Giant Pumpkin Recipe Roundup

September 26, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

It’s officially fall which means it’s pumpkin season. If the first thing that comes to mind is a pumpkin spice latte you might not realize that pumpkins are actually rather nutritious. They are high in fiber and several other nutrients. But I’ll be the first to admit that many pumpkin recipes negate much of that with the addition of loads of sugar. Still, as part of a balanced diet, there’s no reason not to include a few pumpkin recipe treats this fall. And if you still feel a bit guilty, be sure to check out the smoothie recipe I’ve included.

Giant Pumpkin Recipe Roundup

Last week as I was linking up my latest recipe on Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday link up, I scrolled through the other submissions as I always do. I quickly noticed a theme this week – PUMPKIN! There were so many pumpkin recipes and many sounded absolutely delicious. I wanted to try them all.

That’s when I got the idea to gather them up in one place and share them with y’all. Plus, it will make it easier for me to find them whenever I’m in the mood to make something with pumpkin. By the way, that’s part of the reason I started my old Dee’s Kitchen blog years ago. I figured it was a handy way to have my recipes in one place. Plus, people were always asking for certain recipes and I could then just direct them to the blog. Good idea, right?

So anyway, if you’re looking for a pumpkin recipe, look no further. You’re sure to find something tasty here.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

Pumpkin Spice Latte Protein Bars

Homemade Pumpkin Granola

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pillow Cookies

Bakery Style Pumpkin Muffins

Homemade Pumpkin Waffles

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake (vegan, allergy-free)

Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins

Velvety Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

Easy Pumpkin Hummus

Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta

Spiced Pumpkin Green Smoothie

Don’t those sound yummy? Which one sounds the best?

I also have a few pumpkin recipes here on Life With Dee in case you need more.

Life With Dee pumpkin recipes:

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies (guest post recipe)

Iced Pumpkin Cookies (a guest post recipe)

Pumpkin Bread

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Molasses Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting (from my old blog – no picture!)

If you try any of these I’d love to hear what you thought. Or if you have a favorite pumpkin recipe please share!

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Menu Monday ~ September 25, 2017

September 25, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

Every Sunday I sit down with my calendar and plan a menu for the upcoming week. I try to plan easier meals for busy nights. I take into account the food I have on hand, especially perishables. I also try to plan a variety of tastes, textures and nutrients. Some weeks are better than others, of course, but over time I aim for delicious and relatively healthy dinners.

One thing I should mention is that for the past month or so, I have been making smoothies for us for breakfast each weekday. I’m still experimenting but there will soon be a post about getting started with green smoothies. My goal is to give us a healthy dose of fruits and veggies every morning to start off our days. I’ve recently started making myself a second smoothie for lunch. As we enter cold and flu season I’m determined to cram as much nutrition into my daily meals as possible. As an asthmatic, a cold is never “just a cold” for me. It always leads to at least one round of steroids, something I try to avoid.

So if this week’s dinners seem a bit skimpy on produce keep in mind we’ve had several servings of fruits and veggies earlier in the day.

Dee’s Menu

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

Monday

We have a music event to attend at 7. David has to be there about an hour early to set up the sound system. They have great food at this location but we’ve eaten out a lot lately. I’m going to prepare a simple meal at home before we go and then we might share a plate of their wonderful black bean quesadillas or nachos later that night.

fettucini alfredo – I make my sauce from scratch. It’s simple and tastes so much better than from a jar.
tossed green salad

Tuesday

David and I have a meeting in town at noon and we plan to have lunch together afterwards – a nice little treat! And speaking of treats, I think tacos always fall into that category. I grew up eating tacos often – it’s one of my mom’s specialties. While we also love lentil tacos or black bean tacos, tonight I’ll be frying up some grass fed beef which I have in the freezer. It’s very lean so there’s virtually no fat to drain off. I season it with garlic salt, black pepper, chili powder, onion powder, a dash of cumin and of course…Creole seasoning. Or mix up some Homemade Taco Seasoning. I like to season at least twice during the cooking process because it adds to the flavor profile. So I start with just a little of each of these seasonings when I put the meat in the pan then add more when almost done. And do I need to mention that at our house tacos are made with corn tortillas I fry one at a time in coconut oil? None of those hard shells from a box in my house!

tacos
refried beans
lettuce, tomato, green onions, grated cheese, sour cream, hot sauce – all the usual taco toppings!
corn relish

To make corn relish, heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet. When hot, add two cups of fresh or frozen corn and cook for a couple of minutes. Add one clove of garlic (minced) and one jalapeno (finely diced). Cook for another minute and remove from heat. Add one medium tomato, seeded and diced, and the juice of one lime. Salt and pepper to taste. This is delicious on tacos or with any Mexican dish.

Wednesday

I have choir rehearsal at 7 p.m. These are the nights when it’s awfully nice to have a slow cooker meal. I can toss in the ingredients early in the day and then relax knowing dinner is taken care of. Plus, there are fewer dishes to deal with.

“Croc Moroc” – This is an Moroccan-inspired slow cooker recipe I came up with years ago and ran across in my files this past weekend. My son gave it this name – ha! I’ll take pictures and share it in a blog post sometime soon.
rice – Even though I have an Instant Pot which will cook rice, I kept my old rice cooker. So often I’ll want rice along with whatever I’m cooking in the IP. In fact, I’ll be using the slow cooker setting of the Instant Pot for the “Croc Moroc” this night.
salad

Thursday

I hesitate to say this because it seems something always comes up but it looks like we don’t have anywhere to go this evening. Sounds like a good time to make a favorite of mine:

chicken and waffles
fresh fruit salad

Friday

My mom used to make sweet and sour pork chops often when I was growing up. It was a huge favorite for the whole family, as well as a family friend or two who weren’t averse to a last minute invitation to join us for pork chops. I can recall her making two big baking pans full of them and there were never any left over. She used Contadina brand sweet and sour sauce which I really like but am unable to find here in Oklahoma. I’ve been known to bring several cans home in my suitcase when visiting relatives in California. TSA always ends up searching my bags when I do this. Go figure. Since I can’t get that brand here, I make my own sauce. (Note: I shared the link for the Contadina sauce simply so you can see what I’m referring to in case it’s available in your area. It’s WAY too expensive to buy on Amazon – $11.45 for shipping!)

sweet and sour pork chops
rice
steamed broccoli
salad

Saturday

We are attending baby shower barbecue this evening. They are providing the hamburgers and hot dogs. I will ask if they’d like me to bring homemade potato salad. I haven’t made any in quite awhile and it’s a good excuse to make a big batch of it.

Sunday

This is World Communion Sunday and I’ve been asked to bake challah bread for it, as I have for a number of years. My recipe makes two huge loaves so we have one for ourselves. It makes delicious French toast so I think I’ll make some for a light supper. As usual, we will eat out at our favorite Mexican restaurant after church.

I’ll be baking the challah bread Saturday. If I’m on the ball, I may go ahead and bake some pumpkin bread while I’m at it!

What’s cooking at YOUR house this week?

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MEAL PLANNING RESOURCES:

Menu Planning Simplified

How to Save Money With Your Grocery Shopping List

Once a Month Grocery Shopping

How to Create a Weekly Menu Plan

Do you want to eat a healthy, organic, grass fed diet but don’t think you can afford it? My friend, Victoria of A Modern Homestead, explains how they do it on less than $200 a month. Click here to find out how:

This post is linked up at I’m an Organizing Junkie. You can find lots of menu inspiration there!

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice ~ 10 Ways to Embrace Autumn

September 22, 2017 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

Happy Fall, y’all! Or Autumn, if you prefer. Today is the Autumn Equinox and while it’s still quite warm here in Oklahoma, fall is definitely on the horizon. The leaves are starting to turn and there’s that special quality of light I always notice this time of year – sort of a warm, golden glow. I took this photo at my parents’ place a couple of evenings ago:

Isn’t that lovely?

A new season is always a good time to freshen up one’s home and routines. Let’s consider some ways we can welcome Autumn in all her loveliness.

10 Ways to Embrace Autumn

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!

1. Gather up all your throws, afghans, and sofa blankets then give them a good wash. After they are dry, fluffy and fresh-smelling, neatly arrange them on or near all your main seating areas. It is such a simple luxury to snuggle up under a cozy blanket as nights get chilly.

2. Buy a pumpkin and some mums for your front porch. If your summer porch flowers are looking as sad as mine, this will be a welcome and much-needed freshening up of your entrance. While you’re at it, give your porch a good sweeping and shake out that entrance mat.

3. Plan an outing. One final picnic, a day at the lake or a long drive to admire the changing leaves…make a point to get outdoors and enjoy the sweet days of early fall. Don’t forget to take some photos and if you share them on Instagram I’d love for you to tag me so I can enjoy them.

4. Spend a quiet afternoon or evening thumbing through your cookbooks or browsing Pinterest. As the seasons change, so should our meals. Make a list of hearty soups, casseroles and other cool weather recipes you want to try. Recipe boxes may seem terribly old fashioned these days but consider pulling out that one you received as a wedding gift (or purchase one if need be). Handwrite some recipes to try and file them at the front of the box. After you cook that dish, file it in the proper section if it’s a keeper. If this all seems rather silly to you, consider the fact that it will be almost impossible to pass a Pinterest board down to your daughter or granddaughter someday.

5. Spend some evenings outdoors before it gets too cold. If you have a fire pit, roast marshmallows or just sit by it with a glass of wine. Do some stargazing. Light several candles on your porch or patio table and just enjoy a quiet hour without your phone or anything else to distract you.

6. Indulge in a collection of fall-scented cleaning supplies. I just ordered this set of apple cider scented products myself.

7. My family teases me about this next one but I consider fall the start of what I refer to as “puzzle weather”. I love to have a puzzle set out to work on during cool weather. If you aren’t a “puzzle person”, pull out a few board games or keep a deck of cards on the coffee table for impromptu games. I’ll need a little refresher since I haven’t played for years but I’m looking forward to playing gin rummy with my husband in the evenings.

8. I love candles year round but there’s something especially nice about a room lit by candles as the days grow shorter. Take stock of your candle collection and if it’s a bit skimpy, pick up a couple of new ones. I like light, fresh scents in the summer but fall just calls out for warmer scents such as vanilla or sandalwood.

9. Consider some fall crafts or DIY projects. Here’s a link to several good ones:

Fall DIY Projects

10. For many of us it just isn’t fall without pumpkin. I’m not a fan of pumpkin lattes but give me a warm slice of pumpkin bread and I’m a happy girl. I’m in the process of collecting pumpkin recipes to share with you (hopefully tomorrow!) but in the meantime, here are the links to pumpkin recipes here on Life With Dee: