Pumpkin Pie

I tried an easy recipe for a homemade pumpkin pie today and it was a success! This one is quick and perfect for a fall afternoon.

Here it is!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup pure canned pumpkin
1 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
9 inch pie crust, store bought or homemade (see my original apple pie recipe for a great crust recipe)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Press the uncooked pie crust into a pie tin or dish. In a stand mixer, combine all ingredients (beat the eggs first before adding) and mix thoroughly until smooth. Pour this mixture into your pie crust.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 350. Bake for approximately 30 more minutes, or until you can insert a knife into the center of the pie and it comes out clean.

Once done, the center may still appear a little jiggly. Let the pie sit out for at least an hour to allow it to set, then refrigerate.

Serve with whipped cream, or plain the way my hubby likes it!

Enjoy!

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Hi readers! Because my garden has been so successful this summer, I decided to make and can pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

I did use a packet of spices from the store, but of course you can use a mix of dried spices that you prefer. If mixing your own blend, I would suggest dried oregano, dried basil, onion powder, and paprika.

Here is my recipe for making and canning the sauce.

*Recipe yields 7 pints*

Ingredients:

6 lbs. fresh tomatoes, I used a mix of Jetstar and Roma tomatoes
Packet of store bought spices ("Mrs. Wages" brand, purchased at Walmart)
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 white onion
4 inferno peppers, or a different mild pepper of your choice (bell peppers or cubanelles are good for this too)
4 bay leaves
1 small can tomato paste

Canning supplies:
7 pint size Mason jars
Lids and rings, 7 each
Canning pot

Instructions:

Rinse your tomatoes. On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water almost to a boil (place burner on 7-8 heat setting.) Once the water is hot, start adding in your whole tomatoes. When the skin splits on them, remove them one at a time to a separate large bowl. Once they are all split, turn stovetop off. Let the hot tomatoes cool for a few minutes, then use your hands to remove the skins and a knife to remove the cores from the tomatoes. Put the chunks of skinned tomatoes on a cutting board and give them a rough chop so they are in smaller pieces. Remember these don't need to be very small or perfect, it is all going to cook down later. Also dice up the onion and peppers (after removing seeds.) Make sure these are smaller diced pieces.

Now add all of your vegetables, spices, sugar, and bay leaves into a large pot on the stove top. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 25 minutes. While this is cooking, add the tomato paste to thicken it. Stir occasionally while simmering.

Once simmered for 25 minutes, you will have a nice consistency. Fish out the bay leaves if you can find them. If not, and they end up in your jarred sauce, just remove them before eating. Now scoop your sauce into your Mason jars, fill to just below the mouth of the jar. Wipe the rims of the jars with a napkin to remove any residual sauce or moisture. Put your lids and rings on snugly, and if canning now follow recommended canning instructions. Basically, you can do the canning process with a canning pot on the stove or outside with a propane hook up (like I did) but you want to can for a 40 full minutes before removing the jars. Also you want to make sure all of your lids pop. If they don't pop, do not store that jar in your pantry, just leave it in the fridge and eat within a week.

Here are some step by step photos of my pasta sauce and canning process.

Remember, you can make this recipe fresh and not can it, but just be sure to eat within a week of going that route.

Enjoy!

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Hi readers!  I've had a really busy last six months or so.  To keep you up to speed, I got married and we moved into our new house in October, and I have been working on getting my deck and garden spaces perfected.  I've also been cooking up some new things in the kitchen, which I'll share today.

When I started this blog, we had moved into a condo and my kitchen space was small but exciting for me, as that was my first home with Josh and I really got more interested in cooking and baking.  Now that we are in our forever home, I have a beautiful kitchen with more than enough space for us to cook together.  So although the "Turtle's Kitchen" has itself changed, the essence of the blog is still about finding inspiration to cook new things in whatever space you have and enjoying it.

We've been experimenting with creating the perfect homemade pizza, grilled wings, and burger seasonings.  I've been baking and coming up with at-home latte ideas now that I have an espresso machine.

So today I'll share my recipe for soft oatmeal cookies, as well as some photos of other things we've made in the last month.

Now for the cookies!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats

Instructions:

In a mixer, cream together the softened butter and white and brown sugars.  When this is creamed together, add the eggs one at a time while mixing slowly.  Now add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly. Next, add your flour and mix until just combined.  Finally, add the oats. I like the hand mix these in or just put the mixer on the lowest setting to stir them in.  You don't want to overmix here.

Now, get your cookie dough onto sheets  lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes.  The tops of the cookies should look golden brown.

Your final result will give you a slightly crunchy outer shell, but a soft and chewy inner cookie.

These serve well with a cup of milk or hot tea (most specifically, always my personal favorite - a cup of Earl Grey.)

Enjoy!

I recently bought a Tetsubin teapot, shown here.  It's a cast iron Japanese style teapot that is amazing for steeping and serving tea in a cute way.  You can find them on Amazon.com for fairly cheap prices.

Here are some of the other goodies we've made recently:

Homemade pepperoni pizza!

A new take on pork chops - pesto parmesan pork chops! With homemade pesto of course.

Vanilla & cinnamon latte!

Stay tuned for my posts in the near future!