I wouldn’t say that I’m a big pumpkin fan, but this time of year it always sounds good. It’s cold, it’s rainy, there was Halloween and now Thanksgiving approaching, I want comfort food – the reasons go on and on for wanting pumpkin.

Fortunately 1 can can go a long way. Here are three recipes I made with just 1 can of pumpkin.

First, we have pumpkin and ricotta pasta casserole. I had high hopes for this, but it was kind of a letdown. I think that you have to really love pumpkin to like it. The first couple times I ate it, it was pretty OK but then I just got sick of it. And I even halved the recipe so there wouldn’t be as much leftover. I wound up throwing out the last serving as it sat in the fridge for waaaay too long. So if you just adore pumpkin, I’d say this give a try. Otherwise, save the (not cheap) pecans for something tastier ….

Pumpkin pecan granola. This I would definitely recommend. It was my first time making granola, and I plan on doing it more often! It was super easy but still felt rewarding because I got to pull a big sheet chock full of granola out of the oven, and now I have a ton of breakfasts (yogurt & granola at my desk every day) already covered. I think I took it out of the oven a little soon though – it’s more chewy than crunchy, so there’s a lesson for next time. The recipe makes quite a bit of granola, so if you’re making it for just yourself, as I was, you may want to consider making half a batch.

Finally, I made chocolate chip oatmeal pumpkin cookies. They turned out OK. They’re kind of a healthier cookie as there’s no butter (though I wouldn’t actually call them healthy). The chocolate chips are definitely key here; without them, I don’t think the cookies would be very good. Shocking, huh? Who knew chocolate was good?

If you’re in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, but want something a tad healthier, I think these are worth a shot. The great thing about this recipe is that even if you wind up not liking the final product, the recipe is for a small batch, so it’s not the end of the world if you don’t like the cookie.

So there you go – 1 can and 3 recipes. I even had a tiny bit left over but I threw it out. I am pumpkined out.*

* OK, not quite – I really want to try these.

Please read Paula Deen’s “recipe” for English Peas and then read the reviews below. You won’t be sorry.

And while you’re at it, check out Rachael Ray’s “recipe” for Midnight Bacon.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a career change, and I think I’ve found my new calling: Food Network star! You should see me fry an egg! I even boil pasta! On the stove!

First up was this chocolate peanut butter pie. I’ve been waiting a long time to make this. I knew that I had to make it for some sort of event where I would not be able to eat it, as I knew that if I kept it at home, I’d eat it all in 2 days.

We have a themed monthly potluck at church, and this month the theme was legumes. Since peanuts are legumes and because peanut butter is delicious, I knew it was time to bust out the killer pie. It should come as no surprise that the pie went very quickly – I didn’t even have any. But, lucky for me or unfortunately, depending on how you view it, not all of the batter fit into the crust, so I wound up having my own mini pie waiting for me in the refrigerator at home when the potluck was over. And oh man, is it good!

Last night I made Squash, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Pasta with Basil. I know, right? It was pretty good although I used whole wheat shells for the pasta, and as much as I try and try, I just don’t really like whole wheat pasta (with the exception of this recipe for cauliflower and pasta). It would have been better with regular pasta, but it was still good and I’m looking forward to the leftovers.

Then tonight I made Smoked Salmon Feta Couscous, which is a ridiculously easy meal. I couldn’t believe it took as little time as it did. I was going to boil some frozen vegetables as a side, but the couscous was ready before I even had time to think about the vegetables, so I said screw it and enjoyed my veggie-less meal, thankyouverymuch.

Made anything tasty lately?

!!!

Intrigued? Check it: Frozen Peanut-Butter-Chocolate-Chip Milkshakes

Peanut butter milkshakes are my favorite, so I was very excited to try this somewhat healthier version. And I have to say it’s pretty darn good. It’s not the same as a regular milkshake, but it’s a lot closer than I expected it would be. I definitely recommend giving it a go, and I definitely plan on making it again. I’m not a huge chocolate chip fan, so next time I’ll probably use chocolate syrup. Actually, now that I think about it, Nutella would be amazing. But Nutella is amazing on everything – which is why I have banned it from my apartment.

The recipe also gave me a chance to use my food processor for the first time. The food processor I got for Christmas. Yes, six months ago – that food processor. The one I was dyyyyyyyying to get and was so excited about that I let it collect dust for half a year. There’s a needs vs. wants lesson in there somewhere.

To recap:

Delicious “milk”shake? Check.

Food processor does in fact work? Check.

The recipe made two servings like it said it would? Check.

Pretended like it was one serving? Check.

The pizza is not exactly cheap, as prosciutto is rather expensive considering how much you get. And fontina isn’t really low cost either. But I think the cost is worth it, as it’s a nice change from the usual tomato sauce and mozzarella pizza.

Made anything noteworthy lately?

• Budget Friendly, Gluten-Free Grocery Staples
• Homemade Gluten-Free Noodles
• Homemade Gluten-Free Bread
• Gluten-Free Desserts

• Apartment Therapy is doing a Home Hacks series, and it’s pretty awesome. There are some rather silly ideas, but plenty of good ones too, including using a walnut to cover up dings in wooden furniture.
• From the Kitchn, a couple egg tips: how to test an egg for freshness (it seems like they last forever?) and how to get the eggshell out of a cracked egg (I run into this problem quite a bit!)

Treat time!

• Also from the Kitchen, 11 grown up cocktails without alcohol
• S’mores cupcakes. I’m not sure what to say about this, other than I WANT TO TRY IT!

• Magic Juice – this sounds and looks wonderful!
• How to make grenadine and why you should bother. I never really thought about grenadine having high fructose corn syrup. Of course, I’m not exactly trying to avoid HFCS either. But still – this is good to know! My initial thought is that this would be good if you’re having a party where you’ll be having a lot of drinks with grenadine, but if you want to keep something in your fridge for a long time, it might not work. However, comment #13 points out that this concoction will keep for a long time depending on how you store it. If you’re like me and it takes you forever and a day to use up alcohol and other alcohol-related mixers, this is good news.

Try 8 Swanky Sauces to Glamorize Dinner. I’m a fan of piccata sauce and other sauces with capers. Capers just feel fancy.

And while you’re sexing up supper, invite Color Me Badd over:

(This is one of my favorite songs. I’m not even joking.)

Did you know that The Stranger keeps an event calendar for food? It includes lots of specially priced events and other fun things – like World Nutella Day! Who knew? Some of the events are more on the fancy end of the spectrum but there are some deals thrown in there too. The next time you feel like heading out for dinner, check the calendar first!

You can get a free sample of either:

• GOLEAN Crisp!™ Toasted Berry Crumble cereal,
• TLC® Dark Chocolate Coconut Fruit & Grain bar
• GOLEAN Crunch!® Honey Almond Flax cereal

Click here to sign up!

First up is roasted cabbage with bacon. I rarely buy cabbage because I just don’t really know what to do with it. But this recipe was so popular I thought I’d give it a shot. And it was good – but greasy. I loved the cabbage, and I of course love the bacon, but the grease from the bacon was a little too much. That said, I still enjoyed it. However, the leftovers were soggy and extra greasy.

The other problem I have with this dish is that I only like bacon when it’s super crispy. Some of the bacon became very crispy during the roasting process, but some of it stayed soft. It was still cooked okay, but it just wasn’t at that primo crispy stage. I’m not sure that I would make this again, but I’d still recommend it.

On to the second recipe: garlic noodles. I give it a meh. I don’t think I’ll make it again, but it wasn’t terrible – just average. And now my apartment smells like garlic, which can be good to an extent. However, this garlic smell goes just beyond my threshold of acceptable.

Made anything good – or meh – lately?

The microwave popcorn one was interesting. I never would have thought the bag could be hazardous, but it really does make me second guess if I want to continue buying it. Here are some other suggestions for how to make popcorn that don’t require possibly cancer-causing chemicals.

This is so tempting, so very tempting…