Didja miss me? ;D
Not only have the past three days been exceptionally full, they've been filled with the GilGuy, as he was able to take the first weekend off in many this past weekend. It was exhilarating to have him near, and totally distracting, I might add. LOL
Because of a slew of house guests, our regular routine has been interrupted, and the time spent in the kitchen a tad skewed over the past three days.
The most productive kitchen day was Sunday, and it's those recipe's that I'll be sharing today. Thanks to an old friend, JoAnn, I was totally jazzed to be startled into the realization that I could create my own pumpkin puree for my recipes. This jarring happened about a year ago, and I have no idea why I hadn't ever used the very simple method before. After all, why should I be paying someone to roast my pumpkins? Why should I be paying for a tin can????
Well, I don't anymore, and I'm glad of it! :) Fresh. Fresh flavor, freshest distribution of vitamins and minerals . . . just all around better in every sense. :)
These delicious pumpkins produced 8 cups of pumpkin puree for me! I immediately used 2 cups in the pumpkin bars recipe, and froze the remaining in 2 cup increments for future use. To roast your own pumpkins means a vibrant pumpkin color, as opposed to a grey-drab color from being over processed and over heated. :yuck:
The use of fresh pumpkins meant that I had LOTS of pumpkin seeds to roast! :)
These yummy treats are to be crowned, since they deliver to your body a great deal of iron. Fiber is next on the charts for it's vital nutrients.
But who can resist a delicious pumpkin bar?
These tasty morsels are better than cake. Better than cookies. Better than Strawberry Cheesecake on a winter's day. I promise. :)
Heck, they are so good, I can even make them gluten free!
Simply replace the regular flour with a gluten free flour mix, and you'll scarcely be able to tell the difference.
Yes, Pumpkin is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to adding flavor to your $300 grocery budget. A bright, sun-shiny spot in an otherwise eat-to-live life. :)
Roasted Pumpkin, Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Bars, Brown Rice and Lentil Tacos - The Grocery Game Day 15
Now, the Brown Rice and Lentil Taco filling finished cooking in the rice cooker about the time the first guest arrived, so I didn't end up taking any photos . . . but let me tell you ~ lentils and brown rice are significantly cheaper than hamburger, and this dish is a very good and very healthy substitute. So good, in fact, that we often chose this dish over regular beef tacos. :) Thanks to my e-maginary friends who passed this recipe on to me, now you, too, can enjoy! :)
Tomorrow, another look at a grocery shop, and the culinary fun really begins! :)
2 comments:
When I roasted my pumpkin seeds last year I did a tray with garlic salt. My garlic loving children refused to eat the non garlic tray. They loved them.
Love roasting pumpkins - but here they are 'exotic' - seen being sold for a mere £2.99 per small pumpkin (about $5) weirdly it is often cheaper for me to buy imported Libby's canned.
Not quite warm enough to grow them in my garden sadly or I would!
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