For The Love Pumpkin

If you have been following this blog for the past year, you know I have a great love of pumpkin.

From that orange squash you can make, soup, stew, bread, pastry, butter, flavoring for coffee and please do not forget the seeds!

Today, I thought I would give you the recipe for Pumpkin Butter.

As with most recipes I post on here. I took what I like from three or four different recipes and come up with my own recipe.

Since fresh pumpkin is not in season, I used canned.  This is not only easier, but faster than cooking down a pumpkin. To be honest it does not taste any different using fresh or canned. 

In the picture below is all the ingredients you will need!

 

Pumpkin Butter

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients

1 can (15 ounces) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

2 Tablespoons water

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients

Stirring frequently bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low.

 Cook, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes or until desire thickness is reached. The ideal thickness is the pumpkin butter should not easily slide off the spoon.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 months or freeze up to one year.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation highly suggests:

Canning pumpkin butter or mashed or pureed pumpkin is NOT recommended.
Home canning is not recommended for pumpkin butter or any mashed or pureed pumpkin or winter squash. In 1989, the USDA's Extension Service first published the Complete Guide to Home Canning that remains the basis of Extension recommendations today, found in the December 2009 revision. The only directions for canning pumpkin and winter squash are for cubed flesh. In fact, the directions for preparing the product include the statement, "Caution: Do not mash or puree." More information can be found here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/pumpkin_butter.html

 

Now besides using pumpkin butter on bread, and biscuits what can you do with it?

Make a Pumpkin Trifle

First you need to visit my second blog post “The Panic ofThe Lost Pumpkin Bread” for the pumpkin bread recipe.

After making a load of pumpkin bread and allowing it cool, you will need to cut it into cubes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup granulated sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.

Fold in 1 cup pumpkin butter

Layer the pumpkin bread cubes and whipped cream in deep glass dish or trifle bowl, alternating layers.

Lightly sprinkle pumpkin pie seasoning on top

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 12-14.

Chicken & Bacon Cacciatore

 

This is a different twist on cacciatore. The bacon gives wonderful flavor to this “hunter” style Italian dish.

There are many variations for making this dish, some use chicken, rabbit or even beef. Using bacon is an inexpensive alternative to pancetta.

This recipe was inspired by a version I found at BBC Good Food; I hope you enjoy it.

This fairly simple to make, but does take a bit of time but it is worth the wait!

I used boneless skinless chicken breast, which is not traditional for cacciatore. I would suggest if you were making this for a family, I would cube the breast before browning the meat. This way you can avoid knifes and little hands. 

This is an excellent dish to make and freeze for a later date!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

5 boneless skinless chicken breast

6 slices of thick bacon

2 onions, sliced

2 tbsp dried rosemary

28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed

1 jar of roasted red peppers, sliced

1 tbsp sugar

2 cups chicken stock

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 tbsp dried parsley

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the chicken, until golden on all sides.

As each piece is done, lift out onto a plate.

 Turn the heat down and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon crisps.

Lift out with a slotted spoon put with the chicken pieces.

Add the onions and rosemary to the casserole. Fry for 5-10 mins until the onions have softened.

Chop bacon into bite size pieces.

Return the chicken and bacon, along with the tomatoes, red peppers, sugar, stock and seasoning.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 40-50 mins until the chicken is tender

Serve over pasta or rice.