to make different things for each. I've also been embracing fall and thus wanting to make desserts with pumpkin. Roughly 3 weeks ago, I made Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze and this time I decided to try pumpkin AND chocolate!!!

I used Pinterest to find this easy recipe. The upside is that it's low fat! The recipe is essentially a boxed Devil's Food cake mix and a can of pumpkin. No eggs, oil or water.

The cake comes out so moist, but slightly crumbly. My friends liked it and so did I. :)

Recipe #29: Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

I had a can of pumpkin and wanted to make an easy cake with purchasing as few extra items as possible. I found a great recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it, as always.

Pumpkin Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
From: Noble Pig Vineyard & Winery

Instructions
1. Empty the contents of the boxed cake mix and pumpkin puree into a large bowl. Using a hand-mixer or stand mixer beat until well incorporated. The batter will be very thick, but will come together nicely.
2. Pour batter into a greased 7 x 11 X 2 pan. This is the small, rectangular-sized pan from your Pyrex set.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake.
4. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, then flip onto a platter.
5. Make the glaze while you're waiting.
6. Combine powdered sugar, apple cider and pumpkin pie spice. Glaze should be thick but pourable. Add more sugar or cider if needed. Pour over the cake while still warm. Reserve some to pour over each slice when served.

My Tweaks
So, my cake seemed too dense, so I added an egg.
I also, decided to make it into a poke cake. I used roughly 8 ounces of apple cider and kept it in it's original pan.

My friends really liked it. Next time, I won't add the egg and will add less liquid as the cake was crumbly. I'll probably tone down on the powdered sugar since it was a bit too sweet.

This weekend, I'll be experimenting using a chocolate cake mix and possibly no glaze, we'll see. :)