January 6, 2012: Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip Recipe

The Wednesday edition of the Arizona Republic newspaper contains the weekly food section and I always eagerly await it to see what kind of new recipes it might contain. Usually I’m not impressed but this week I took notice of a recipe for a sweet potato dip I wanted to try. I only had pumpkin so I did a bit of my own makeover magic in the way of substitutions and less fat to come up with this very tasty recipe.

Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip

1 cup cooked pumpkin (or canned pureed)

1 T. roasted pumpkin seeds

½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce + about ½ teaspoon sauce

2 cloves garlic

½ t. paprika

½ t. cumin

½ t. sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and process until smooth. (I just got a stick blender with attachments, which worked wonderfully for this application!)

Serves 2 with calories of approximately112 (1/2 cup serving size)

Serve this Hot and Spicy Pumpkin Dip with a 10” flour tortilla torn into strips and sprayed on both sides with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle them with kosher salt. Bake the strips in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning them over once, for guilt-less chips (total calories about 220).

October 30, 2011: Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

I’m in Mesa visiting my grandson and his family this weekend while they host a Halloween party. As their occasional “resident chef” I wanted to make something that would be truly memorable. I found this recipe online and with a few little Candy tweaks, found it to be the perfect dish for a potluck party. It would also be a great presentation for a Thanksgiving dinner. Try it and let me know what you think!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 large pumpkin (measure your oven if you want to double this recipe and use a really big pumpkin), top cut straight off and seeds scooped out

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ lb. ground beef

1 lb. bulk pork sausage

1 yellow onion, finely minced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 cans beef stock

1 package long grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben’s)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 small cans mushrooms stems and pieces (optional)

2 cans French cut green beans

Mix together brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; rub on inside of pumpkin.

Cook meat over medium heat in large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in chicken stock and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is done.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix remaining ingredients with meat/rice mixture. Spoon into prepared pumpkin, replace top. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at least 2 hours, until pumpkin is tender. To serve, scoop out filling along with pieces of pumpkin.