Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

Last week I bought a bunch of apples at the farmers market.  I opted to try to make applesauce with them which was a new adventure for me.  The combination of pumpkin and apples is great for fall so I used up more of my canned pumpkin and tossed it in with the apples.   I wanted my apple sauce to be healthy so there is no sugar added, but you can certainly add sugar or honey to sweeten it up a bit.

Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

Ingredients:

• 5 medium apples
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1) Core and slice apples

2) Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours.

3) Remove cinnamon stick and blend to desired consistency.  I used an electric mixer, but you can use a food processor, blender, or a potato masher depending on how chunky or smooth you want it.

Pumpkin Hummus

Up until last summer I had never tried hummus before.  Man was I missing out.  Now its one of my favorite snacks, and its great on everything.  I had never tried making my own hummus before, but when I saw a recipe for pumpkin hummus I knew I had to try it.  It was much easier than expected to make.  Only issue I ran into was when the cup got stuck in the base of the blender and I thought I was going to have to destroy the entire thing to free my hummus.  Luckily it didn't come to that and after about 5 minutes of panicking I got the cup off the base and enjoyed my snack.

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 15oz. can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1 clove of garlic
• the juice from 1 lemon
• 6 tbsp canned pumpkin
• 5 tbsp tahini
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp water
• salt to taste

Instructions:

1) Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.  That's it!

Sangria Clara

Last week we had a girls night and at first I was just going to to bring wine, but then I decided some sangria sounded really good.   I'm not a fan of red wine so I went with a nice white sangria with apple and cinnamon flavors that would be perfect for fall.  It doesn't take much time to prepare, but make sure you have enough time to let it sit overnight to let the flavors come together.

Sangria Clara

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  water
• 1 small bunch fresh mint
• 1/2 cup  sugar
• 3 cloves
• 4 short cinnamon sticks (I used 2 and broke them in half)
• 3 1/2 cups white wine (I used Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc) 
• 2 cups  sparkling apple cider
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 small apples, cut into chunks
• 2 small oranges, sliced thin crosswise
• 2 small peaches, cut into chunks

Instructions:

1) In a small saucepan, combine the water, mint, sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature.

2)  Remove and discard the mint leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks, and pour the mixture into a large serving pitcher.  Add the wine, cider, and orange juice.

3) Mix in the fruit and refrigerate overnight.

More Pumpkin Beer

Happy October!!  Just like last year I've spent the last few months stocking up on as many different pumpkin beers as I could find.   I also picked up a pumpkin wine and a pumpkin cider.  Again, I don't know a lot about beer but here are some different varieties to look out for.  This years varieties include some which have an alcohol by volume (ABV) a bit higher than average beer.  I'm excited to give them a try.

Pumking - Southern Tier Brewing Company - ABV 8.6%
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale - Saint Louis Brewery - ABV 8.0%
Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 8.5%
HornyCopia Pumpkin Ale - Rex Beverage Holdings - ABV 5.7%
Redhook Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Ale - Redhook Ale Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Ichabod Pumpkin Ale - New Holland Brewery - ABV 5.2%
Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 5.7%
UFO Pumpkin - Harpoon Brewery - ABV 5.9%
Pumple Drumkin Spiced Ale - Cisco BRewers Inc. - ABV 6.0%
Pumpkin Lager - Lakefront Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin - Shipyard Brewing Co. - ABV 9.0%
Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale - Hoppin' Frog Brewery - ABV 8.4%
Smoked Pumpkin Cider - Tieton Cider Works - ABV 6.4%
Prairie Pumpkin Wine - Prairie State Winery - ABV 10.0%