Hi karaburun,
Well, I try to make a different pumpkin dish every year. I've made pumpkin crisp, pumpkin squares, pumpkin cheesecake (that is delicious) and a VERY easy pumpkin gooey cake that I saw Paula Dean make on Food TV. I will post that recipe below.
Also, years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to "
Meatloaf in a Pumpkin". Get a SMALL sugar pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds (salt and roast the seeds) and scoop out the gooey threads so that the inside of the pumpkin is clean. Make your favorite meatloaf recipe and stuff it into the pumpkin. Draw a face on the pumpkin with black magic marker. Bake the pumpkin at 350 for maybe 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the flesh of the pumpkin is soft and tender. Bake some potatoes and apples along with the pumpkin, to serve as side dishes and to place around the pumpkin on a large platter. To serve, use a big spoon to scoop out chunks of meatloaf and make sure to get some pumpkin flesh along with it!
Another idea is to make Sausage and Squash stew and serve it in small par-cooked cleaned pumpkin bowls. I love this stew!
Sausage and Squash Stew
2 T olive oil
2 onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
some garlic, chopped
1 pound of Italian sausage links, pricked all over
2 cups chicken broth
4 portobello mushroom caps, cut into half inch pieces
1 package peeled butternut squash, cut into half inch pieces
1 bag fresh spinach
1 T fresh thyme (or 1 teas dried)
Parm cheese for sprinkling
In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the onions, garlic, salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Add the sausages and cook to brown them. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the pan, then add the mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes..
Stir in the squash and the thyme. Pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups stock and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and cover the pan, simmer the stew for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
Remove about 5 pieces of squash and mash them, then return to the stew. Slice the sausages down the middle and cut into bite-sized chunks, then return them to the stew. Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes until it's tender but still bright green.
Sprinkle with parm. cheese to serve.
Here's Paula's gooey cake recipe - it's excellent (well, all gooey cakes are excellent!)
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: : 6 to 8 servings
User Rating:
Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the cake: Combine all of the ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare filling.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese
and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
Serve with fresh whipped cream
Now, karaburun, do you have a recipe for
Rugelach? My boyfriend wants me to make some for him.
Thanks!
Lee