Pumpkin Recipes



Shameless excuse to put up a picture
 of my kid at the pumpkin patch



I hosted Bunco at my house this month so I made pumpkin chili for dinner and pecan pumpkin cheese cake for dessert, but a few days earlier I made butternut squash butter (instead of pumpkin butter, but it's made the same exact way.)  Here are the recipes in case you like to use pumpkin as much as I do. In October I made pumpkin bread, pumpkin yogurt, and pumpkin cookies.

Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef 1 large onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/4 cup white sugar



Directions In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. Simmer 1 hour.

Pumpkin (butternut squash) Pecan Cheese Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 (12 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (it called for 1 (8 oz.) pkg, but to make it more cheese cakey I added a half a package more.
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup pumpkin butter (I used my butternut squash butter)
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

1. Combine pecans and 1/4 cup brown sugar; cut in butter or margarine with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

2. Beat cream cheese at high speed of an electric mixer until smooth. Add 1/3 cup brown sugar; beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in pumpkin butter. Pour mixture into crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes.
4. Sprinkle pecan mixture over pie. Bake for 5 additional minutes, or until butter or margarine and sugar melt. Cool on a wire rack. Cover, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Butternut Squash Butter

Ingredients

• 9 cups butternut squash puree (3 large butternut sqash)
• 1 1/2 cups undiluted unsweetened apple juice concentrate
• 2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

• Place all ingredients in large, heavy bottom pot.
• Heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat, simmer 40-45 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
• To test if done, a dollop placed on a plate will not run after 2 minutes.
• Pack into clean jars, cover and refrigerate or freeze.