Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas

For our honeymoon, Eric and I went up north to my parents' cabin. It's our favorite spot on earth--plus it's affordable (especially after paying for a wedding). I know many people wouldn't want to cook on their honeymoon, but I couldn't wait to make some our favorites (Parmesan seared chicken, pumpkin dip with cinnamon sugar pastries) and test out some new recipes. These roasted pumpkin chickpea were something I had bookmarked, but hadn't planned on making up north until I saw pumpkin butter in the fridge. I love roasted chickpeas and I love pumpkin so I knew I'd loved these--and I wasn't disappointed.

Normally roasted chickpeas are best right out of the oven. Hot and crispy. However, I like these better after they've sat for a bit and cooled. Yes, they are not crispy, but the flavor . . . the flavor is much more pumpkin-y and sweet the next day.

Now Eric is not a fan of the chickpea period (well, unless they're in hummus). But my mom is and I can't wait for her to try these!

Recipe adapted from here. 

Ingredients:
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin butter (store-bought or homemade)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas then using paper towel, dry them. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin pie spice and olive oil. Add chickpeas and toss to coat.

Spread the chickpeas on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes.

Place the chickpeas back into a bowl and coat them with the pumpkin butter and sugar. Spread the chickpeas back out on the cookie sheet and bake for another 15 minutes.

Allow to cool.

These roasted pumpkin chickpeas really are the perfect fall snack!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes!
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Hot Cocoa

Come fall, everyone is all about Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte. I'm allergic to caffeine so I don't know don't know what all the fuss is about, but I long to have something pumpkin-y and warm to drink this time of year. Well, while up north I decided to add some pumpkin puree to my hot chocolate. Heaven. Pure autumnly heaven.

Now I make my own hot chocolate mix. My hot cocoa comes out thick and chocolaty. Store-bought hot cocoa mix is just sweet watery-ness in comparison. So if you love hot chocolate, treat yourself and make homemade hot cocoa mix. You don't even have to click on the link. I will put my recipe at the end of this post. However, I'm sure you could make this with the store-bought stuff. I'd just suggest starting out with less pumpkin puree (1/4 tablespoon) and slowly add more to taste.

Pumpkin Hot Cocoa Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup water or milk
1/3 cup homemade hot cocoa mix
1 tablespoon pumpkin puree
1 pinch of pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Heat up 1 cup milk, pour in 1/3 cup hot cocoa mix, and stir. Stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice until dissolved. Add marshmallows or whipped cream if desired.

Okay, this is my recipe for regular hot chocolate mix. I also have a dark chocolate hot cocoa mix (haven't tried it with the pumpkin, but I bet it's delicious), but I'm going to make you click on the link for that one.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
Ingredients:

3 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Pour about half of the mix into a good processor and pulse until the chocolate chips become finely ground. Pour into an airtight container. Repeat with the other half of the mix.

To make a cup of hot chocolate: heat up 1 cup milk or water, pour in 1/3 cup hot cocoa mix, and stir.








Also try a roasted Peep or marshmallow in your hot cocoa!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes!
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas

Pumpkin Fudge

It's autumn and that means it's time for everything pumpkin! Since we had an autumn wedding, I had to have pumpkin something--other than the centerpieces. So along with puppy chow and homemade sea salt caramels, I made pumpkin fudge for our Treat or Trick favor bags. This fudge is super pumpkin-y but not super sweet and that's exactly what I loved about it.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
7-ounce jar marshmallow fluff
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Line an 8x8-inch pan with waxed paper and grease with cooking spray.

In a saucepan, heat evaporated milk and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice and bring mixture back to a boil. Stir in butter and marshmallow fluff and once again bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, mixture to 232 degrees F on the candy thermometer.

Once the mixture reaches 232 degrees, remove from heat. Add the chips and vanilla extract. Stir until all the chips are melted and the mixture is creamy. Pour into prepared pan. Allow the fudge to cool, remove it from the pan, and cut. Store fudge in a cool, dry place.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pumpkin Recipes!
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin-Black Bean Stew with Spicy Sausage 
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Puppy Chow

I had never even heard of puppy chow until I met Eric. Man, had I been missing out! Crunchy, sweet, peanut butter, chocolate . . . it is so addicting. Well, for our autumn wedding I decided to make the favors. Treat or trick bags filled with puzzle books and desserts--homemade sea salt caramels, pumpkin fudge, and you guessed it: puppy chow!

I made the caramels and fudge and Eric made the puppy chow. I can't tell you how hard it was not to eat it all ourselves!

Ingredients:

9 cups crispy rice cereal squares (like Chex)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar  

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, met the chocolate over low heat. Stir in the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Remove from heat, add cereal to the pan, and stir until all the cereal is coated. Pour the powdered sugar into a large ziploc bag, add cereal, and shake well until the cereal is well coated. Store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Pesto Tuna Wrap

Canned tuna is one of my lunch staples. When I don't know what I want to eat, it's my go to and it's always good. However, tuna salad can get old. I change it up a bit, but it's still tuna salad. Well, I had some pesto left over from my chicken stuffed with ricotta, pesto, and sun-dried tomatoes, so I added it to the tuna. Wow. It's like a whole new, refreshing dish.

Ingredients:
1 8-inch wheat tortilla
5-ounce can tuna, drained
1 tablespoon mayo (I tend to go really light on the mayo, so you may want to double it)
3 tablespoons pesto (I use Knorr)
sun-dried tomatoes or diced tomato (to taste)
onion, diced (to taste)
cheddar cheese, shredded (to taste, I tend to add a lot)

Directions:
Mix the tuna, mayo, pesto, tomatoes, and onion together in a bowl. Spread the mixture down the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese then fold the sides over the tuna mixture. Now, I like my tortilla warmed in the microwave, just 30 seconds, but I know a lot of people blanch at warmed canned tuna, so you don't have to warm it.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Ricotta, Pesto, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

This dish came together because I just happened to have all four of these ingredients in the refrigerator and I needed to make dinner. I had made the sun-dried tomatoes a few days ago without any plan for them other than letting Eric snack on them. I had a little ricotta that needed to be used before it expired, and I happened to pick up the pesto at the store on a whim. It all just came together into one delicious dinner.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoon ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon mozzarella, shredded
2 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes*
3 tablespoon pesto**
pepper, to taste
1 egg white
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I usually make my own by crushing saltine crackers)

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch pain with cooking spray.

With a mallet, thin the chicken breasts to a 1/4-inch thickness. Mix the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread half the mixture on each chicken breast and roll the breasts up tight.

Place the egg whites and breadcrumbs each in a different shallow bowl. Dip the chicken rolls in the egg then in the breadcrumbs, coating it. Set the chicken breasts seam side down in the baking dish. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

*I make my own sun-dried tomatoes out of cherry tomatoes. If you're using sun-dried tomatoes out of can, you'll want to chop them up.

**I use Knorr pesto mix to make my pesto. But you can use jarred pesto or homemade.

Enjoy!

~Krissy