Hand Knit Pumpkin Hat

Finished a second pumpkin hat today.  This one should fit my 8 month old grandson, as the first one I made was too small.  The free pattern is on www.simplejill.com.  Very easy and quick to make.  I want to make a bunch of them, but I'm already moving on to another pattern.  LOL

Pumpkin Spice Banana Cake

We got snowed in today and it inspired me to do some baking.  I made bread to begin with and then decided to make a cake to use up some bananas that were getting pretty ripe.  It's extremely easy, and so delicious!

PUMPKIN SPICE BANANA CAKE
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (4 serving size) box of pumpkin spice flavored instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a bundt pan with oil and set aside.

Connect your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and in the bowl add the peeled bananas that have been broken into chunks.  Whisk for a few seconds to roughly mash.

Into the mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients and whisk on low for 2 minutes.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a plate and allow to finish cooling.  Eat as is or decorate it with frosting in any way you desire.

Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Our pets are our babies.  They are four legged ,furry members of our family.  They just adore it when we make treats for them, of course, they adore any sort of treat regardless of where it comes from.  I like making treats for them as that way I know what they are getting.  Some of the mass producing treats seem to be not much better than bone shaped cardboard.

I signed up to join in this peanut butter challenge and they way it works is that you have to come up with a recipe using peanut butter and another ingredient voted on each month.  This month the extra  ingredient to be used is pumpkin.  Also, it is supposed to be a dessert but I've been playing with this recipe for a little while and since it's a treat for our dogs, I consider it their dessert.

PUMPKIN AND PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS (Printable Recipe)

1 quart home canned pumpkin chunks (or a 15 oz. can pumpkin puree, not pie filling)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 cup oats
3-4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs and peanut butter.

Add the oats and flour until a dough forms.

  It will be sticky but you want it to be fairly firm.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to around 1/4" thick.  You will need to keep your hands and rolling pin well floured.  Use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out the treats.

Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet and lay the treats on the paper, leaving a little space between each treat.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

#‎peanutbutterbash‬

An InLinkz Link-up

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I saved all the seeds from one of the pumpkins from my garden.  I'll wind up saving them from all the pumpkins, this is just the first one I cut open.  These are SO delicious that, now, I feel these pumpkins don't give near enough seeds!

I used a product called Spicy Farm Dust that my husband picked up for me at a tiny little store near where he works.  I use it on everything savory, but if you don't have access to it, I'll give you a combination that would taste very similar.

The seeds are really easy to get out of the membrane and it's actually a nice, mindless process.  Just scoop up a bit of the pumpkin guts and pick the seeds out.  I usually just squeezed the tip of the seed and it just popped right off into my hand.

I put the seeds into a colander and the pulp into a bowl that I later took to the compost bin.

Once I had all the seeds free, I rinsed them under water to get the stickiness off of them and any loose membrane.  It's okay if a little bit is sticking to some of the seeds.

Place the seeds in a jar and fill with water to cover the seeds by an inch and add 1 Tablespoon of salt.  Stir it around to help dissolve the salt and place a lid on it.  Leave it on the counter overnight or up to 24 hours.  I'd pick the jar up and give it a little swirl but it would be fine to just leave it sitting.

Once they've sat long enough, drain them into a colander but DO NOT rinse.  They need to be spread out to dry a little and you could do this on some parchment paper but I decided to speed the process and used my dehydrator for a couple of hours on 105°F.

  Once they were dry on the surface I put them in a mixing bowl and added 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and a few shakes of Spicy Farm Dust*, probably about 1/4 teaspoon.  Stirred them well until all the seeds were coated and the seasoning was evenly distributed.

  I covered two baking sheets with parchment paper and spread the seeds onto them, trying to keep them from overlapping.  I then put them in a preheated 350°F oven for about 35 minutes or until toasted.

They are ready to eat as soon as they come out, or can be cooled and stored in an airtight container.

These are so, so, so GOOD!  I was honestly surprised by how much we really like them.

*If you don't have Spicy Farm Dust, and I seriously doubt that you do, you can season with a little season salt and cayenne pepper.