It's PUMPKIN SPICE Time

(Image Courtesy of http://www.anntorrence.com/)

One of the things I look forward to every fall, along with the amazing colors and beautiful weather, is the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte! They are cozy, delicious, and give your room the great aroma of fall. If you are fellow Pumpkin Spice fanatic try out one of these amazing (and healthy of course) PUMPKIN recipes.

*For all recipes remember to get plain, unsweetened canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
(Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008)
Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 tsp chilled butter cut into small pieces
• cooking spray

Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 8oz pkg fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1 8oz pkg 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 large egg

Remaining Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tsp water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• To prepare crust, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add flour to pan; cook 5 minutes or until light brown, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat. Transfer flour to a bowl; cool completely.
• Place cool flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until combined. Add chilled butter; pulse until mixture resembles fine meal. Press 1 cup flour mixture evenly into bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; reserve remaining flour mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
• To prepare filling, spread pumpkin in an even layer on several layers of paper towels, cover with additional paper towels, let stand 5 minutes.
• Combine granulated sugar, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, and cream cheeses in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape pumpkin into bowl using a rubber spatula. Add egg substitute and next 4 ingredients; beat until smooth. Scrape batter into baked crust.
• Combine reserved flour mixture and pecans in a small bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons water. Squeeze handfuls of topping to form large pieces. Crumble over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until filling is firmly set. Remove from heat; cool in pan on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut into 12 bars. Serve at room temperature. Yield: 12 servings

Nutrition Info per bar: Calories 288; Fat 9.3g, Protein 8.9g

Sweet Potato-Pecan Pumpkin Pancakes
(The Best of Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted and divided
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 Tbl vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 (16oz) can sweet potatoes or yams, drained and mashed

Directions:

• Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, 2 Tbl pecans, backing powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the milk, brown sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs; add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Stir in sweet potatoes or yams.
• Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Sprinkle pancakes with 2 Tbl pecans. Serve with Vanilla-Maple Syrup. Yield: 6 servings (2 pancakes w/ 1 tsp pecan topping per serving)

Nutrition:
Calories 270, Fat 7.9g, Protein 7.3g

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
(Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 Tbl dry breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbl grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp minced fresh sage
• 1/4 tsp freshly grd black pepper
• 1/8 tsp grd nutmeg
• 30 round wonton wrappers
• 1 Tbl cornstarch
• Cooking Spray
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1 Tbl all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbl butter
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 3 Tbl chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions:

• Spoon pumpkin onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels, and spread to 1/2 inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand 5 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Stir in breadcrumbs and next 5 ingredients.
• Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying) spoon 2 tsp pumpkin mixture into center of wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water and fold in half, pressing edges firmly with fingers to form a half-moon. Place ravioli on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers and pumpkin mixture.
• Fill a large Dutch oven with water, bring to a simmer. Add half of ravioli to pan (cover remaining ravioli with a damp towel to keep from drying). Cook 4 minutes or until done (do not boil), stirring gently. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon; lightly coat with cooking spray, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli.
• Combine milk and flour in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Gently stir in Gorgonzola.
• Place 5 ravioli in each of 6 shallow bowls, and drizzle each serving with 3 Tbl Gorgonzola mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 tsp hazelnuts and serve.

Nutrition:
Calories 250, Fat 9.1g, Protein 9.5g

Spiced Pumpkin and Shrimp Soup
(Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
• 1 Tbl snipped fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbl butter or margarine
• 1 14oz can chicken broth
• 1 15oz can pumpkin
• 1 cup milk
• 1 8oz pkg frozen peeled and deveined cooked shrimp, thawed
• Plain yogurt and fresh chives if desired to decorate top

Directions:

• In a large saucepan cook onions, carrots, cilantro, ginger, allspice, and garlic in hot butter, covered, for 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring once or twice.
• Transfer vegetable mixture to a blender container or food processor bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Cover and blend or process until nearly smooth.
• In the same saucepan combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups broth, the pumpkin, and milk. Stir in blended vegetable mixture and shrimp; heat through. If desired, serve topped with plain yogurt and chives if desired. Yields 4 servings

Nutrition:
Calories 247, Fat 10g, Protein 21g

Pumpkin Streusel Bread
(The Best of Cooking Light)

Topping:

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 Tbl sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbl chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp grd cinnamon

Bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp grd cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp grd cloves
• 1/2 tsp grd nutmeg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• To prepare topping, combine first 4 ingredients until crumbly. Set mixture aside.
• To prepare bread, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin and next 5 ingredients in a bowl; and add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Yield 16 servings, serving size 1 slice.

Nutrition:
Calories 209, Fat 6.9g, Protein 3.4g