My Kitchen Clatter

Real Food - Real Life

Pumpkin Butter Recipe

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Pumpkin butter is one of my favorite things to do with pumpkin during “the pumpkin season”. I love it on my waffles in the morning with pecans and maple syrup. I was searching for my recipe this year and realized that I haven’t shared it with the world. So here we are.

If you’d like to make this a little more challenging, you can make this with homemade puree. Here’s how to make your own, but really you can do this with canned pumpkin and it will turn out lovely. No one will know the difference and they will still be amazed that you pulled off making your own pumpkin butter. You don’t have to tell them how easy it was to make.

One more note, this recipe should not be canned. The butter gets too thick for water bath canning to heat it through safely. I just jar mine up and freeze the jars with lids on them. The toughest part is remembering to pull it out of the fridge to thaw before you want to use it – but a couple seconds in the microwave does the trick also.

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Pumpkin Butter Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: preserving
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
This is a classic fall preserve. It is great on oatmeal or on waffles.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
  • ¼ cup of brown sugar
  • ¼ cup of maple syrup
  • 1 t molasses
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • ½ t ginger
  • ¼ t cloves
  • ¼ t nutmeg, ground
  • ¾ cup of apple cider
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
  3. Stir often and let simmer for about 20 minutes until the butter is thick and shiny. It should mound up on a spoon.
  4. Transfer into clean jars.
  5. The jars can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for a few months. If freezing, leave a little extra space at the top for expansion

 

Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats

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peanut butter pumpkin dog treatsWhy shouldn’t the furry members of our family eat as well as the rest of us? We recently added a new dog to our family and we did the standard purchasing of new toys and treats for him. But as I was looking at the fancy, locally made dog treats, I realized that I could make these myself and for a lot cheaper. Plus, no preservatives or anything funny going on here. The pumpkin and peanut butter are healthy for your dog and he’s going to love them.

These are actually pretty easy to make. Don’t be intimidated by rolling them out and using cookie cutters to make cute shapes. They roll out lots easier than people cookies, because they don’t have any fat in them. BUT, if you just can’t do the rolling out, you can roll the dough into a log and slice them to make round cookies. You can also make balls and smoosh them with the palm of your hand. There are lots of options here.

Because of the lack of preservatives, these will only keep on the counter for about 3-5 days. I store mine in a baggie in the freezer and pull them out as we need them.

The recipe is also pretty flexible – only 5 ingredients. You can eliminate the chia seeds or sub them out for flax seeds. You can also sub out the wheat flour, depending on your dog’s needs. My fancy grain-free treats from the store use chickpea and oat flours.

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Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats
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Your dog will love this super easy recipe for doggie treats.
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup of creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup of pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 T chia seeds
  • 3 cups of whole wheat flour
Instructions
  1. In a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter and pumpkin puree. Scrape down bowl sides.
  2. Add eggs and beat.
  3. Add chia seeds and 2½ cups of flour. Mix until combined. Add remaining flour by ¼ cups until the mixture is good for rolling out (forms a nice ball that is not too sticky and doesn't crumble apart).
  4. Roll dough out to ¼ inch thick, cut with cookie cutter of choice.
  5. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly browned and as crispy as you (or fido) like.

 

Pasta & Meat Sauce – Pressure Cooked

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Pasta & Meat Sauce - Pressure Cooked

Pasta & Meat Sauce – Pressure Cooked

I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to try pressure cooking pasta. But then I spoke with a friend and he gave me a great recipe to get started with. I’ve modified his recipe a little to make it my own and to work for our family. Including prep time, this recipe can be started and onto to the table in about 30 minutes.

I’ve made it in the electric pressure cooker one night when the babysitter was here. I got it going before I left and the cooker went to keep warm mode until she was ready to feed the crew. Its the perfect alternative to feeding them hot dogs again!

The trick to making pasta in your pressure cooker is to stick with bigger noddle like penne or even bow ties. Spaghetti or fettuccini won’t work in the pressure cooker – it will just end up a gloppy mess!

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Pasta & Meat Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Pressure Cooker
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Pasta and sauce in under 30 minutes? It's possible because of the pressure cooker. This is a great weeknight meal.
Ingredients
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 lb of hamburger or ground Italian sausage
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh
  • 1 cup of chopped red pepper
  • 28 oz of crushed tomatoes
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 T Italian seasoning
  • ⅛ t red pepper flakes
  • 16 oz of penne or cavatappi pasta
  • shredded mozzarella cheese (for serving)
Instructions
  1. If using an electric pressure cooker, turn to brown setting. If using a stovetop cooker, preheat pan to medium high heat. Add oil to warm pan. When oil is warm, brown meat. When meat is almost brown, add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent and meat is cooked through (no pink remaining). Drain extra fat from pan (I use a paper towel to soak it up).
  2. Add remaining ingredients. Give the pan a stir.
  3. Place lid on cooker, lock lid and bring to high pressure. If using an electric cooker, set for 5 minutes. If using a stovetop cooker, set for 7 minutes.
  4. Let pressure release naturally.
  5. Top with mozzarella cheese and serve.

 

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