Pumpkin Marathon Day 1

So I ended up deciding to split my pumpkin marathon into two days. Today I made the muffins and the pumpkin bars. Tomorrow I will make bread pudding.

I made the muffins first. It's the same recipe I made for foods class except i used pumpkin instead of butternut squash. But in case you can't remember the recipe, here's the link.
http://www.glutengobyebye.com/2010/09/butternut-squash-muffins.html

Muffin Batter

 I made the muffins using chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life semisweet chips. They contain no milk or soy, so I can have that kind of chocolate.

Adding the chocolate chips

 My grandmother helped me cook today. Here's a picture of me and my grandmother cooking together.

Me and Grandma

 We put the muffins in the oven, and while they were cooking, we started on the pumpkin bars. This is also a recipe I used in foods class once. This one comes from Paula Deen.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-bars-recipe/index.html

I made the recipe with only two small changes. Obviously, I used a gluten free flour mix. The other change was that I didn't use the icing.

Using the Sifter

Pumpkin Bar Batter

Pouring into the pan

The muffins finished cooking just as I finished making the batter for the pumpkin bars. They turned out great.

Me and the Muffins

When the pumpkin bread was ready, I cut it into bars. Of course I had to have a little taste.

Pumpkin Bars

I've reseved 6 muffins for tomorrow's bread pudding. Hopefully it will be enough to make 2 cups. If not I can add some pumpkin bars.

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Custard

This is may version of pumpkin pie. It's really just the pie filling. It's so hard to make a gluten free pie crust that I just make the filling and bake it without the shell. This particular recipe is adapted form the recipe on the label of Libby's pumpkin.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 29 oz can Libby's pumpkin
3 cups almond milk

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture. Gradually stir in almond milk. Pour into two greased pie pans. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40- 50 minutes. Cool for 2 hours on wire rack.

Pumpkin Marathon

So as you know, yesterday was Thanksgiving. One big classic is pumpkin pie. However, I ended up with more pumpkin than I needed. So today I'm going to make a bunch of recipes to use up all that extra pumpkin. I'll also include my version of pumpkin pie. So here's today's lineup for the pumpkin marathon.

Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made this for an assignment in foods class. My teacher gave me a recipe that I had to adapt so I could have it. Now I'm sharing it with you.

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups gluten- free flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

3 cups gluten- free oats

1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together shortening and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and chocolate chips and mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.

Vegetarian Curry

Ingredients:
2 15 oz garbanzo beans
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 potato, diced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 diced celery
1 16 can diced tomoatoes and juices
2 cups vegetable broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1  tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne papper
1 15 oz can peas, drained
1 tbsp corn starch
1 cup water

Directions:
Put garbanzo beans in stoneware. Add vegetables and can of tomatoes. Pour in broth, and stir in garlic and spices. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Mix water and corn starch and stir in along with peas. Cook on high for 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

From Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow

Orange Apricot Pork Chops

Ingredients:
6 pork chops
1 cup apricot jam
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 15 oz can mandarin oranges and juices

Directions:
Put pork chops into stoneware. Combine jam, brown sugar, salt, and spices. Spoon over pork chops. Pour in madarin oranges and juices. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice.

From Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow

Pasta E Fagioli

1 lb lean ground beef, browned, and drained of excess fat
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 16.5 oz jar pasta suace
4 cups beef broth
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 dry gluten free pasta

Directions:
Put meat into stoneware. Add carrots, onion, and celery. Add beans, tomatoes, and pasta sauce. Pour in beef broth. Stir in salt, pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

From Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow