Tasty Tuesday: Don't Toss That Pumpkin!

Jessica, over at Utah Deal Diva, experimented with using Jack-o-lantern pumpkins vs. pie pumpkins for her holiday baking. Her conclusion was that the pie pumpkin was sweeter, and less watery, but after straining, the difference wasn't significant enough to justify the extra cost of the pie pumpkin, especially if you picked up your pumpkins for FREE last week at The Red Barn!

To make pumpkin puree which is the base to several holiday recipes, simply cut the pumpkin to fit in a baking dish, add an inch of water, cover with foil, and bake for 1.5 hours at 350 degrees. Then mash, or puree, and it's ready to use or freeze for later.

Also, pumpkin seeds are an easy and healthy snack. Simply rinse the seeds, add 2 tbs butter and some salt, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Want a new recipe for your pumpkin puree? Try Jessica's Pumpkin Apple Muffins

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup diced apples, softened in microwave {2 minutes worked for me}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with oil. Mix ingredients and spoon into muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. I like to make mini muffins because they bake in less time and they're fun for my kids to eat. Mini muffins take about 13 minutes to cook. Regular sized muffins take about 18-20 minutes to cook.
Cool and enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkins

We will be giving away pumpkins for free during this Friday and Saturday hayride hours! Hayrides will still be $3 per person, but you can take as many pumpkins as you can carry for free! Friday pumpkin patch hours are 3:30-8pm, and Saturday the hours are 10:30am - 5pm.

Pumpkins are great for eating! Scoop out those seeds and bake them in your oven with your favorite spice until crispy! Happy Halloween!

Tasty Tuesday: Wacky Apples

In honor of Halloween I wanted to share this idea to inspire a little creativity at your own home this holiday! Stop by The Red Barn and pick up a handful of apples and candy supplies to create your own wacky apple designs! This would be a perfect activity at a kid's Halloween party!

Fall Break Extended Hours

Many school districts in Utah County have their annual Fall Break this Thursday and Friday. To accomadate all of the hayride request we will have special extended hayride hours on those days. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we will be running hayrides from 10:30 am to 8 pm, with the last wagon leaving the Barn at 7:40pm. This is a great opportunity to get your family pumpkins! If you are planning on coming Saturday, schedule your trip around 2pm to see our Giant Pumpkin Weighoff!

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Patch Pancakes

Before I tell you about today's recipe, I wanted to give you a few pumpkin pointers! Pumpkins are a great vegetable from the winter squash family, packing many great nutrients like Vitamin A and Beta Carotene. The smaller the pumpkin, the better (sweeter) it will be for cooking. If you just want the pumpkin for the seeds, the bigger the better. To cook the pumpkin you will want to scoop out the seeds, cut the pumpkin into five or six pieces, then bake on 350 for about an hour. Just check tenderness with a fork to tell if it's done. While you can eat any pumpkin from our patch, we have smaller pumpkins inside the Barn for baking purposes. For a great list of pumpkin recipes, see Real Mom Kitchen's list here.

Pumpkin Patch Pancakes

Mix up your favorite pancake mix according to package directions. For every cup of dry mix used, mix in the following:
¼ cup canned pumpkin
½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice (If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand you can make your own. See recipe below.) Cook pancakes as you normally would.

Apple Cider Syrup

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 cups Red Barn apple juice

In a sauce pan mix together, sugar, cornstarch, and pumpkin spice. Stir in apple juice. Bring to a boil, remembering to stir occasionally. Boil until desired thickness. Remove from heat and serve over Pumpkin Patch Pancakes or give it a try over regular pancakes.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Mix and store.

Apple Canning Class

Join USU extension specialist Jana Darrington for our Canning Everything Apple class. She will provide information on canning a variety of fall favorites like apple sauce, apple butter, and apple pie filling. The class will be held this Saturdayday, October 16th, from 10am-12 pm. We'd love to see you there!

Tasty Tuesday: Favorite Fall Desserts

When I'm looking for a fun activity to do with my family at home on rainy days like today, I always head to Family Fun Magazine. Right now on their website, they are featuring 39 Delicious Fall Treats. My family loves trying these new festive recipes. Try one out yourself by going to their website here.