Sage Advice: Try Pumpkin Grits!

Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Sage Grits

Grits.  They are the ultimate comfort food for Southerners.  Their mild flavor is perfect for add-ins such as cheese, peppers, shrimp and most any savory flavor.  I found an intriguing recipe online that features cinnamon roasted chicken and pumpkin (you knew it) grits and decided it must be next up for a try out in CindysCozyKitchen!  The pumpkin flavor is mild, but delectable, and serves as a delicious backdrop to the cinnamon-coated chicken.

Cinnamon Coated Chicken Ready to Roast

 Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Pumpkin Sage Grits
adapted from a recipe on BHG.com

6-8 skinless, boneless chicken breast tenderloins
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 t salt divided
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cups instant grits
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
24 leaves fresh sage
1 t butter
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can be omitted to reduce calorie count)

Stir and Crisp in Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange chicken in baking dish. Drizzle chicken with oil and sprinkle with 1 t of the salt, cinnamon and black pepper on both sides.  Roast in oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Heat butter in small frying pan until melted, add 16-18 leaves of sage.  Cook and stir over medium-high heat until sage becomes crisp and browns.  Crumble.





In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Stir in grits until combined.  Stir in pumpkin, a tablespoon of the crumbled sage and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat, stir in cheese.

To serve, spoon grits onto dinner plates.  Crumble additional crisped sage over chicken.  Garnish grits with fresh sage leaves.  

Tricked Out Ogre Treats

Li'l Ogre Cupcakes

Still on the pumpkin kick, I found that I had bits and pieces to make something for Halloween.  Since tomorrow is the day when the spooks come out to haunt, there was no time to waste!  I started with a pumpkin cupcake, naturally, added a nice buttercream frosting, but the real fun began with multi-colored sprinkles, some pumpkin pie flavored candy corn, edible googly eyes and bones!  The result was an ogre cupcake that is as much fun to ogle as it is to eat!

Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs; add pumpkin, mix.  Alternate adding dry ingredients with milk and blend until smooth after each addition.  Spoon batter into well greased and floured or paper lined muffin tins.  Bake at 375 about 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in middle of cupcake comes out clean.  *This recipe makes some slight changes to the pumpkin cupcake recipe posted previously, with a little less sugar and using pumpkin pie spice.  

 Buttercream Frosting Recipe

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 t salt

1 t almond extract

4 T milk or heavy cream

Cream butter in mixer.  Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl.  Mix all together on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are incorporated.  Increase speed to medium and add almond extract and milk or cream.  Beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth.  Add more milk/cream if frosting is too thick.  This frosting works well to spread or use in a pastry bag to pipe.   

All Treats, No Tricks!

Dark Delight for Halloween Night

Dark Delight!

Even though my nest is empty, I continue to enjoy the child-like pleasures associated with Halloween.  When my boys were young we carved a pumpkin each year.  They weren't too crazy about the stringy pumpkin "guts," but toasted pumpkin seeds were a tasty treat!  Thinking it was time for a version that was better suited to adult palates, I decided to give this recipe a test.  The coating of dark cocoa, a little salt and a bit of sugar turns the ho-hum-kin seed into a yum-kin seed! 

Dark Side Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh pumpkin seeds (1-2 cups) from one 3 lb. pie pumpkin cleaned of strings but NOT rinsed

3 T granulated sugar

2 T brown sugar

1 T cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Special Dark)

2 t kosher or sea salt

Combine sugars, cocoa powder and salt in mixing bowl.

Add seeds and toss until coated.  The "sticky" on the unrinsed seeds will allow the coating to cling.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet lightly with Pam.  Bake in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes or until you hear the seeds begin to pop.  Remove from oven and loosen pumpkin seeds with spatula.  Allow to cool on baking sheet, as this will crisp the seeds.  

 Relax and enjoy your dark delight on Halloween night!  

Cats Rule! Jack-O-Lantern and Dark Side Treats

Perfect Pop of Pumpkin

de Calabaza Paleta

A friend, one of my darling formers, posted on Facebook that this is a "boots-in-the-morning, flip-flops-in-the-afternoon kind of day."  She described it perfectly!  Here in Texas, it feels like fall in the morning, but we're thinking summer by 3 p.m.  This treat, the pumpkin paleta, preserves the spice of autumn in a cool pop when the temp warms up.

Pumpkin Spice Paleta
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 scant T sugar
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 t pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until blended.  Pour mixture into molds.  Freeze 4-6 hours.  Substituting whole milk for skim will add a creamier texture.  Skim milk keeps the calorie count down.  Delicious any way you mix it!

Savory Soup Adds Southwestern Spice

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

Most people think "sweet" when pumpkin comes to mind, but if you've never tasted a savory pumpkin recipe, you've been missing something delicious!  This concoction combines pumpkin with flavors usually associated with Southwestern food:  green chiles, cumin, cayenne and more.  Add the sour cream and cilantro mixture, give it a whirl, and you have a taste sensation that is not to be ignored.  

Spice it Up!

Savor These Flavors

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup Recipe

adapted from TLC Cooking

1  4 oz. can green chiles

1/4 cup light sour cream

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1  15 oz. can pumpkin

1 3/4 cups fat-free chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t garlic powder

1/8 t cayenne

Additional sour cream

Add Southwestern Spices

Combine sour cream, chiles and cilantro in food processor or blender; process until smooth. Combine pumpkin, chicken broth, water, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and cayenne in saucepan.  Add 1/4 cup of sour cream/green chile mixture.  Heat until soup boils and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer uncovered 5 minutes.  

Stir All Ingredients Until Boiling

 Add dollops of remaining sour cream/green chile mixture and a bit of additional sour cream.  Run spoon through dollops to swirl.  Enjoy!

Serve Soup with a Cheesy Quesadilla and Black Beans

Warm Up, Chill Out

Pumpkin Latte

What could be more cozy than being curled up on a cool fall morning with a seasonal drink in hand?  On a relaxed weekend, the last thing I want to do is jump in the car and wait in a long line at the local coffee shop for a spiced latte.  With a few ingredients on hand, and no special equipment required, the only thing compulsory in acquiring this latte is about 5 minutes in the kitchen!  Warm up, chill out and enjoy!

Pumpkin Latte

2 cups milk

2 T canned pumpkin

3 T sugar

2 T vanilla

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup strong coffee

Whipped cream
Additional pumpkin pie spice for topping

Combine milk, pumpkin and sugar in saucepan and stir over heat medium heat; keep from scalding.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice.  Place mixture in a blender to froth, or use a whisk to froth by hand. 

Divide mixture into 2 coffee mugs and carefully pour coffee along the side of the cup to preserve froth.







Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with additional spice if desired.  To reduce calorie count, make this a skinnier latte by using non-fat milk and no topping.

Chocolate Makes a Good Pumpkin Great

Great Pumpkin Cookies

In my childhood, in the time before DVRs, I counted the fall days until "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" animated television special aired each year.  It was truly an event when the entire family settled in to watch Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.  I chose this recipe for the nostalgic name, but I'm sharing it because it combines two of my favorite flavors:  pumpkin and CHOCOLATE!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Great Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Cream butter, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; mix well.  Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in morsels.  Drop dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets, bake 11 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet to cool.  Once cool, drizzle chocolate over each cookie.

Cool on Wire Rack

Chocolate Drizzle

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

1 T shortening

Melt chocolate in microwave or use double boiler method.  Add shortening and stir until smooth.  Place chocolate in heavy, sealable plastic bag.  Create a pastry bag for piping by snipping one corner of the Ziploc.  Drizzle chocolate over cooled cookies.  Chocolate will remain slightly gooey.  Halve shortening if you wish chocolate to set.  

A Little Chocolate Makes Pumpkin Great!