Crustless Pumpkin Pie

1 15oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
2 packet stevia
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup ap gluten free flour (any flour would work I think, even oat)
2 tbsp flax seed meal

Combine in a big mixing bowl. Pour into greased deep dish pie dish. Bake at 375 for about 55 minutes until center is set. Cool completely before eating.

Pumpkin Ginger Waffles

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs (or substitute)
1/2 cup buttermilk (or any kind of milk + 1tsp lemon juice or white vinegar)
1 cup pureed pumpkin
3/4 cup raw sugar
2 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp melted butter

Combine dry ingredients with a whisk. Combine wet ingredients with a whisk until well combined. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a spatula until dry mix is just incorporated.

Cook on preheated waffle iron per machine's directions. Keep warm on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven. Serve with real maple syrup.

Or- Let cool completely and freeze. When ready to serve, toast and eat!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/3 cups AP flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups quick oats or rolled oats ground in food processor
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup raw sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp molasses
1 cup milk, any kind

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add dry ingredients to bowl first and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients on top of dry mixture. Gently fold together with a spatula, scraping sides as you go- about 10 "folds" around the bowl. The mixture will be lumpy and not all the flour will be mixed in. Once it's about 90% combined, it's ready for the muffin cups.
Line muffin tins with paper liners. Spray liners with non-stick spray. Scoop mixture into each cup (2/3 full).
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.
Freezes well.
Makes 24.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl. Add cranberries and almonds. Stir to coat the berries. Add eggs, butter, and extracts. Fold until barely combined.

Spread mixture evenly in greased 9" pie pan or 8"x8" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes- until golden brown on edges and cranberries are bubbling.

Cool before serving.

Freezes well.

Thanksgiving Dinner- Wheat & Corn Bread Stuffing

 1- 1 1/2 lb. loaf whole wheat bread, cut into 1" cubes
1- 1 lb. loaf corn bread, cut into 1" cubes
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped small
3 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper to taste
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 cup chardonnay
7-10 cups stock

Cut bread the day before and leave out on the counter overnight to dry out.

The day of-
Add onion, celery, and butter to pan.  Season with salt & pepper. Saute until onion is translucent. Add herbs and wine. Reduce liquid by half.

Add bread and onion mixture to a large bowl. Add 6 cups stock. Fold mixture together.

Add mixture to 13x9 baking dish, pressing it in with the back of a spoon.

Let rest for 15 minutes. Check moisture level by feeling a bread cube. If it falls apart, it moist enough. If it's still a little hard in the middle, pour 1 cup stock over mixture in pan & check again after a few minutes. Repeat until mixture is very moist.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 1hour-1 hour 15 minutes.

Thanksgiving Dinner- Green Beans in Mushroom Cream

A homemade & unprocessed version of green bean casserole. Much richer and simpler in flavor.

1 quart half & half
1 quart whole milk

12 oz. white button mushrooms, chopped fine
8 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, chopped fine
2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour

3 lbs frozen cut green beans (thawed) or 3 lbs fresh beans, cut into 1inch pieces and blanched
Salt & pepper to taste

1 large can fried onions (from the can- not worth the trouble of making these when they are just as effective when purchased from the grocery store)
1 small onion very finely chopped

Reduce half & half in milk by half in a large sauce pan.

In a pan with the olive oil, saute mushrooms until golden brown and reduced in volume.

Add mushrooms and beans to a large mixing bowl. Add salt & pepper to taste.

In the same pan used for mushrooms, add butter and flour to make a roux. Whisk to combine. Then whisk in half of the milk mixture. Thicken by bringing to a boil.

Add all of the milk mixtures into the mixing bowl. Fold ingredients together.

Place in a 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with chopped onions and half of the fried onions. Use a spatula to "sink" the onions into the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Then add the rest of the fried onions on top and bake until they are golden brown.

When milk mixture has reduced, pour half

Thanksgiving Dinner- Orange Cranberry Sauce

Nice as an accompaniment to your dinner or as a spread on scones or toast.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest (optional)

Place in sauce pan on medium heat. Stir occasionally, scraping sides each time. Lower/raise heat if necessary to keep a constant low boil.

Cooks down in about an hour, to a very thick consistency.

Serve warm or cold.

*I use my bread machine on "jam" setting to make this.*

Thanksgiving Dinner- Turkey Brine & Roasting

Brining takes place the day before you'll be preparing the turkey.

Brines a 10-15lb turkey.

1 gallon water

1 medium onion, roughly chopped, peel still in tact

1 end of a celery bunch (the part you'd throw out), rinsed

4 cloves garlic sliced in 1/2, peel still on

1 tbsp whole peppercorns

1 tbsp whole coriander

4 dried bay leaves

1 cup sea salt

1/2 cup raw sugar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

(Thaw your turkey prior to brining.)

In the morning before you are going to brine-

Add everything to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil on medium/high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once boiling, turn the heat off, remove from the burner and let it come to room temperature in the pot. 

The evening before you're going to cook the turkey, prep a small cooler. 

I use this one by cleaning the inside well. Add the cooled brine, 1 gallon or water, and 12 cups ice cubes. 

Unwrap your thawed turkey, remove giblets and neck (save those to MAKE STOCK!), & rinse.

Place turkey, breast end first, into brine. Weigh it down with a plastic container filled with water, heavy lid, etc. Put the lid on the cooler and leave it alone overnight. (Minimum brining time is 8 hours-Max amount is 24 hours)

Before you're going to bake the turkey, remove the turkey from the cooler, rinse it well, and place it onto the the pan/rack you'll be baking on. Then, dry the turkey by patting it with paper towels. Discard the brine. 

Bake at your preference. 

I use this method to bake turkeys- Rub dried turkey with a little oil. Fill cavity with one roughly chopped onion, one quartered apple, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, and 6 smashed cloves garlic. Tie up the legs together with string. Tuck the wings back behind the body (like it's laying with it's arms behiind it's head). Roast turkey in lowest part of the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. Then, place a triangle of buttered foil over the breast (white meat)- leaving the dark meat exposed. Put a probe thermometer into the breast and return the turkey to the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. When thermometer has reached 130 degrees, remove the tent and check for even browning. If it's not browned nicely over the breasts, leave the tent off. If it's evenly browned, stick it back on until it's finished. Roast until the white meat has reached 161 degrees (about 15 minutes a lb.) Rest, covered with foil or a large metal mixing bowl for 15-30 minutes before carving.

Thanksgiving Dinner- Fried Sweet Potatoes

Simple dish with lots of flavor. Inspired by the dinner being prepared here (at the Firestone Farm House in Greenfield Village).
makes 8-10 servings

6 sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
salt

The day before, bake sweet potatoes in 400 degree oven for about an hour.  No need to prep them n any way. Just wash and set them on the top shelf of the cold oven. Turn temp to 400 degrees and check for doneness in one hour with a sharp knife. If the nice slides through, it's done! Still a little hard? Give it a little more time.

Cool and put in refrigerator overnight.

Day of, slice into 1/4-1/2" slices. (remove the skin if you want to)Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt.

Place 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium/high heat. Add potatoes when butter has melted. Let the potatoes brown & caramelize before flipping- a good 5 minutes. Flip potatoes and turn the heat down a bit to medium-medium/low. Once the other side is browned, turn off heat, place lid on potatoes until ready to serve. They will stay nice and warm for quite a while.

Millet Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins

Slightly sweet with a nutty crunch from the millet. Goes nicely with morning coffee.

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup dry millet

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine butter, pumpkin, sugar, honey, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, & cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl.
Dump in flour, cinnamon, salt, soda, & millet. Fold mixture until mostly combined…not too much though- batter will be thick and lumpy.

Scoop with large-3tbsp size- scoop (I use this one) into greased muffin tins. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Makes about 18.

inspired by Joy the Baker's recipe

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

1 sleeve graham crackers, finely crushed
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Blend everything together in mixer bowl until well combined. Scoop 1 tsp. rounds with a small scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap. Chill until firm. Put them in the freezer to speed up the process.

Once chilled, melt about 1lb. chocolate candy melts or chips (any flavor will work, I used milk chocolate) in a double boiler until completely melted. Stir in 1 tbsp oil.

Dip the truffles in chocolate to coat using forks or spoons. The mixture is soft, so you'll need to work quickly when dipping in the warm chocolate. Place back on tray until chocolate sets. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs or sanding sugar/sprinkles while chocolate is still shiny if you want to decorate them.

Makes about 30.