Tag Archives: food

Pumpkin Waffles

Waffles don’t have to be just something that you order when you are at a diner. They are uber-easy to make (if you have a waffle iron!) and can be whipped up pretty quickly. These Pumpkin Waffles make for a tasty autumn breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. If you have some extra pumpkin in the fridge, you’ll probably have the ingredients to make these. If you don’t have a waffle iron (they’re pretty inexpensive – I got mine at Target), you can use this batter to make pancakes instead. Top these with butter, syrup, and/or whipped cream and you just might want to lick the plate.

The ingredients:

Mix the dry ingredients together and form a well.

In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients with a whisk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.

Spoon the batter onto a preheated, non-stick sprayed waffle iron using a ladle or measuring cup and cook until browned.

Top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Canned pumpkin for homemade pumpkin puree

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I admit that this wasn’t the first time I’ve made this Pumpkin Cheesecake. The first time was about eight years ago and I remember two things vividly: 1) I went to the store to buy a springform pan and picked up the last one just as another guy was about to pick it up. He wasn’t happy. 2) I left out the flour entirely. It was good anyway. If you like pumpkin cheesecake but don’t let yourself eat it because it’s too fattening, fret no more.

This is a lighter version to try. I have to confess – I HATE fat-free cream cheese. It feels like rubber, has an aftertaste, and seems like fake food. But when it’s mixed together with either reduced-fat cream cheese or regular cream cheese, it blends in enough that you don’t really notice that it’s in there. This recipe calls for both fat-free and 1/3 less-fat cream cheeses and when they are mixed together with the pumpkin, you’d never know the difference. The crust is nothing more than butter and crushed reduced-fat vanilla wafers (if you want your home to smell good, throw vanilla wafers in the oven for an AMAZING aroma!) My sister borrowed this recipe from me a long time ago and we both still talk about it. It’s THAT good!

The ingredients:

Mix together crushed vanilla wafers and melted better and pat into a springform pan. Bake at 400 degrees and cool.

Cream together the cream cheeses until well blended.

Add in sugars, flour, salt, spices, and vanilla. Add in the eggs, one at a time, then the pumpkin.

Pour into the springform pan over cooled crust and bake at 325 degrees.

Allow to cool and top with whipped cream, if you so desire.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Any day now, one of our national channels will be showing the classic animated special, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It seems only fitting that I break out my pumpkin recipes this week (if you don’t like pumpkin, you may want to check back next week!) in honor of this seasonal favorite. My first recipe is the savory Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed Shells.

Jumbo shells are filled with pumpkin, ricotta, cheese, and fresh herbs and baked in tomato sauce. These shells are SO good! The woodsy sage in the ricotta mixture blends well with the pumpkin and the basil provides a freshness to the whole dish. Stuffed shells sometimes seem more work than they are worth but if you use a storage or freezer bag to stuff the shells, the whole process will be much easier.