Caramel Pumpkin Spice Trifle

As I made this the other day for a dinner

party, the house was filled with the most

delicious fall baking smells.  It is not

only beautiful, but absolutely delicious,

with the flavors that remind you of fall

and Thanksgiving.

This is the perfect dessert for your Thanksgiving

buffet.

Layers of pumpkin spice cake with easy microwave

homemade caramel sauce, and a creamy filling is

topped with whipped cream and toffee bits.  What 

is not to love?  

My taste buds have always leaned away from

pumpkin pie, even as a little girl, I would ask

my mom to make something else.  I love pumpkin

in things, just not pumpkin pie, so this is a perfect

dessert for me.

The microwave caramel sauce is a step

you don't want to skimp on.  This goes together

so quickly and really makes the dessert.

We served extra caramel on the side,

and of course everyone added additional

sauce.

Caramel Pumpkin Spice Trifle Recipe

1 box Spice Cake Mix

3/4 C. pumpkin puree

Make the cake according to the box

directions, adding in the pumpkin.  Bake in

a 9x13 inch pan until it springs back, about 25-30

minutes.  Let cool.

Meanwhile make caramel sauce.

1 C. melted butter

1 C. white corn syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 C. brown sugar

Mix everything in a microwave

safe bowl and microwave on high 

for one minute.  Remove bowl and

stir well.  Microwave one additional

minute and stir again.  Repeat this

for a third time and the caramel should

be ready.  Let cool.

Prepare creamy filling layer.

1 can sweetened condensed milk,

3 T. lemon juice

8 oz. Cool Whip

Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk

and the lemon juice.  It will begin to thicken

up.  Fold in the cool whip.

In a trifle bowl, or individual serving

dishes, begin by layering 1/3 of the

cake.  Crumble it and then top with

about 1/2 C. homemade caramel

sauce.  Gently spoon on 1/2 of the

creamy filling.  Repeat and end with cake

and caramel sauce.  Top with 2 C. sweetened

whip cream or 8 oz. Cool Whip.

Sprinkle 1/2 C. Heath Bits on top.

Cover and place in refrigerator for

several hours or overnight to firm up

and let flavors blend.

Serve with additional caramel sauce on the side.

Pumpkin Asiago Cream Sauce Over Halloween Bowtie Pasta

Beaulah doesn't just love sweets, she loves pumpkin too and so

we whipped up this rich, delicious, creamy sauce for a fun

seasonal dinner.

Look at these fun Halloween striped bowtie pasta shapes.

Who could resist those?

Of course Beaulah and I couldn't.

We do a lot of Halloween shopping together and we

looked at these and both agreed that we had to create a dish

featuring these beautiful pasta shapes just in

Beaulah's colors.  

Pumpkin Asiago Cream Sauce Recipe

2 T. butter

2 T. finely chopped onion

1 large clove garlic, minced 

2/3 C. pumpkin puree

pinch freshly grated nutmeg 

2 C. heavy whipping cream

1 C. grated asiago cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

In frying pan melt butter and saute onion until soft, then add the

garlic and saute it until soft.  Be careful not to brown the onion.

Add the pumpkin and nutmeg and heat through.  Pour in the

cream and cook the mixture until thickened, about 5 minutes.  

Stir in the asiago cheese until melted.  Season with salt.

Serve over pasta.

I had some butternut squash in the fridge so I decided to top

the pumpkin sauce with it, but the sauce can easily stand on 

its own.

Sauteed Butternut Squash

2 T. butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 C. cubed butternut squash

1/2 tsp. salt

In frying pan melt butter.  Saute the garlic until soft.  Add

the squash and saute until cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Season with salt.

I was so thrilled that the pasta didn't lose its intense colors as it

cooked and it held its shape perfectly too.  Of course this rich

sauce would be wonderful over any pasta but this makes such

a fun seasonal dish.

The fun pasta shapes were found while we were

treasure hunting

at

 Home Goods/TJ Maxx!

They have similar ones in different colors throughout the

year.  Pick them up if you see them.  As a matter of fact,

we love lots of their amazing pastas.  

I will be posting with

On The Menu Monday

Foodie Friday

Bacon Jalapeno Dip in a Baked Pumpkin

Beaulah has a sweet tooth, actually she has a few

missing sweet teeth but she also loves savory

and we whipped up this wonderful dip

served in a baked pumpkin just to prove it!

Bacon Jalapeno Dip in a Baked Pumpkin

2-3 lb. pumpkin, cleaned out

16 oz. cream cheese

2 C. monterey jack or mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 T. finely chopped jalapeno

2 T. finely chopped onion

1/2 C. cooked and crumbed bacon

3/4 C. salsa verde

Heat oven to 350

Place the cream cheese in a large microwave safe bowl and soften

on high for about 1 minute.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Place the dip in the cleaned pumpkin and place it in a baking

dish with 1 inch of water.  Lightly cover the pumpkin

with foil.   Place the pumpkin and baking dish

in the oven and bake for about one hour or until the dip

is hot and beginning to bubble around the edges.

I put the top of the pumpkin in the oven for the last 20 minutes

so it looked baked too.

We served it with both bread and chips, but I definitely preferred

the bread.  If you have any leftovers, scoop it out and place it

in the fridge and pop it in the microwave to reheat.  This was

fabulous, but Beaulah says, "Isn't anything with cream cheese and

bacon?"

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

These adorable turkey bowls were a splurge years

ago from Spiegel catalog.  They just needed to be

part of our Thanksgiving dinner so we had to

add soup or salad as a first course to our dinner.

The favorite soup course has been Spiced Pumpkin Soup.

If you follow Tablescapes Thursday, you saw me tease

with a promise of the recipe for this great soup.

Let's life the turkey's lid and take a peek.

I like my soup creamy and rich and thick.

This fun garnish adds crunch and texture to a silky smooth

soup with complex hints of herbs and spices.

For todays soup, I decided to lightly roast some small pumpkins

that I grew in my garden.  These will become the soup bowls

for tonights supper.

Cut the tops off and using a sharp spoon ( a serated grapefruit

spoon worked really well), clean out the seeds and pulp.  Lightly

salt and roast for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup Recipe

1/4 C. butter

1 C. onion

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

3 C. chicken stock

1 1/2 C. canned pumpkin puree or you

can puree your own (I used canned)

1 C. cream or half and half

2 T. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 C. cold water

Melt butter in saucepan and saute onion and garlic until

translucent.  Don't let brown.  Add spices (next 6 ingredients)

and saute for 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock, pumpkin

and then the cream or half and half. 

Use a hand held blender to puree the soup.  Be careful as it

will be hot.  Or if you don't have a hand held blender, pour

it in batches into your blender and puree.  Pour through a

fine mesh sieve to remove any small pieces to create a super

smooth soup. 

Place back in the saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Add the

cornstarch dissolved in water.  Heat until thickened.

Garnish as desired.  I used toasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin

seeds), crumbled bacon and crumbled croutons.

Serves 4.

If you would like a little more heat, add 1/2 tsp. liquid hot sauce.

Hope you enjoy this yummy pumpkin soup.  It is great all winter.

I will be sharing this on

Foodie Fridays 

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Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

We have a couple of old fashioned hamburger joints

in town that are famous for their pie shakes.  When

ever they make a shake based on a pie, they throw

in a little crunch of graham cracker or cookie to be

like the crust. 

I really had a desire to put together a recipe that was

something like they would serve - a pumpkin pie ice cream.

I wanted something with a light pumpkin flavor but a great

spice so I chose to use gingersnaps for the "pie crust" crunch.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Recipe

2 C. whipping cream

2 C. half and half

1 1/2 C. brown sugar

3/4 C. canned pumpkin

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

small jar marshmallow cream

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C. crushed gingersnap cookies

Mix everything except the cookies in your mixer until

mostly smooth.  The marshmallow cream might not be mixed

in completely.  

Process in your ice cream maker.  I love the 2 quart Cuisinart

ice cream maker.  It makes enough for the family and is able to

process it until it is quite firm.

Meanwhile place a pan in the freezer to cool it and place

the crushed cookie crumbs in the pan so they are cold 

when you mix the ice cream in.  

When the ice cream can hold its shape, transfer it quickly

to the pre-chilled pan, stirring in the cookie crumbs.

Return the pan to freezer to harden or ripen the ice cream.

This is the hard part - waiting.  

When firm, scoop and serve with additional gingersnaps

if desired. 

Everyone loved this creation.

It would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving dinner.

It is light and flavorful and has the surprising gingery crunch.

I will be posting with

Mom's Crazy Cooking

Tasty Tuesday and Foodie Friday