What To Do With Pumpkin Leftovers

By Dennis Henry of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture

Can you believe it is November already? With the Holiday Season just around the corner, our thoughts are with planning the meal of the year, the Thanksgiving Dinner.  But we just finished Halloween and still have the ole Jack o’Lantern on the front porch.  Well don’t fret – it’s Dennis with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture coming to you with ideas on what to do with your Pumpkin leftovers.

Pumpkin leftovers??  Yes, why not!  We all look for those Thanksgiving leftover recipes, why should the Turkey get all the attention? The pumpkin is just as important during this the Harvest season.  So I want to share with you three ideas: a twist on a standard Holiday side dish; an idea for our special four-legged friends; and a way to make your Holiday table more festive--all using your pumpkin leftovers.

We all have those favorite side dishes at the Holiday Dinners, don’t we!  The two standards that seem to always adorn our Holiday tables are the infamous green bean casserole and the sweet potato casserole.  But last year I got a pleasant surprise, instead of our standard sweet potato casserole, Linda (my Sister-in-law) made us Pumpkin Casserole.  I was suspicious at first, but once I tried that first bite I was hooked.  It was a lighter and tasty change from the yearly traditional casserole made from the sweet potato.  So I am sharing with you this pinch hitter of a casserole recipe and our new side-dish tradition, Pumpkin Casserole.

• 1 - 15 oz. can Pumpkin
• 1 - 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 ½ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 1 – box of Yellow Cake mix
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans
• 1 cup Melted Butter

Preheat your Oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom & sides of a 9” x 13” pan.  In a large bowl mix the first six ingredients and pour into your greased pan.  Pour the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture and then sprinkle with the chopped Pecans.  Drizzle with the melted butter and bake for 50 to 55 minutes.  Serve warm right out of the oven!

Did you know you can make a Pumpkin Treat for your canine friend?  My dogs, Molly & Gabbie, have always enjoyed getting their treats.  They got treats for going outside, being good and most of the time because they begged for them.  So during a visit to the Vet’s office, I was shocked when the Vet told us these treats are loaded with calories and this was probably the cause of their weight gain.  He suggested we substitute our treats for pumpkin, canned pumpkin – frozen in ice cube trays.  The dogs went wild for these new treats.  You just plop out one or two into their food dish and they go at them.  They also got hooked on frozen green beans.  Let me tell you it worked, they both lost that excess weight. Now in the evenings they no longer beg for the other treats, instead they park themselves in front of the freezer – just waiting for someone to open the door to give them this tasty treasured treat.

OK, time for some fun.  Our Holiday table is always overflowing with food; you would think we were feeding a family of twenty – instead of the five of us sitting around the table.  But there is nothing better to me than Holiday leftovers…oh yeah, leftovers.  I am supposed to help you with your pumpkin leftovers, right.  Well, I am and always have been a very crafty person.  I get this from my Grandmother.  I remember sitting in front of her TV watching Carol Duvall when she was still a local show out of Detroit (way before HGTV and those cable networks).  My Grandmother loved her needle work crafts; knitting, crocheting, tatting and even sewing.  You name it she did it, like many of her generation.  So my final leftover idea for you is a crafty one.  For the Holiday season, I set my dining room table as though we are just waiting for the food to be served at any time.  Keeping with our Pumpkin theme, I am using some of those little gourds  for my place settings.    You can a variety of small, decorative pumpkins just about anywhere now – I got these at my local supermarket.  Using my paring knife, I cut the top out of the pumpkins the size of my votive candle and scooped out the pumpkin guts.  I think every one calls them pumpkin guts – at least everyone in my family..  Then I placed the votive candle in the pumpkins; light and you have a place setting that will impress even that Scrooge-like family member (we all have at least one). You may also try this idea.  For a festive holiday center piece on your table, turn a hallowed-out pumpkin into a flower vase.  Or carve a fancy design in the flesh, insert a candle and have a one-of-a-kind luminary.

I hope I have inspired you to look at leftovers in a different perspective; that you enjoy my ideas; and maybe even come up with a few of your own.  Who knows, you could also start a new tradition!  Happy Holidays to you and yours, Dennis.

Jazz Up Your Deviled Eggs

By Megan of The Real Farmwives of America and Friends and Gal in the Middle

I am going to make a confession that may me sound a bit un-American.

I’m not a huge fan of deviled eggs. There I said it. I feel better now.

On the other hand, I AM a huge fan of eggs. I may not always have milk in the fridge or fresh fruit or fresh veggies, but I always have eggs. They are usually from my local Kroger store.

Why Kroger? Because I have actually been to the farm that supplies the eggs to my local store and it’s in Indiana. How cool is that. Want to see inside their barns? Check out this video tour (http://youtu.be/i8dquJZ1zWU).

I think it’s great that I can walk into the grocery store and know exactly where the eggs in the case came from.

Now back to the deviled eggs…My lackluster feelings towards these perennial holiday meal favorites changed earlier this year.

I was sitting at Commodity Classic – THE place to be for corn, soybean and wheat farmers in March –listening to Leslie, aka The Hungry Housewife (http://www.thehungryhousewife.com/), as she joked her way through some very yummy egg and poultry dishes.

Leslie didn’t just make plain deviled eggs. She made Bacon Deviled Eggs with White Truffle Oil.

Yes, I said bacon…good!

Yes, I said white truffle oil…cool!

I knew after one bite of these delicious eggs that I was converted. I knew I had to try and recreate them in my own kitchen. Well, I actually made them in my mom’s kitchen.

I gathered my ingredients.

I boiled a dozen eggs…after bringing them to room temperature for about 45 minutes on the kitchen counter.

While the eggs were boiling, I fixed some bacon – 6 slices. Now, I do my bacon in the microwave. How do you cook yours?

I used my kitchen shears (second favorite kitchen utensil after the spatula) to “crumble” my bacon and “chop” up my chives.

Once the eggs were hard-boiled, I used a trick my mom taught me. I put the lid back on the pot and shook it like crazy. Here’s what the eggs looked like after they got beaten up.

After I peeled the eggs (well, my mom actually did most of them while I did the dishes – fair trade), I put the whites in the handy dandy Pampered Chef egg tray and the yolks in a medium mixing bowl.

The yolks then got mashed…

Then I added 5 T. mayonnaise, 3 T. Dijon mustard, ½ t. white truffle oil and a large pinch of salt. I was supposed to add a pinch of cayenne pepper but didn’t have any so I skipped it. After I mixed that up and then I added the bacon and 2 T. chives.

I just used a spatula to mix this all up and it worked OK. I did try to use my handy dandy Pampered Chef Easy Decorator but the tip kept jamming because of the yummy bacon bits. So I ended up spooning the mixture into the egg whites.

These were a hit with the family on Easter!

I have to admit that I made a SECOND batch of these on Easter to take to a pitch-in the next day at work.

This time I used just a ½ t. white truffle oil because my mom thought it was a bit overwhelming AND used a hand mixer to try and get a smoother mixture. I also broke out the plastic bag to “pipe” in the centers.

I think my second attempt looked and tasted better!

Here’s the recipe…enjoy.

The Hungry Housewife’s Bacon Deviled Eggs with White Truffle Oil (http://www.thehungryhousewife.com/2011/02/bacon-deviled-eggs-with-white-truffle.html)

12 large eggs

6 pieces of bacon – cooked and crumbled

5 T. mayonnaise

3 T. Dijon mustard

½ t. white truffle oil (I cut it down to ¼ t. or you can leave it out because it’s a bit pricey.)

2 T. chives, finely chopped

Large pinch salt

Small pinch of cayenne pepper

In medium pot, cover eggs (that are at room temperature) with cold water – 1 inch above eggs.  Bring the eggs to a rolling boil.

Cover the eggs and remove from heat and let them sit for 13 minutes. Remove the eggs and let sit in ice bath for 10 minutes.

Peel the eggs. (I put them back in the pot, cover and shake hard before peeling.) Slice in half lengthwise.

Put egg white halves in deviled add tray and place egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Mash yolks and add mayonnaise, mustard, truffle oil, salt and cayenne pepper. Add bacon and chives. Mix thoroughly.

Place mixture in gallon zip top bag. Cut small hoe in the bottom of the bag and pipe mixture into the egg whites. You can garnish with some chive pieces and cayenne pepper if you are a garnisher…I’m not, but I don’t judge.

The next time you have a family dinner or work pitch-in, I suggest trying these jazzed up eggs.