Pumpkin Dump Cake-- A Holiday Favorite!

 

A friend of mine made this for a Thanksgiving party that we went to and it was a huge hit! It requires limited preparation and it is so delicious! I made this pumpkin dump cake on Thanksgiving and I definitely will be making it again!

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Ingredients:

15  ounce can of pumpkin puree

12  ounce can of evaporated milk

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs

3/4 cups sugar

1 box of  yellow cake mix

1 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2  envelopes of Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal                                                  

Directions:

1. Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, spice, eggs and sugar. Pour into ungreased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Sprinkle oatmeal on top and then pecans. Pour melted butte on top. 
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until firm.
 
 

 

Pumpkin Pancakes

I made Pumpkin Pancakes for our Pumpkin Potluck the other night. I love adding fruits and vegetables to dishes that are not normally real nutritious, which is one of the reasons why I love this potluck. I love it for other reasons too-- I LOVE pumpkin and I love to experiment and try new recipes and concoctions.  I figured that pancakes are very kid friendly, so Pumpkin Pancakes would be a great way to introduce the kids to pumpkin. The pancakes were delicious and big hit with the kids (and the mom's). The pumpkin taste is just right, not overpowering or overwhelming.

I will be making these again Thanksgiving morning.

 

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (I use canned)
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the milk, pumpkin, egg, and oil. In another bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir until combined, do not over mix.

 

Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Pour batter into small circles on the pan and allow each pancake to cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown on each side. Serve the pancakes warm with maple syrup.

 

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dip

I love pumpkin! Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pancakes, Pumpkin Ravioli... Anything pumpkin! My kids are big fans as well. This is the second year in a row that  we hosted a Pumpkin Potluck Dinner Playdate. Our friends (moms and kids) join us for dinner, dessert and some playtime. Each mom brought a dish or dessert that highlighted the deliciousness of pumpkin. I made Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dip, Pumpkin Smoothies, and Pumpkin Pancakes. Over the next few days, I will post the recipes so that you can enjoy  them this Fall too! Below is the recipe for the delicious and simple to make Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dip that I made. This dip is amazing and only took a few minutes to make. I always have a few cans of pumpkin in my pantry and cream cheese in the fridge, so I had everything I needed on hand. I threw all of the ingredients in my stand mixer and let it do the work for me. I served the dip with graham crackers and animal crackers. 

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup powder sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and serve. Refrigerate any left overs.

Check Out These Pumpkins!

 

A Minion Pumpkin!

 

Smurf Jack-o-lantern

 

It's Doc Mc Stuffin's!

Our Lion Pumpkin

Every year we put together a pumpkin for our Cub Scout Pack's Halloween party and pumpkin decorating contest. This is a Lion Pumpkin we made last year.  I ended up making it out of one of those fake carvable pumpkins so that we could keep it and display it year after year.

 

Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats

 

Last week, we had another fun playdate with the kids! We made some adorable Pumpkins out of Rice Krispies! They were almost as easy to make as regular rice krispies treat, but definitely more fun!

 

Ingredients:

• Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 Bag of Marshmallows
• Butter
• Red & yellow food coloring
• 18-20 tootsie rolls unwrapped
• Green Frosting for leaves

 

Directions:

To make, all you need to do is follow the rice krispies treats recipe on the back of the box. When your marshmallows are nice and melted, add red and yellow food coloring until you reach a pumpkin orange color.

 

 

After you stir the rice krispies into the orange marshmallow mixture, spray some cooking spray on the palms of your hands and roll the mixture quickly into balls. I found that I needed to spray my hands between rolling each ball. Place a tootsie roll in the center of each pumpkin and garnish with frosting leaves.

Our Little Spider Pumpkin

My youngest and I went to my girlfriend's house last week and she had a little pumpkin decorated as a spider that she made with her son. My son told me then and there that he wanted to make one too. I asked her about it and she said that it was a craft kit that she got for like $10. $10 for a spider pumpkin? I was quickly rethinking making one with my son...

 

The next night, I had to run to Target to pick up a few things. I found black glittery Styrofoam pumpkins in the dollar section. Jackpot! I grabbed one to turn into a spider and two others, I'd find a use for them when I got home. When we got home, we stuck some pipe cleaners into the pumpkin for legs and glues googley eyes on him to make him a spider. It cost me $1 for the pumpkin, everything else I had in my stash. My son loves his little spider pumpkin and since it is made out of Styrofoam, it can be used year after year.

 

We turned another pumpkin into an Eyeball Monster Pumpkin and decided to leave the third one plain, at least for now.

 

My Eyeball Monster Pumpkin

 

I love crafting, especially around the holidays. Halloween and Christmas are my 2 favorite holidays so this time of year I am always crafting! I found these black foam pumpkins at Target in their dollar section and decided to pick 3 up. This is the first one I made, simple but cute. My kids love monsters and googley eyes so I figured I'd make a monster pumpkin filled with a ton of eyes. They really got a kick out of it. It didn't take me under a half an hour to hot glue (with a low temp gun) all of the eyes on. I picked the googely eyes up from the dollar store, so this pumpkin cost me under $2 to make and brought me lots of smiles. Now to figure out what to do with the other pumpkins!!