Pumpkin + Kidney Beans + Kale

This year for Halloween I got a couple of little pie pumpkins. I painted the outside - a bat and a ghost - so that I could still use them in the kitchen later. I peeled and chopped them, and put them in the crock pot with enough water to cover the bottom. A few hours later, they were soft yumminess. This thing didn't even need any butter or salt or anything else! I was spooning it out of the pot! 

It made a lovely combination with kidney beans and kale. I simply put it all in a pan together over medium heat until the kale was cooked and the beans were hot. I added salt and pepper. This is the type of dinner that makes me feel good because I'm eating healthy foods, lots of lovely colors, and enjoying every bite! 

Eagle Brand Magic Lemon Pie

My family often escapes to North Georgia for the Fourth of July. It's a little cooler up in the mountains where my grandmother lives and let's face it, any degree below the 100+ temps and killer humidity we've been having in Atlanta is welcome. Plus, the small towns around here throw the best birthday parties for America. I'm not sure how they do it, but the fireworks are always amazing. The little downtown areas come alive and every four-way stop is a traffic jam, especially this year since they just discontinued the only two red lights in town. If I listed all the food we consumed, one would easily think we were providing for a small army camped out in the hills. But no, just three petite women with healthy holiday appetites. By the second day we had run through all the planned desserts so my Granny whipped up an Eagle Brand Lemon Pie. This is a recipe from "The Dessert Lovers'Handbook" printed in 1969. In the introduction, it explains that "Eagle Brand is the 'magic' milk product...And what a wonderfully easy way of getting extra milk in your family's diet!" I just might be gullible enough to believe this, or let it make me feel a little better eating something magical!

Filling
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice (we used 2.5 large lemons)
2 egg yolks
Combine the milk and juice. Blend in the yolks.
The original recipe calls for a pastry shell or crumb crust. We use ground Nilla Wafers in the center surrounded by whole wafers standing up for the crust. Starting in the middle, pour in the filling. Meringue
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread on top of the filling. Bake at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. I like this best chilled.

twd ~ Mini Caramel Pumpkin Pies

Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs picked Caramel Pumpkin Pie for this week's TWD. Oh, Janell, thank you.

Thank you for picking such a wonderful seasonal dessert. Pumpkin in October!

Thank you for making it one that's so easy to mini-fy.

Thank you for making it one so good that everyone in my women's group now thinks I'm a great baker.



I stuck to the recipe this time, except that I cheated a little on the crust. Since I was baking it during the week for a meeting, I bought pie crust and cut circles out, like cookies, and put them in my muffin tin. It made perfect little caramel pumpkin pies that were a huge hit! A couple of people even took some for the ride home. This was two yums up!

twd ~ Crunchy & Custardy Peach Tart

Rachel of sweet tarte had such a great idea when she picked this! It's perfect for summer, and living in Georgia, we have some great peaches.



It was also great timing to have something that could sit in the frig overnight. My sister, who is 2.5 years older, has been living in Shanghai for the past two years. She’s truly more than a sister so I’m very excited that she is moving back to the states. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and moved to NYC on Monday. I made the tart on Wednesday, and served it to my mom, sister, and my sister’s friend Greg, after she came in from the airport. We all met at my apartment, and It was a hit – everyone had a piece and cleaned their plates!



The tart kept well in the refrigerator overnight. The streusel topping was a little soft, but otherwise, it was perfect. I ran out of butter when I was making the Sweet Nut Tart Crust, so I used oil instead. Surprisingly, it turned out really well. The texture was definitely different, and not quite as good, but it worked.

Meet Charlie! The adorable black cat who is now fully recovered from dental surgery and feeling very frisky! Well, when he's not sleeping.

twd ~ Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

Check out this recipe on Spike Bakes. Thanks Spike for a wonderful summer pick!

The star of this dessert is the crust. Buttery coconut and shortbread cookies! Magically, it tastes even better than it sounds!

On top of the crust is a thin layer of sliced banana. I did not dig the frozen banana taste or texture. I ended up digging them out. Not really a fan of frozen fruit.

There was another ripe banana mixed into the ice cream. I couldn't really taste it so much. Perhaps because I used German Chocolate Cake ice cream instead of plain chocolate so there was caramel and fudgey cake pieces for the banana to contend with.

This was a great dessert to have waiting in the freezer when my mom came up this weekend. After a yummy dinner of spicey Thai curry, this was perfect for sitting on the balcony in the cool summer evening.