Taste the Season: Pumpkin in Nebraska

Of all of the seasons, fall has always been my favorite.  Possibly that has to do with lots of family birthday celebrations.  But I think that pumpkin also plays a big part.  Love pumpkins!  Various sizes and shapes fill our house.  Bath & Bodyworks Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin soap and lotions are used almost daily.  Pumpkin also happens to be one of my favorite foods.

A few weeks ago I went to Trader Joe’s.  When this store arrived in Lincoln, I  could not figure out what the big deal was about a grocery store.  Then I visited there and discovered lots of fun foods.  For the sake of our grocery budget, it is probably a good thing that the store is clear across town.  But when I make it that direction, Trader Joe’s is almost always one of my stops.

When I went there in late October, they were featuring pumpkin.  I had to restrain myself.  I already have Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte tea mix.  I enjoyed discovering some new products.  For some people, pumpkin season ends with Halloween, but in our house, this versatile fruity vegetable (yes, it is often classified as both!) lasts all fall.

The pumpkin ravioli was delicious and only needed a bit of butter and garlic salt.  Since I can tired of fruit bar flavors, adding pumpkin to the mix is really fun.  And really good.  And their Halloween Joe Joe’s (their version of Oreos) are the best ever.  Maybe it is the Vanilla Bean cream filling?  Probably mean of me to post that picture since those are no longer available.  But their peppermint Joe Joe’s will be arriving soon – crushed candy canes in their Vanilla Bean filling – sign me up.

I know that for some of you a Trader Joe’s is not nearby.  At least pumpkin can be purchased at any grocery store.  Occasionally I have taken the time to actually bake my own pumpkin and then enjoy roasting the seeds.  Most of the time, I just go with canned pumpkin.  A busy mom has her limits.

I have a few favorite recipes that I like to make every fall that feature pumpkin as the star ingredient.  Maybe some of these will become your favorites as well.

Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Sauce This recipe from the Meal Makeover Moms is a favorite of mine and my oldest.  My other children might like it by now – for the longest time, I would just serve them sandwiches.  (I think pickyness is not the issue – Mom just needs to work on sharing.)  We use half of the sauce for one large bag of cheese ravioli, then freeze the rest for next time.   I do believe we will be dining on this for lunch today!

One of my favorite pumpkin recipes is “Autumn Chicken Carnivale” from the 46th National Chicken Cooking Contest.  I was hoping to post a link to that recipe online, but I could not find it anywhere.  I did find 100 pumpkin & chicken recipes on Yummly.  Maybe I will have to add new recipes to my repertoire.

For today I will close with one last favorite pumpkin recipe.  I am not sure where my Mom first got this recipe, so I am not sure who to credit,  But this has been a family favorite for years.  I like this better than pumpkin pie.  And if you happen to be coming to my house for Bible study tonight, you will get to sample it for this is dessert today at our house!

Author: neodyssey