Pumpkin Dip

It hit me this morning as I was filling my ceramic pumpkin with pumpkiny, fluffy, goodness (for James's end-of-semester-teacher-potluck) that I have never blogged one of my most frequently used fall recipes. And fall is over!

I have taken this pumpkin dip to a lot of potlucks and here's what I've learned. Find yourself a pumpkin serving dish. Or a pumpkin plate, or put a plastic pumpkin on the plate next to the bowl. Just identify it in SOME way. Because it's orange, and I've found that people are slightly scared of unidentified orange food. So I gave in and bought this pumpkin to avoid James having to stuff an bites of this stuff into everyone's mouths at a party to force them to try it.

If they try it, they'll love it! It tastes like the good part of the pumpkin pie. I usually serve it with either cinnamon graham crackers, vanilla wafers, or my personal favorite - apple slices. Yummy yum! And it couldn't be more simple for last-minute potluck appetizers!

Pumpkin Dip

Recipe from Allrecipes

1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip!)
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I use about a tsp of cinnamon, then a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)

In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

I like to let it sit overnight, which gives time for the pudding mix to fully dissolve, otherwise it can be slightly grainy.

C is for Cookies!

Yesterday was the 2nd annual champagne & cookie swap Christmas afternoon with a group of my girlfriends and we had it at my house. My husband and coworkers were very happy about all the goodies I collected!

I love Michaels with all my heart :) I got these adorable chinese takeout containers and tied mini cookie cutters to each one for the girls to take their cookies home in!
To go with the cookies I made a couple of appetizers that taste much better than they look. (Uglyfoodblogger, are you still around? I think this may make the cut!) But they tasted so good, the girls still ate them all up! Recipes are below for BBQ pulled pork bites and pesto/sundried tomato spread.
BBQ Pulled Pork Bites

Recipe by me :) Made this one up.

1 1-2 lb pork tenderloin (or 1/2 whole pork loin, or 2lb pork butt or shoulder roast)
1 bottle of your fave bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's original for me!)
1 cup water
2 packages of pillsbury crescent roll creations (the big flat sheet of crescent rolls)
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1-2 cups shredded cheese

For pulled pork: (this is the recipe I use to make pulled pork for sandwiches too)
Place pork in crockpot (all in one piece).
Pour 1/2-1 cup bbq suace on top, enough to cover the top of it. Pour 1 cup of wateraround the sides of the roast.
Put the lid on and cook all day on low or 4-5 hours on high.
Take pork out, and shred with two forks (it should be pretty tender and fall apart easily).
For these appetizers, I first cut the tenderloin into 1-2 inch slices, and shredded each slice to make sure the pork shreds weren't too big for the appetizers.
Mix with another 1/2-1 cup bbq sauce until it is the consistency you want.

For appetizers:
Preheat oven to 350
Roll out crescent dough sheets onto 2 cookie sheets.
Mince 1 clove of garlic and put it in a small bowl with 2 tbs of EVOO. Microwave for 30 seconds. Brush the oil and garlic onto the crescent sheets.
Bake in the 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until it starts to turn golden. Remove from the oven, and switch to your broiler.
Sprinkle cheese on each crescent sheet, all the way to the edges.
Place under broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts (it won't take long! Keep an eye on it!)
Cut each sheet into 2" squares.
Place about 1 Tbs of hot pulled pork on each piece.

I'm thinking it would look better with some scallions or chives snipped on top.

Pesto/Sundried Tomato spread

Recipe - if you can even call this a recipe - is by me. Got the idea from a storebought spread I had at a church party.

Ingredients

2 oz of cream cheese (I buy 8 oz, cut it in half, then cut that piece in half like I'm opening a hamburger roll or something)

2 tablespoons of prepared pesto (my favorite is the refrigerated butoni brand)

3-4 chopped sundried tomatos (the ones in a jar, packed in oil)

Directions

Take the tomatos out of the jar and drain them for a few minutes on a paper towel to get rid of some of the oil.

Mince the tomatos into small pieces.

Spread cream cheese onto serving plate (I just place the little 2x3x1/2" pice that I cut from the block onto the plate).

Spread pesto on top of cream cheese.

Place tomatos on top of pesto.

Serve with crackers and a cheese knife to spread.

This is a perfect last minute appetizer, the jarred pesto and tomatos last forever unopened in the pantry. We always have some of the refrigerated stuff on hand for quick dinners.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Love, Reilly and Lilah