Soup in a Pumpkin

SOUP IN A PUMPKIN

10-16 lb. pumpkin
Butter
2 ½ c fresh white bread crumbs
½ tsp. pepper
2 c minced onion
1/2 c butter
1 Tbsp. celery seed
1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese
2 qts. Chicken stock
½ tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
¼ c parsley
1 c grated cheddar cheese

Cut lid off pumpkin. Remove seeds. Rub inside of lid with butter. Bake the bread crumbs in oven on a cookie sheet at 350 for 15 min. Sauté onions until tender. Add bread crumbs and celery seed and stir until covered completely and cook for 3 min. Pour into prepared pumpkin. Add cheeses, stock, and remaining seasonings. Place lid on the pumpkin, place the pumpkin on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 1 ½ hours, until pumpkin has softened. Bring the cream to a simmer then add to pumpkin. When serving, scrape the sides of the pumpkin with the ladle so that bits of pumpkin will be added to the soup. Serve with hot rolls and green salad. Makes 8-10 servings

Haylee’s Note:

One of my friends made this soup for me a long time ago, and I thought it was the BEST thing I had EVER had. After a few years, I tracked her down and got the recipe. I don’t know if I didn’t follow the recipe well, or if I just had pregnancy stomach, or if it just wasn’t as good as I remembered, but this recipe was only ok to me. However, I took the leftovers the next day, put it in the blender and tweaked it a little, and I LOVED it the second day. So, maybe play around with this one, and let me know what you think!

Halloween Food

Witch Hat
So EASY and SOO cute!!!!! I got this idea from my sister-in-law Jadi. Just take Hershey kisses and shortbread cookies and stick them together using melted chocolate. Then finish the edge with a little piped frosting. Yum!


Bean Dip Spider Web
Mix black beans, salsa, and Monterey jack cheese in the food processor. Bake in the oven until warm. Spiral sour cream on the top then pull out to make a spider web effect.


Candy Corn Quesadillas
This idea was my sister Heather’s. She just uses tortillas and uses 3 different colors of cheese and layers them in towards the center, then cuts them into triangles to look like candy corns.


Spider Web Cream of Wheat
Make your cream of wheat, then swirl in a dark jam (I used grape jam) start in the middle and pull outward using a knife


Cyclops Egg Eye
Just make a regular sunny side up egg and make squiggly lines using ketchup! I also served these with toast cut in Halloween shapes (a pumpkin toast with peach jam, and a cat with the grape jelly)


Lady Finger Breadsticks
Also my sister’s idea!! Just use your favorite breadstick recipe, then shape them like fingers, make knuckle marks, and add an almond for the nail!


Celery Mummies
Cut celery and fill with Old English Cheese. Then, make “bandages” across the mummy using string cheese or grated mozzerella. Use dried fruit for the eyes.


Pumpkin Veggie Tray
Use an assortment of veggies and arrange to look like a Jack-o-lantern!

Cheesy Ghosts

CHEESY GHOSTS

1 pkg. crescent rolls
1 clove minced garlic
melted butter
shredded mozzarella cheese
Olives, green peppers, or other garnish

Unroll crescent rolls and cut in half long ways. Form each roll of dough into a “ghost” shape. Combine minced garlic and butter and spread onto each “ghost.” Bake for approx 8 min. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 2 more minutes. Top with olives or green peppers for the eyes, nose and mouth.

Haylee’s Note:
I saw this idea in a Pillsbury magazine 2 years ago. These are really easy and fun to make. I think they turn out cuter if you use olives instead of green bell peppers, but I didn’t want to open a whole can to use 3 olives! You can experiment with any toppers you want!

Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake

Before baking

After Baking
BROWNIE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

1 box brownie mix
(and ingredients needed for mix)
2 packages softened cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. melted chocolate chips

Make box of brownies according to directions on box. Pour into a 10" spring form pan and cook for 30 min. Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, and spice. Pour mixture over cooked brownie except for 1/2 cup of the mixture. Mix remaining 1/2 cup mixture with the 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips. Put chocolate/pumpkin mixture into a frosting bag and decorate a "pumpkin face" on top. Bake 40 minutes at 350. Cool in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Haylee's Note:
I got this recipe from a Pillsbury magazine. If you don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money for pumpkin pie spice you can just use a combination of allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. If you didn't want to make this for Halloween, I thought it would be yummy to just mix in non-melted chocolate chips throughout the mixture! Either way it is pretty yummy!

Halloween Sugar Cookies

HALLOWEEN SUGAR COOKIES

1 c. softened butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp. soda
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Add remaining ingredients. Chill 2-3 hours. Roll out thick. Use cookie cutters for shapes. Bake at 375 for 7 min.

Haylee's Note:
For the spider web cookies, I just frosted with white frosting, then made a spiral with chocolate frosting (you could also use regular frosting just made black with food coloring). Next I took a skewer and made lines starting in the center of the cookie and pulled out to the edge.

Celery Mummies

CELERY MUMMIES

Celery
Cream Cheese
Laughing Cow cheese
Raisins
Turkey deli meat

Mix one part cream cheese to one part laughing cow cheese. Put mixture into a baggie and cut off one end. Squeeze mixture into celery sticks. Cut turkey deli meat into strips for the bandages. Cris-cross along the celery and tuck in with a toothpick. Use pieces of cut up Raisins’ for the mummy eyes.

Haylee's Note:
This need to be made right before eating them so they stay fresh. This would be good using only cream cheese or only laughing cow cheese.