Pumpkin Pecan Pie

One day Jordan decided that since he liked both pecan pie and pumpkin pie, he wanted to find a recipe that combined them! So we found one online. A yummy holiday (or anytime) dessert!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, divided
• 1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 ts ground cinnamon
• 1/4 ts ground ginger
• 1/8 ts ground cloves
• 2/3 cup karo light or dark syrup
• 2 tb butter, melted
• 1 ts vanilla
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 prepared deep dish pie crust*

Preheat oven to 350.

*If using a frozen pie crust, do not thaw; preheat a baking sheet in the oven and place the pie on the cookie sheet to bake.

In small bowl, combine one egg, pumpkin, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Spread in pie crust.

In medium bowl, beat remaining two eggs, slightly. Stir in corn syrup and remaining 2/3 cup sugar, the butter and vanilla; stir until well blended. Stir in pecans. Carefully spoon over pumpkin mixture.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until filling is set around edge. Cool pie completely on wire rack.

Christmas Yams

A yummy Thanksgiving and Christmas favorite from Jordan's mom!

6-7 large yams
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup (or more) brown sugar
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup half and half
Baby marshmallows
1/2 tsp orange peel (optional)

Wash, rinse, and quarter yams. Cook by bringing to a boil, turning the temperature down to low and simmer 15-20 minutes, just until tender but not mushy. Drain. Peel yams and put them in a big casserole dish. Mash the yams while still hot. Add the stick of butter. Mash together, melting the butter. Add salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and brown sugar. Mix. Add the beaten eggs and half and half and stir. Top with baby marshmallows. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until marshmallows are a light golden brown.

*When I made these on Jordan's birthday, he suggested adding some crushed, drained pineapple. We added about 1/2-3/4 cups, and it was a great addition!

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

This is a recipe from my mom that has become one of Jordan's favorite desserts. It tastes great in the fall, since it's like pumpkin pie. We like to use a spice cake mix instead of the yellow mix, and omit the pumpkin pie spice.

1 can (16 oz.) solid pack pumpkin

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. salt

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 9X13 pan. Combine first six ingredients in large bowl. (This will be very soupy.) Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Top with pecans. Drizzle melted butter over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until golden. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 16-20 servings.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

A fun Halloween tradition from Grandma Sagers!

3 lbs lean ground beef
2 onions
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans water chestnuts, drained
3 cups cooked white rice
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drained (or use fresh mushrooms)

Chop onions and cook them with beef (and mushrooms if fresh). Drain any grease. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms, cream of chicken soup, water chestnuts, and rice.

If it's Halloween and you want to be fun and festive, clean out the inside of a large pumpkin (but make sure it will fit in your oven!!). Brush the inside with melted butter and pour casserole mixture inside. Place pumpkin on a cookie sheet, but leave the lid off of the pumpkin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Pumpkin will get soft, so don't lift it off the cookie sheet when serving.

Notes: If you don't have a pumpkin or it's not Halloween, you can use a large casserole dish. This makes a large amount, so the recipe can be reduced for a smaller crowd or a smaller pumpkin!