Pumpkin Fest!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed your time with family and friends! Last week was all about getting ready for Turkey Day, and as a consequence we had a lot of pumpkin around the house!!!

Pumpkin recipe #1. Pumpkin Soup! This was really pretty tasty and totally easy to make! we all agreed that some sliced chicken sausage would be excellent in it!!

Ingredients:

6 C chicken stock (no added salt)

2 (16 oz) cans pumpkin puree

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped

2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 C low fat coconut milk

Some sea salt to taste (optional)

Heat chicken stock, ground pepper and pumpkin puree in a large pot. Sauté onion an garlic in 1 tsp olive oil until onions are tender and translucent. Add to pot and bring to a boil for about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and fresh parsley (fresh chives would be good, too). Serve with sausage on the side (or sliced in the soup) and a side salad!

Recipe #2. Paleo Pumpkin Pie! Mmmmmmm good! I really enjoyed this! We got this recipe from our friend, Steve. So check out his link to the right for this recipe!

Recipe #3. Pumpkin Pork Chops! I had a bit of pumpkin puree leftover and was feeling a bit creative! This is what happened, and I have to tell you (even though is may sound funny), it was delicious! REALLY! ;-) We enjoyed this with some sliced, baked sweet potatoes and a side salad.

Ingredients:

4 (3-4 oz) portions pork chops, trimmed of all visible fat, and slightly pounded

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C green onions

2 T Italian parsley, chopped

1 C chicken broth (no added salt)

3/4 C pumpkin puree

1/2 C low fat coconut milk

black pepper and sea salt to taste (optional)

1 T olive oil

Breading:

about 1/4 C almond meal

1 tsp. black pepper

1 T dried parsley

1 T dried onion, minced

1 tsp. garlic powder

After pounding pork chops, lightly sprinkle with breading. Heat olive oil in non-stick pan and brown chops on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a baking pan. Deglaze the skillet with a little chicken broth. Saute onions and garlic until tender. Add all other ingredients to pan to make a sauce. When all in blended well, pour over pork chops, sprinkle with some fresh Italian parsley and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees. I'm telling you... they turned out tender and delicious! Neither the pumpkin or the coconut milk dominated with their flavors! Give it a try! Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy...

*Paleo-Zone challengers be proud! You guys are SO awesome! Michele and I are compiling info... It's all so very impressive. Stay tuned! :-)