mini pumpkin pies

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Yummy, yummy, yummy. I just love pumpkin pie. I had some leftover pie crust and pumpkin from making my pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and I wanted to use it up. I didn't want to make big pies again, so I had an idea to make mini pumpkin pies, or pumpkin tarts. These were delish. James liked them even better than my original pumpkin pies because there is more crust to pie ratio, lol. These were really easy to make and I'll definitely be making them again. Of course, I had to cute-ify them somehow to I used my mini halloween/fall cookie cutters and cut shapes out of my remaining dough and put the shapes on top of the pie. Super cute!



Here's the recipes I used:

You could use some frozen pie crusts (2) and let them defrost. Once defrosted, roll them out and cut your circles out from them. If you like homemade crust, I like this recipe:

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 lb tenderflake lard
1 egg, stirred slightly
1 tablespoon vinegar
7/8 cup cold water

Directions:

1. Stir the flour and salt together.
2. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the shortening is in pea size pieces.
3. In a measuring cup, combine the egg and vinegar.
4. Add enough cold water to make one cup.
5. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, adding just enough to make the dough cling together.
6. Stir the water in with a wooden spoon until mixed thoroughly, then gather the dough into a ball, and separate into 6 portions.
7. Cover and refrigerate for one hour, you can chill overnight, covered, providing you leave it at room temp for 15 mins before rolling.
8. Lightly flour surface and roll dough out into circles. Using a 4" circle cutter, cut circles out of your dough and place in a greased muffin tin.
9. Using the remaining dough, roll it out and cut cute shapes out of it. These shapes will be placed on top of your mini pies once the filling is in.

For the pie filling:

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 can (28 oz/796 mL) E.D.SMITH® PURE PUMPKIN
1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add E.D.SMITH® PURE PUMPKIN, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt - stir until well combined. Blend in milk. Pour filling into your mini pie shells in your muffin tin. Place your cute cut outs on top. Bake at 425ºF (220ºC) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) and continue baking 15-20 minutes longer or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.



Recipe for pie crust from Tenderflake
Recipe for pie filling from E.D.Smith



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fun food friday: tommy the turkey

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With our Canadian Thanksgiving coming up this Monday, I made the kids a fun turkey lunch. Kirsten learned a cute song at school this week called tommy the turkey, so that's exactly what I named this little guy. I made a turkey fun food friday last year for Thanksgiving and used peppers for the feathers. Well, my kids don't like peppers and didn't eat any of them. They love apples, so I knew they would be a good choice for the feathers this year. Here's how I made this lunch:

Sandwich cut into circle shape. Icing eyes, carrot nose, and a red apple gobbly thingy. I used sliced green, yellow, and red apples for the feathers. Carrot legs.

3 mini silicone cups filled with craisins, cheese pumpkins, and rice crackers.



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handprint turkeys

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I've done handprint turkeys for Thanksgiving before, but these ones are a little different. I think they're super cute. They were really simple to make and make for great memories down the road of how small your kiddos hands really were. I just love them. Here's how we made these adorable turkeys:

What you'll need:

paper - white, brown, orange, red
scissors
glue
googly eyes
paint - red, orange, green, yellow, brown
paintbrushes

1. paint your child's hand in each of the above paint colours and stamp them around your white piece of paper in an open feather shape.

2. using your brown paper, cut out a body and head and glue them on your turkey.

3. using your orange paper, cut out some legs and a beak and glue them on your turkey.

4. using your red paper, cut out a gobbly thingy and glue it on your turkey.

5. glue on some googly eyes.





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Thanksgiving paddle turkey

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Canadian Thanksgiving is in just one week so we'll be doing some Thanksgiving-themed crafts and foods this week. I can't wait to have a delicious turkey dinner this weekend. Thanksgiving supper is hands down my favourite meal of the year. Yummy. Anyway, on to the craft. When I saw these paddle turkeys on Silly Eagle Books last year, I just knew we were going to make them. They are just too cute and easy. Making a turkey out of a paddle is just absolutely brilliant. It's the perfect size and I love all the cute colours I found. Vanessa's blog is fantastic with all kinds of awesome craft ideas and book recommendations. Definitely check it out. Here's how we made the turkeys:

What you'll need:

paddles - I bought some at the dollar store and just cut off the ball and string
scrapbook paper
scissors
glue
craft foam - orange and red
googly eyes

1. If you haven't done so already, cut the ball and elastic string off your paddle.
2. Using your scrapbook paper, cut out some feathers for your turkey using a variety of patterns. You could also use feathers or leaves if you don't want to use paper.
3. Glue the paper feathers onto the back of your paddle to create the turkey's feathers.
4. Using your orange foam, cut out 2 feet and a nose. Using your red foam, cut out the gobbly thingy. Glue these on your paddle.
5. Glue on some googly eyes.









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personalized apple pies

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These little individual, personalized apple pies are a wonderful dessert for Thanksgiving dinner if you have young kids. I made these personalized apple pies for my family for Thanksgiving. I should have stuffed them way more than I did, because as you can see from the picture, they sank a lot. Apple pie always does that. It didn't make for the prettiest picture, but they still tasted delicious. My kids just loved these little individual sized apple pies with their own initials on them. I think Kirsten felt very special, like this dessert was made just for her. It's so easy to please my little preschooler! Serve them warm with a little bit of vanilla ice cream or whipping cream. Yum! Here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

I used leftover pie dough I had using this recipe for pie crust

1 lb apples - peeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp superfine sugar

1 egg, beaten slightly

Other things:

4 small ramekins (oven-proof dishes)
rolling pin
alphabet cookie cutters - or use a knife

Directions:

1. Make your pastry dough using the recipe above.
2. Mix the apple slices with the orange juice, cinnamon, and superfine sugar.
3. preheat oven to 400F.
4. Divide the apple mixture between the 4 oven-proof dishes. Wet the rim of each dish.
5. Roll our your pastry dough and cut 4 round tops - I used a glass that was the same size as my ramekin.
6. Top each pie with a pastry round and trim the edges. Press edges with a fork if desired for a fancier look.
7. Brush each pie with an egg wash and make a slit in the top for steam to escape.
8. Using cookie cutters if you have them, or a knife if you don't, cut out the initials you will need to top your pies and place them on top. Brush again with the egg wash.
9. Put your dishes on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until top is golden.
10. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipping cream, or just alone.

Recipe adapted from Kids can Cook!

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pumpkin whip dip

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This photography session has been interrupted by my children. They couldn't keep their hands out of this, it is soooo good. I had some pumpkin left over from making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and this recipe immediately came to mind. I am so glad I made it. It was delicious, and I'll definitely be making this again. For extra cuteness, serve this dip in a hollowed out pumpkin, or a cute ceramic pumpkin container like I used. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 container cool whip, thawed
1 box vanilla instant pudding mix
1 can pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.
2. Fold in the cool whip.
3. Chill in the 3 refrigerator until serving.
4. Serve with graham crackers, sliced apples, sliced pears, gingersnaps - whatever! Pin It

thanksgiving leftover panini

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I found this recipe after Thanksgiving last year and I've been waiting all year to make it. I modified it a bit in that I didn't make my own homemade pumpkin yeast bread (which I'm sure was delicious) and just bought a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery. This sandwich was delicious. It was sweet and salty at the same time, which is one of my favourite taste combinations. I'll definitely be making this again. Here's the very simple recipe:

What you'll need:

1 loaf of fresh bread - I used a calabrese loaf
brie cheese
cranberry sauce
leftover turkey

Directions:

1. slice bread, and butter both outside pieces
2. on one piece of bread spread a layer of cranberry sauce, layer with pieces of turkey and layer with pieces of brie cheese, place other piece of bread on top
3. place on a panini grill and grill until brie cheese has melted and you get beautiful grill marks on your bread.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats Pin It

homemade pumpkin pie

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Ok, so it may not be the prettiest pumpkin pie you've ever seen, but I'm pretty proud of her. I've made homemade pumpkin pie several times before, but this was the first time I made my own pie crust, and didn't buy a pre-made pie shell. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy for a newbie like me, but I'm hoping it will taste so much better (I haven't actually tried it yet). My crust edge is all cracked and broken, and the pie separated from the shell around the edges because I may have baked it just a few minutes too long. Oh well, I'm pretty sure it will still taste great. This is the pie I'm bringing to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner tonight (yum!) so I certainly hope it goes over well. I like the pastry pumpkin I made to add to the top. I think it adds a nice element for presentation, and it's all about presentation people. Here are the recipes I used to make this pie:

For the pie crusts:

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 lb tenderflake lard
1 egg, stirred slightly
1 tablespoon vinegar
7/8 cup cold water

Directions:

1. Stir the flour and salt together.
2. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the shortening is in pea size pieces.
3. In a measuring cup, combine the egg and vinegar.
4. Add enough cold water to make one cup.
5. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, adding just enough to make the dough cling together.
6. Stir the water in with a wooden spoon until mixed thoroughly, then gather the dough into a ball, and separate into 6 portions.
7. Cover and refrigerate for one hour, you can chill overnite, covered, providing you leave it at room temp for 15 mins before rolling.
8. Lightly flour surface and roll into circles, then pat the dough into pie pans, following pie recipes. Be careful not to stretch the dough.

* I rolled out a little more dough and used a pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out a pumpkin shape. I put it on a baking sheet, brushed it with an egg wash, and baked it for about 20 minutes at 350F. When the pie was baked and cooled, I placed this on top for decoration. Cute!

For the pie filling:

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 can (28 oz/796 mL) E.D.SMITH® PURE PUMPKIN
1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
3/4 cup (175 mL) evaporated milk
1 (9-inch/23 cm) unbaked home-made or frozen deep dish pie shell

Directions:

1. Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add E.D.SMITH® PURE PUMPKIN, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt - stir until well combined. Blend in milk. Pour filling in pie shell. Bake at 425ºF (220ºC) 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) and continue baking 30-35 minutes longer or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. I always have to bake mine quite a bit longer for the knife to come out clean. Cool.

Recipe for pie crust from Tenderflake
Recipe for pie filling from E.D.Smith Pin It

fun food friday: gobble, gobble, it's a turkey

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In keeping with our Thanksgiving theme this week, I made a turkey sandwich for the kids to enjoy. They both thought this was adorable, but unfortunately, neither of them ate the peppers. They did both try them though, and that's all I can ask for. Nothing drives me crazy more than them refusing to eat something and saying they don't like it when they haven't even tried it. This little turkey was super cute though and I had a lot of fun making it. I can't wait for my real turkey dinner this weekend though. Here's how I made this sandwich:

turkey - cut 2 pieces of bread into large circles and cut another piece of bread into a smaller circle. Place the smaller circle on top of your 2 larger circles to make a head. Make your sandwich with whatever filling you want - meat, cheese, peanut butter, whatever. The turkey feathers are orange, red and yellow peppers. I also used the peppers to make the feet, beak, and red gobble thingy. I used candy eyes that I found at the dollar store for the eyes. I love these candy eyes, they're so cute. For decoration I put twisted fruit leather around the plate. I love these little fruit snacks. They're portable, nutritious, 100% fruit, and my kids ADORE them. Here's a link to them if you haven't seen them in your grocery store. I'm pretty sure these are only sold in Canada though. They're so much better than those sugar filled, artificial fruit flavoured, chewy "fruit" snacks - you know what I'm talking about.


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Thanksgiving flashback: handprint turkeys

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Here's the craft we did last Thanksgiving, before I had a blog. Only Kirsten partcipated because my little Cam was only 9 1/2 months last Thanksgiving. These are really fun and colourful and they make a great keepsake. Here's how you make the handprint turkeys:

What you'll need:

paper
paint - brown, red, orange, yellow, green
paint brush
googly eye
glue

Directions:

1. paint the palm and thumb of your child's hand brown
2. paint each of their 4 remaining fingers a different colour - red, orange, yellow, and green
3. stamp their hand on your paper
4. glue on a googly eye
5. using your paints, paint on a beak, legs, and a red gobble thingy Pin It

thumbprint Indian corn

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Here's another great Thanksgiving craft. These were really easy to make and the kids (as do I) love these thumbprint crafts. Cam especially likes getting messy. He holds his hands out just waiting for me to paint them. That's my boy! Here's the instructions.

What you'll need:

yellow craft foam
green craft foam
scissors
paint - lots of colours - whatever you choose

Directions:

1. using your yellow craft foam, cut out a corn cob
2. using your green craft foam, cut out a green husk
3. glue your corn cob behind the husk and allow to dry
4. let your kids put their thumbprints all over the corn using whatever colours you desire Pin It

paper plate turkeys for Canadian Thanksgiving

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Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend, so all this week I'll be featuring some of the fun things we've been doing for Thanksgiving. These paper plate turkeys were really fun. Here's what you'll need to make them.

What you'll need:

paper plates
brown paint
paint brush
coloured feathers
glue
orange, red, and brown foam
scissors
googly eyes

Directions:

1. paint your paper plate brown and allow to dry
2. cut a circle out of your brown foam and glue to the centre of your paper plate for the head. Cut an orange triangle beak and orange feet out of your orange foam and a red gobble thingy out of your red foam. Glue these to your paper plate.
3. glue on two googly eyes
4. glue some feathers on the back of your paper plate.
5. allow to dry before letting the kids play with it


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