Pumpkin Cream Pots

{{Pumpkin Cream Pie}}

12 small mason jars (I used half-pint wide mouth jars)

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (I ended up using about 1

1/2 packages of graham crackers and crushed them in my food processor)

1/3 cup sugar

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Mix these together well, then press into the small mason jars with

your fingers, and chill in the fridge. I did not cook this crust.

Pie Filling:

1 cup pumpkin (pureed)

2 cups cold milk

2 boxes of instant vanilla pudding (3.5 oz. size)

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed (such as Cool Whip–or make your own whipping cream)

Extra whipped topping for the top of the pies

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together on low speed for 1 minute. Spoon filling into mason jars on top of the graham cracker crust. Top with a layer of whipped topping and chill in the fridge until set, for about 3 hours.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Mix all spices in a bowl and stir to blend. Makes one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice!

Pumpkin Seeds

Pretty Pretty Pumpkins....

And deep inside the plump pumpkin? Perfect Pumpkin Seeds! Seeds just waiting to be turned into a delicious treat!

This fall treat is tremendously nostalgic of childhood. And once you get all that goopy stuff off the seeds... they are very easy to roast.
{{Pumpkin Seeds}}

2 cups pumpkin seeds, cleaned

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 Tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon salt

Place seeds in pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Strain out the seeds and dry on a paper towel.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

In a separate bowl combine worcestershire sauce, butter and salt. Then add seeds and stir together to coat the seeds with the flavor. Spread seeds out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven for 1-2 hours.

Remove from oven, allow to cool and store in an air tight container. Then Enjoy!

Homemade Whipped Cream

This is really the only kind of whipped cream to have and it is sooo very easy to make. No really! It is! It is so much better than Cool-whip or the kind that comes in the squirty can. You can use this in place of any recipe that calls for cool-whip or any type of whipped cream and it makes all dishes so much better.

{{Homemade Whipped Cream}}

1 cup heavy cream, chilled (nice to put it into the freezer for about 1o minutes before you whip it)
1/4 cup confectioner sugar (a.k.a. powdered sugar... this stabilizes the whipped cream better than white sugar does)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer to whip to stiff (but not grainy) peaks. Chill until using. Best if used within one day.

Also it is really easy to make this whipped cream in a stand mixer. Place all the ingredients in and turn it on high to whip it up! Minutes to delicious-ness on top of any sweet treat.

Use it on crepes, fresh fruit, pies, or really on any dessert. Like this yummy banana cream pie! It's super easy to make too...

Banana Cream Pie

1 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips, either milk or semi-sweet
Pre-made Graham Cracker Crust (or you can make one from scratch)
2 medium size bananas (pick ripeness according to your preference)
Small box of Jell-O vanilla instant pudding
Small box of Jell-O banana cream pudding
2 cups cold milk
Whipped Topping

Place one cup of chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds on 70% power and then pull out and stir. Watch chocolate carefully so it doesn't burn. Continue to melt chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring after. When all the chocolate has melted, add the last half cup and stir in. After stirring the chocolate and allowing some of the last 1/2 cup to melt, put it back in the microwave and after 30 more seconds all of the chocolate should be smooth and melted. (Saving that last bit of chocolate and adding it after most of the chocolate has melted helps to temper the chocolate a bit so it will set up nicely in the pie).

Now that your chocolate is melted, spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom and sides of the crust. Set aside.

Slice banana and then layer them around the bottom of the crust. Add more or less bananas as you like. This is your pie... make it the way you like it.

Open packages of pudding mixes into a mixing bowl and add the cold milk. Using a hand mixer, beat the pudding for about a minute. Pour the prepared pudding on top of the bananas and put into the refrigerator to set.

Just before serving you can make the fresh whipped topping and serve each slice with a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream! YUMMY!