Pumpkin Coconut Curry

Okay, two things: I love pumpkin, and I love curry. Every time I go to a Thai restaurant and pumpkin curry is an option, I order it. And it's always an amazing experience. However, it's not always an option at every Thai restaurant... so I decided to give it a try myself.

Pumpkin Coconut Curry
2 small sugar pumpkins
3 chicken breasts, sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cans coconut milk

2 tbsp. red curry paste

1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar (I used Splenda)

2-3 cups chicken broth

2 red peppers, sliced into strips

1 onion, sliced into strips

1 tsp. ginger

1 tbsp. lemon (or lime) juice

1 cup cashews
garlic salt

salt & pepper

Ground red pepper

Fresh basil

You will first want to tackle the pumpkin. Use a vegetable peeler to peel both pumpkins, then cut them into bite-sized chunks. Put the chunks from one of the pumpkins into a bowl and set aside for later. Put the others in a saucepan with about one inch of water, salt, and cover. Let steam for about 15 minutes, then drain & mash. You will also set this aside for later.

Start by cooking the chicken in the olive oil until it starts to turn just slightly white. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, red curry paste, and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and add the peppers, onions, ginger, cashews, lemon juice, pumpkin chunks, and mashed pumpkin. Add garlic salt, salt & pepper, and ground red pepper, to taste. The more red pepper, the spicier it will be. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender & the chicken is thoroughly cooked. You will especially want to check the pumpkin; make sure it is still somewhat firm on the outside but soft on the inside (like a cooked potato). Serve with basmati rice. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Better Than... Trifle

Okay, so my family has this thing about BTS cake.  My parents didn't like us saying the "S" word... so my mom calls it "Better than Robert Redford" cake or "Better than Brad Pitt" cake... I think I would probably call it the "Better than Ryan Gosling" cake. I think that should cover it.

Pumpkin Better Than Ryan Gosling Trifle
1 package yellow cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bottle caramel sundae topping
1 big container Cool Whip
1 package Heath milk chocolate bits

1. Mix together the cake mix & pumpkin, and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake according to cake mix directions (it's better if it's just a tiny bit undercooked).

2. Once the cake is done, use the bottom of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the top (you can do this while it's still warm). Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top, and spread around to fill in all the holes.

3. You can make this as one large trifle, or put it in individual cups to make mini, personalized trifles. I used the cups mostly because I don't have a trifle bowl, but also because I just love mini, personalized desserts. You will want to layer as follows: cake, Cool Whip, caramel, Heath bits. Repeat this sequence at least twice. Believe me... this cake won't last long. You may want to make two. Or three.

3-Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't LOVE pumpkin chocolate chip cookies? I know I'm not that person. Really, I love pumpkin ANYthing... but there's something about the delicious combo of semisweet chocolate and gooey pumpkin that I simply can't resist. I wanted to make some the other day, and realized I didn't have flour. Bummer. But, I had cake mix. I thought, "Surely there's a way to make these cookies with cake mix!" And you better believe, friends, there's a way. You can make these delicious cookies with the following ingredients:

Cake Mix Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 box cake mix (Preferably spice cake mix, but I used yellow and it was still delicIOUS)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Okay, here it goes... Mix the cake mix & pumpkin puree. Since I used yellow cake mix, I did add a few extra ingredients to spice it up (but I'm sure these cookies would be delicious either way) - 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. allspice. Add the chocolate chips (I used about 2/3 of the bag, and there were plenty). Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (don't even worry about making them look pretty). Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Grandma's Pumpkin Bread

Maybe I haven't tasted all the pumpkin bread in the world... but I'm pretty sure this is the best.

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 med. can pumpkin
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl until well blended. Bake in either a bundt pan or two loaf pans, greased & floured, for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before serving. HINT... If you use loaf pans, don't cook both loaves at the same time :)

Black Bean & Pumpkin Soup

SOooo... since it's November, I kind of feel like seeing how many things I can make with PUMPKIN.

First I did the classic Grandma's Pumpkin Bread recipe. It was delish. Then I had this superb pumpkin soup at Zupa's, and tonight I attempted to re-create it. This blog is really inspiring me and is making me want to cook EVERY DAY. It's pretty exciting. The soup turned out amazing, by the way.

Anna's Version of Delicious Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
1 tsp. cumin
1 pumpkin, about 4 lbs. (or 1 med. can of pumpkin)
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cup frozen corn (or 1 can corn, drained)
1 4 oz. can pineapple tidbits (with juice)
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 red onion
2 tsp. lime juice
2 cups chicken broth
1 bunch cilantro
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

1. If you are preparing the pumpkin yourself, make sure you set aside at least 30 minutes to do so. I figured this out the hard way :) I used the microwave to cook my pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into four pieces, discard stringy insides (keep seeds to roast later if you want!), and put each piece in for 7 minutes, turning every few minutes. It is recommended to cook the pumpkin in the microwave 7 minutes for every pound. Just make sure the pumpkin is tender enough to poke with a fork when you take it out of the microwave. Peel the skin off and dump into a blender. I blended the broth with the pumpkin to make it super smooth.

2. In a large pot, sautee the onions with the butter and cumin. Cook onions until they are slightly browned. Add the pumpkin/broth mixture, corn, black beans, tomatoes, coconut milk, pineapple, chicken, 4 tbsp. chopped cilantro, and heavy cream (if desired). I had some cream left over from the butterscotch I made for the party yesterday, and so I just dumped it in. It really did the trick with this soup. You can choose to opt out if you're going for a little bit healthier soup, though, and it still tastes great.

3. Bring the soup to a boil. Turn down to medium-high heat, and cook for about 10 minutes (make sure the chicken is done). Add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with extra cilantro. It's also supposed to be really delicious with macademia nuts. YummmmmmmmmmmmmmmYYY!

P.S. I took the picture of the soup with my camera phone because my camera is still dead. I am actually looking for a good camera if anyone hears of anything... like someone selling their camera or whatever. Can't wait til I have a REAL camera!!!

The Blog Debut Party

Okay first of all thank you to everyone who came to the party!!!! It was sooo super fun.

There were three dishes featured at the best food blog party of all time. First was an old family recipe. Grandma Wells's Pumpkin Bread.


I decided since it was Halloween I would make the bread look kind of scary... you know... the guts falling out and everything...
Just kidding. I actually totally failed with the bread. I broke the cardinal rule--trying to bake two things at once. You just can't break that rule. Don't do it. Even if you're running out of time... it's not fun to pull out a beautiful-looking loaf of bread only to have it fall apart in the middle. BUT IT STILL TASTED AMAZING!!!

Grandma Wells's Pumpkin Bread
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 med. can pumpkin
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl until well blended. Bake in either a bundt pan or two loaf pans, greased & floured, for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. HINT... don't cook both loaves together :)


See how excited Kyle is about this food? That's because he's just eaten about 50 of these world-famous (okay maybe not WORLD famous, but famous nonetheless) rice krispie treats. My mom got this recipe from a lady at my church, and we've never been able to go back to normal rice krispie treats again. Just use this recipe sparingly--I'm pretty sure it's a heart attack waiting to happen.

Royal Rice Krispie Treats
1 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 lb. bag marshmallows
15-16 cups rice krispies

Pour the rice krispies into a large bowl (make sure there is extra room to stir in the marshmallow mixture later). Prepare two cookie sheets by spraying them with non-stick cooking spray. Combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, and let boil until the mixture begins to look like caramel. Remove from heat, and add the marshmallows. Add food coloring now too, if you want them to be a certain color (I made mine orange!). Pour the marshmallow mixture over the rice krispies and stir until they are all coated. Divide half of the rice krispie mixture into each cookie sheet, and use baking-spray covered hands to spread the rice krispies to fill out the sheets. Let harden (or not) and enjoy!!!

Now for the butterbeer. I was actually most excited about this recipe... but kind of disappointed with it in the end. I can't take credit for this recipe at all, but I will post the link in case anyone wants to try it. It was still good (especially the homemade butterscotch sauce), but not quite how I pictured it in my Harry Potter imagination-world.

Butterbeer Recipe

And as a surprise, one of my roommate's friends stopped by to show her her Halloween creation, which I HAD to get a picture of.


Aren't these little mummies adorable? They are actually made of meatloaf, covered with cheese, with little olive eyes. So creative. Love it.

Thanks to everyone again who came!!! Sorry my camera died so I couldn't get pictures of everyone... but I love you all and can't wait til the next food blog party!