PUMPKIN!!!

Aside from the Pumpkin Spice Latte that I am drinking WAY too often, I have also fallen in love with several other pumpkin dishes.  Here are a few of the store-bought AND home-made favorites Charlie and I are enjoying right now...
1. Thomas-Pumpkin Spice English Muffins

I could seriously eat three of these every morning...but I try and make myself stop at one.

After I pop one of these 150 calorie muffins in the toaster and slap some butter on both sides my mouth is watering and I devour it within seconds.  :)  That may be too many details.  Charlie is a big fan of these as well.  The special edition, Pumpkin Spice, will be in stores through December but it has taken me a month to find them since first tasting one at the beginning of September.

2 Carmel - Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Picture from the website.

Picture from my kitchen!  Obviously, making the bread pudding in ramekins
is 10 times cuter than this! But, I took the easy way out.  It was TO DIE FOR!!

This was my first attempt at bread pudding, and I can't see ever trying another recipe! This was exquisite.  I used a loaf of Archer Farms, french bread from Target and followed the recipe exactly.  Since this was just for the two of us I only made half of the recipe.  

3. Pumpkin Cake- This is STILL my 'go to' pumpkin dish!  I LOVE this recipe.  Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to make it this fall so I found a picture that used the same recipe.
 



Blend together the following ingredients with mixer and pour into greased 9 x 13 pan:
15 oz. can pumpkin
12 oz. can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
Next, sprinkle over pumpkin mix:
1 package yellow cake mix
Sprinkle over cake mix:
1 cup pecans, chopped (The recipe in the picture used 1 and 1/2 cups)
Drizzle over pecans:
3/4 cup butter
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

4. Easiest Pumpkin Muffins EVER- Another great breakfast idea

My mom and I made these a few years ago and got carried away eating them because we thought they were only 10 calories per muffin!  After eating them for a few days we decided to recheck our math and discovered we were off by one ZERO.  They are actually 100 calories each, which still counts as a healthy snack in my book!
You simply add one can of pumpkin to a spice cake mix!  Mix well, then spoon the batter into cupcake holders and follow the baking directions on the back of the cake box.  And there you have it, a delicious breakfast on the go! Because this recipe makes so many, I like to freeze the majority of the muffins and just take a few out at a time to enjoy; it also prevents Charlie from getting too 'pumpkined out.'

Happy Fall!!