Halloween Pumpkin Salsa!

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Only 3 more days until Halloween!!! I can feel the excitement mounting, can't you?!! Tonight I made a simple, festive pumpkin salsa with Halloween in mind, and I paired it with some orange and black store bought chips!

Halloween Pumpkin Salsa!

1/2 of a Orange Pepper

1/2 cup Black Beans

2 teaspoon Pumpkin Seeds

4 leaves Cilantro

1 clove Garlic

1/4 White Onion

1 cob Roasted Corn

1/3 cup canned Pumpkin

2 teaspoon Sugar

Tortilla Chips

I started by going through my beans and making sure 

there were no foreign items from the bag.

This is a necessity when making beans.

Soak your beans according to the directions on the bag.

I soaked mine overnight.

The next morning I rinsed the beans, and then placed 

them in clean water to cook.

I let them simmer with a lid on for 1 1/2 hours.

Set the lid a little to the side so the steam can escape.

Rinse when they are done and refrigerate.

Roast your orange pepper on your stove, if it is gas.

Just keep turning the pepper with tongs until most

of your pepper is roasted.

When you are done roasting, place the pepper in a 

small bowl and cover with plastic. The heat trapped in 

the plastic helps you get the roasted skin off of the pepper.

After 20-30 minutes, pull the skin off of the pepper.

Leave a little on, like above.

Cut the pepper in half and take the seeds out.

Then chop the pepper into small bite size pieces.

For the roasted corn, I used an ear I purchased at 

a grocery store. The store grills out every weekend,

and they roast corn, grill ribs and tri tip. It is 

all so incredibly good! You can also roast your corn in

a pan on your stove.

Cut the corn off of the cob.

Chop your white onion.

Chop your clove of garlic.

Put everything we chopped in the bowl, which includes,

onion, orange pepper, corn and garlic. Add your beans.

Mix together.

Add pumpkin seeds, chopped  cilantro, pumpkin and sugar.

Mix well again.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Thanks for joining me today!

 

Pumpkin Bites!

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It is getting to be that time of the year that I love~Autumn! I love the cooler weather, the leaves falling, and the smell in the air. Of course, I have to leave home to find it. Fall in the desert is often fleeting. It seems like it takes forever for the cool temps to get here, and when they do, it's only a few weeks before the wind starts howling and it is downright chilly! But, it's still my favorite time of the year, and today I am celebrating with Pumpkin Bites. I have made these so many times, I can't count them all. They were a staple when I was a caterer at a hotel and we fed the visiting college football teams. Regardless of who won the games, these little cookies were always a winner!

Pumpkin Bites!

(adapted from Stephanie @ allrecipes)

1 cup Canned Pumpkin

1 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Milk

1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sugar,

vegetable oil, egg and vanilla.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, 

cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda.

Stir the pumpkin mix into the dry mix.

Add the milk.

Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Use a teaspoon or a small scoop and place on 

a cookie sheet.  I am crazy for parchment paper, so I use it

always, but it is not necessary.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

These pumpkin bites are good warm 

and at room temperature. 

They are total perfection when served with cold milk!

Thanks for joining me today!

Stop by tomorrow, and participate in a Pinterest Blog Carnival!
Add your Pinterest inspired recipes to the hop, and see what
everyone else has made too!
The carnival will include craft bloggers, frugal bloggers,
and special needs bloggers too!
Something for everyone!
Should be fun!

Pumpkin and Cranberry Bread Pudding

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I love Bread Pudding. It's such a comfort food. The first time I discovered the love of my dessert life,  I was 22 years old and I had just moved to Las Vegas. My soon to be husband and I went to eat at the Golden Nugget Buffet. I remember that at the end of a long line of desserts, sat this huge, gorgeous, barrel looking, copper chafing dish. I was so curious as to what in the world could be so incredible that it would warrant this special station at the buffet. So, I went to look.  What I found ruined me forever for all other desserts, and helped me gain 10 pounds! In this beautiful dish sat the most incredibly, delicious, gorgeous bread pudding ever. I couldn't get enough of it. Filled with moist, cream soaked bread; rich, eggs; plump golden raisins and the spicy, sweet aroma of cinnamon I was in heaven! I had to know how to make this. And so began my quest. I tried every bread pudding recipe I could get my hands on. There are a lot of them out there. I have yet to discover one as good as the bread pudding I had so many years ago. But, I keep trying. I heard that the recipe went away when the hotel was sold back in 2000. The rumor was that the old recipe belonged to the owners mother, and it was not sold with the hotel. I have seen some Golden Nugget Bread Pudding recipes floating around blog world, so I am going to have to get to work investigating and verifying their authenticity. It's the least I can do!!
     Meanwhile, I HAD to make this Pumpkin and Cranberry Bread Pudding. It's perfect for this time of year, and it is so good. Try it!

Pumpkin and Cranberry Bread Pudding
4 large eggs
1 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
3 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
1 cup Milk
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
15 ounces Solid Pack Pumpkin
2 3/4 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
3/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
5 1/2 cups Crusty Italian Bread
1 1/2 cups Dried Cranberries
Ice Cream
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 7" X 11" pan.

Put your 4 eggs in a bowl, and ....

whisk until they are frothy and smooth.

Add the brown sugar and....

 whisk together until the sugar dissolves.

Whisk in the milk, cream, and pumpkin.

Whisk in the cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
Blend all together.

Start cutting your bread and...

Cut into 1/3" cubes.
I didn't remove the crust, but you could if you would like.

Pour the cubed bread into your pan.

Pour your mix into the pan on top of the bread.
Add the cranberries.
Mix completely.
If the bread wants to pop out of the mix and
float to the top, just push it down with a
spatula. It will stay under the mix as it becomes saturated.
I used gloved hands to make sure the bread
is thoroughly soaked, and everything is mixed well.

Bake for 25 minutes.
Pull from oven for a minute and
sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar on the top.

Pop back into the oven and
cook for an additional 20-25 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Serve plain, or with whipped cream or how about...

topped with ice cream!
It's delicious any way you serve it.



Thanks for joining me today at The Freshman Cook.
and reading my stories!
See you tomorrow!

Old Pumpkin Bread!

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This pumpkin bread isn't really old, but the recipe has been in my family for many years. And with good reason. It's delicious!! Serve this pumpkin bread with a light swipe of whipped cream cheese. In our family, it isn't fall until we have eaten a slice of this bread!

 Old Family Recipe 

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups Flour

2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

3 cups Sugar

1 cup Corn Oil

4 Eggs

2/3 cup Water

2 cup Pumpkin

Measure the flour into a bowl.

 Add baking soda,

and salt.

Add cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.

Whisk everything together.

Form a well in the bowl of ingredients.

Add the eggs,

the corn oil, the water, and the pumpkin.

Mix everything together,

until every ingredient is incorporated.

Spray a loaf pan. 

Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees. The loaf pans that 

I use are rather large. If you used the ones in the picture,

on the left, this recipe would make 3. Because I used my large pan, 

I only had enough for one other pan. Make sure to check

the bread with a toothpick. The top cooks last, so make 

sure it is done before you remove it from the oven.

Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then take

a knife or spatula around the edge, and let it sit in the 

pan until completely cool. 

It's a piece of heaven!

Enjoy!

Thanks for joining The Freshman Cook today!

Stop by later for more Halloween treats!

This post linked to:

http://www.bigbearswife.com/p/this-weeks-cravings.html