Halloween Pumpkin Recipes

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

................William Shakespeare, Witches in Macbeth

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Choose a pumpkin with a flat bottom so it won't tip over and spill the soup.

1 7-8 lb. pumpkin

3-14 1/2 oz cans chicken broth

2 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

1 chopped carrot

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

6 slices bacon

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 cup croutons

Slice off top of pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and strings. Replace top. Place pumpkin on a baking pan and bake in a 375 degree F oven for 50 -60 minutes so you can scoop out the pumpkin pulp. Leave about a 3/4 inch thickness of pumpkin in shell. Cut pumpkin pulp into chunks. (about 4 cups) Do not scoop off bottom.

In a stock pot, combine pumpkin chunks, chicken broth, apple, carrot, ginger, curry and cumin. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Cool a little. Blend the vegetable mixture in a food processor until smooth. (You may have to do it in batches)

Put the pumpkin shell in a casserole dish and pour the soup into it. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove and cook onion and sugar in bacon drippings. Crumble bacon. Combine with croutons. Sprinkle on top of soup. Makes 8-10 servings.

This recipe comes from my Aunt Josie in Indiana.

1 package angel food cake mix

1-15 oz. can pumpkin

1 cup water

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Mix cake mix and water for 1 minute with electric mixer on low. Mix in spice for about 1 minute.

Spray 9 X 13 pan bottom with Pam or use vegetable oil to grease bottom.

Bake 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Top with Cool Whip or whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top.

This is a recipe from a former home economics teacher in Columbus, Ohio. She said she never had a failure and she taught home economic class for 17 years.

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 1/2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually. Add beaten egg and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients. Add nuts. Add dry ingredients to shortening-egg mixture and mix well.

Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake in 350 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes. Makes 12.

Icing

1/4 cup Egg-Beaters

1 lb. (box) confectioner's sugar

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

1 teaspoon flavoring (vanilla or your choice)

Few drops food coloring (orange for Halloween)

Mix together all ingredients until smooth. Spread on cooled cupcakes. Decorate with Halloween candy pieces.