Pumpkin Pie (with recipe)

Thing #4 desperately wanted to make pumpkin pies this weekend, so we indulged him!  This comes at the perfect time for the season anyway, so we thought we would share our recipe with you!

I got our recipe from our local Co-op and it's always a hit!

This recipe calls for pumpkin puree.  If you want to used canned, that is fine too, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin (as we usually do) - buy 1 or 2 baking pumpkins, cut in half, scoop out the center (save the seeds for roasting later!) and lay flat in a baking dish with a bit of water in the bottom and bake at 400 for 35-45 minutes or until a fork is easily inserted into the flesh of the pumpkin.  Scoop the pumpkin out of the skin and into a blender to make your puree.  You would be surprised the added flavor this adds to your pies!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 Cups (or one 15oz can) pumpkin puree (can substitute butternut squash if you prefer)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup Half & Half
• 1/3 Cup Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 9-inch Homemade Pie Crust or pre-made frozen pie crust
• Whipped Cream for Topping

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth - if you don't have a blender, you can use a large bowl and beat with a mixer.
• Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 for 15 minutes
• Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before slicing.

Children are always closely supervised
While cooking and baking in the
Brownifer kitchen.  Especially
when fire is involved.

We let our whipped topping sit on the counter and come to room temperature while the pie was cooling, then spooned it into a piping bag to make the whipped topping look pretty :-) 

The kids have fun making this, it's nice and simple and though I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, I'm told it's amazing! 

We doubled the recipe for two pies and had some filling left over, so we poured it into ramekins and baked it with the pies in the oven.  When it cooled, we sprinkled it with sugar and torched the sugar like you would for a creme brulee.  We have organic sugar that isn't very fine, so it didn't torch so well.  It was sort of a fail, but it tasted good and they ate it, so .... is it really a fail?  :-)

We'll be making plenty more of these this season, they go FAST!

Creamy Butternut Squash Linguine

Jen was in the kitchen again last night!  This is a recipe I found online, this is the second time I've made it and we just love it.  Disclaimer:  I hate squash.  And I love this pasta!

This can be made vegetarian or vegan, totally up to you.  I made one plate vegan with no cheese and ate a little more with cheese .... I prefer vegetarian honestly :-)

So here ya go!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 pound butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups) - I use 1/2 of a large butternut squash - freeze the other half to make another batch later!
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (up to ¼ teaspoon for spicier pasta sauce)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine or fettucine
• Optional additional garnishes: shaved Parmesan or Pecorino and/or smoked salt

Directions:

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the sage and toss to coat. Let the sage get crispy before transferring it to a small bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and set the bowl aside.
2. Add the squash, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. (I've never actually had to use the extra water - but you never know)
4. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, but keep the skillet handy. Purée the mixture until smooth (beware of hot steam escaping from the top of the blender), then season with salt and pepper until the flavors sing. I add a pinch of cumin during this stage - always makes the flavor pop!
5. In the reserved skillet, combine the pasta, squash purée and ¼ cup cooking liquid. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding more pasta cooking water as needed, until the sauce coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with fried sage, more black pepper and shaved Parmesan/Pecorino and/or smoked salt, if desired.

Thing #2 is adventurous with food, he tried this and loved it!  It's probably a bit spicy for the younger littles, but we could always leave the pepper flakes out and see if they would eat it!?  Maybe they would believe it was cheese....hmmm......

I found this recipe online, so I want to share the link here to give credit where credit is due!

http://cookieandkate.com/2014/creamy-vegan-butternut-squash-linguine-with-fried-sage/