Sweets and Treats

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins...I love pumpkins! Mom and I went to a fall festival on Saturday....the rain held, the place was packed, and there were pumpkins everywhere! We checked out all the vendors, bought some goodies and just enjoyed the fall party atmosphere. Before we left, I bought a couple smaller sized pumpkins to experiment with later.


After we left the festival, we headed back to my apartment for lunch. I had made chicken salad the night before and put it in the fridge so the flavors would blend. I cut thick slices of Italian bread and toasted them under the broiler of the oven. When they were golden brown, I removed them and filled them with the salad and a crunchy piece of romaine lettuce. Holy yummy....and with Mom's homemade applesauce on the side...DIVINE. I meant to take a picture, but we were hungry, the sandwiches smelled delish and I just plain forgot. I can't help you with Mama's applesauce, but here is the chicken salad recipe...

Chicken Salad:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3/4 cup light Miracle Whip
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tbs very finely diced sweet onion
3/4 cup red seedless grapes, cut in halves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably over-night.

After lunch, we headed out to see a movie...Love Happens. It was cute...I hard a hard time seperating the male lead from his previous role as Two-Face from the new Batman movie, but all in all, I really liked it. Mom drove me back to my apartment and she headed home. It was a lovely mother-daughter bonding day!
Later that night, I went into super-baker mode....I cut the two pumpkins I bought earlier into quarters after I removed all the goop from inside. I placed them on cookie sheets and roasted them in the oven. After they cooked completely through, I removed the pieces from the sheets, cut the meat from the skin, and pureed the meat in the blender....viola! Fresh pumpkin puree! I used the fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin walnut raisin bread...lots of it. I made two loaves and a large bundt cake of the bread; I took a loaf to Mom and Dad, one to Grandma and Grandpa, and left the bundt cake at home. It's so good and I love knowing I made it all from scratch.

Pumpkin Walnut Raisin Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Mix flour, salt, sugar, soda. In separate bowl, combine all other ingredients, except walnuts and raisins. Slowly pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring continually. Mix well. Add raisins and walnuts. Pour into greased pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Knife will come out clean from the center of the bread when done.
While waiting for the bread to bake, I also made sugar and spice pecans...they are very similar to the spiced almonds that you can get at ballgames. They are super easy to make and soooo addictive!

Sugar and Spice Pecans
1 large bag whole pecans
1 egg white
1 tbs water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs nutmeg
1/2 tbs cloves

Mix egg white and water. Pour over pecans and mix until all are moistened. Mix sugar and spices. Pour over pecans and mix well. Pour onto a cookie sheet and bake for thirty minutes at 300 degrees. Turn pecans every 10 minutes to crisp all sides.

I'm loving all these fall recipes and experimenting in my kitchen...unfortunately, I'm up to my eyeballs in sweets and treats. I can't eat all this stuff...my waistline is begging me not to. I could just stop making so much food, but where's the fun in that? Sweets and treats for everyone...get it outta my house!