It's Pumpkin Time!

Seeing as it's Halloween, and my last day of work at my current salon, I want to make eveyone something special. I see nothing more fitting to use than the most seasonal of ingredients, Pumpkin. These orange globes are themselves low-calorie, low-fat food, high in potassium, fiber, and vitamins A and C.
I'm baking everyone one of their favorite Jessie treats, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins with cream cheese center. Yes, they are as good as they sound!
Now, you can use the recipe, minus the chips and cheese for a pumpkin loaf . And you can use any size muffin cups. Being petite, i like mini ones...it also ups your cheese/muffin ratio.
I'm also going to make a treat for my dog using the same can of pumpkin as the muffins. Pumpkin can be used as a substitution for your dog's canned dog food, if you're trying to take off some extra pounds.
I'm also going to throw some of the salon's favorite meatballs, the easiest and most crowd pleasing holiday finger food, in the Crock pot. All you have to do for these is:
* buy 3-4 frozen bags of meatballs ( i like Trader Joe's turkey and mini party varieties)
*2 bottles of whatever your choice barbecue sauce is
* a jar of blackberry jelly
* and some spicy chili sauce (Thai variety)
*put meatballs, BBQ sauce, 1/2 the jar of jelly, and 1/2 the bottle chili sauce in the Crock pot and cook over high heat for 1 1/2 hours then turn down to low for another hour or so. The longer they cook, the better they'll taste. It's as simple as that.
*reserve the leftover sauce for more meatballs, or to use for BBQ chicken or beef.

These Pumpkin Muffins are a staple Holiday recipe for me. I came up with the recipe when inspired by the seasonal Pumpkin muffins and Pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks.I love to bake them with friends and some home made Chai tea and a good movie. I use Coconut oil for it's health benefits, such as strengthening the immune system, which is important this time of year. And it and the flax oil are good for the heart, by helping maintain good cholesterol levels. if you don't have those oils, you can use 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

Pumpkin Muffins:
2 cups Flour 1 1/4 cup Sugar 1 cup Pumpkin 2 Eggs 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice 1/2 Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 cup Coconut Oil 2 Tbsp Flax Oil 2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 c Pumpkin Butter 1 cup chocolate chips
4 oz cream cheese or Tofutti 1 1/2 T Honey

Preheat the oven to 350. Start by combining all of your dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix The eggs and oil together in a separate bowl then add pumpkin. Mix the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, folding until just incorporated. Remember, when making muffins the batter is always thick and clumpy. Fold in Chocolate chips and Pumpkin butter.
In a small bowl combine the cream cheese and honey along with a sprinkle of Cinnamon.
Line muffin tins with baking cups or just spray the pans with oil. Using a ice cream or cookie scoop, fill the cups to the top with batter. Using a small spoon, scoop spoonfuls of the cheese mixture into the center of the muffins, using another spoon to scrape it into the muffin. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown on the top. Enjoy!

Here's some of the crew I worked with at Chris Chase, on Halloween. I'm Peggy Bundy....

On to the dog treats! I started making these a number of months ago because I have a photographer friend who loves his dog more than anything, and his dog has arthritis in his hips. As a thank you for some really beautiful portraits my friend took of me, I wanted to do something for him. Knowing there really isn't anything I could have bought this guy, I made his dog some treats. I put Glucosamine in those to help relieve his pain. And both of our dogs loved them!
These treats take a bit of work, but they are loaded with whole grain, lean protein, fiber, vitamins, and healthy oils for your dogs skin, coat, and digestive tract. And they're 100% human friendly, no by-products here. The original recipe calls for peanut butter. Today, like I said, I'll be using Pumpkin instead. The rest of the recipe is exactly the same.

1/2 c ground Millet 1/2 c ground Barley 1/2 c Cornmeal 1 c Wheat Flour 1/3 c Pumpkin (peanut butter) 2 Tbs Olive oil 2 Tbs Coconut oil 1 Egg 1/2 cup Chicken stock sprinkle of Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. You will have to start by grinding the Millet and Barley in a coffee grinder, unless you can find them pre-ground, which I've never seen. Measure the grains after they have been ground.
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine oils and pumpkin in a bowl and stir. Mix with dry ingredients, followed by the egg. Gradually add stock until the mixture holds together.
Roll out onto a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with any shaped cutter that's bite sized, and bake for 15-20 min.
Try these with any number of substitutions...spinach, carrots, etc. I hope you all will enjoy these easy recipes and use them this Holiday season.