Fall Flavors-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Does anyone else have another grey day on their hands?  Up her in Minnesota we do!  I have the day off so I am trying to stay motivated to get my to do list done!  I have to admit I am a bit groggy this morning,  did not sleep well at all.  I stayed up later then usual reading this book. 

I saw the movie Sarah's Key this past Saturday with My mom, my moms god daughter and family friends.  We all left the movie with watery eyes and heavy hearts.  Sarah's key is about the July 16th 1942 French round up of the Jews.  The book itself is a Historical Fiction, but the events described in the book/movie are very much real.  The book follows the lives/happenings of a young Jewish girl Sarah.  She is one of the many children that are rounded up in France back in 1942.  The story slowly works Sarah's story into 2002 where it intersects with a American Journalists.   Both the book and movie are heartbreaking, hopeful, thought provoking and at times dark.  But with that being said I still highly recommend the book and the movie.  The book is  page turner, I am already 190 pages into the book Sarah's Key and I got the book Sunday(it was one of those I have to read the book now type things)!   

Now onto the food related topics of this post.  Before my mom hit up Barnes and Nobles on Sunday to pick up Sarah's Key we decided to go to a local apple orchard!  The weather was perfect not to cold but still the crisp fall air that I absolutely love!  Nothing smells better then crisp fall air, mixed with the scent of fresh apples!  

Not to mention the orchard we went to had apple donuts and the smell wafted through the little shop, it truly smelled amazing.  My mom and I decided not to go apple picking, but we did not leave empty handed!  We left the apple orchard with 2 big bags of apples, 2 acorn squash, and one butternut squash.  I had never prepared acorn squash before but was excited to try something new. I looked up a few recipes for inspiration and after a long 5 mile hike with my mom I rolled my sleeves up and got to work on dinner!  Dinner featured an acorn squash (we picked up at the apple orchard) and was stuffed with wonderful flavors of fall.  Think cranberries apple and cinnamon!  I love the smell of cinnamon and apples baking, the smell seems to linger throughout the house.  

Pumpkin Bread Anyone

Happy Monday Everyone!  Did you all have a fabulous weekend?  Did you do anything fun?

I have a wonderful recipe to share with you today.  On Saturday I finally decided enough was enough, I had to make pumpkin bread (I had only been craving it for the past week), and boy am I glad I made it.  I was extremely happy with how the bread turned out, moist, a little sweet, melty chocolate and PUMPKIN!

Read on to get this wonderful recipe!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes

I know today I was supposed to share the wonderful salad I made a few days ago but I think my breakfast deserves the spotlight.  Especially since everyone seems to be all about these right now!

Fall is finally here!

And I have a small confession to make something I would have never thought possible!  I am getting a bit sick of my daily bowl of oatmeal, I know this is shocking!  But as I was flipping through recipes last night Pumpkin Pancakes caught my eye!  The only problem was that I was not finding a recipe that I absolutely fell in love with.  The recipes either had way way to many ingredients or had things I didn't have (like bisquick).  So I developed a plan or I guess an idea and prayed that today when I set out to make these pumpkin pancakes that my idea would work!

The end result?  FABULOUS!

Not only did I want pumpkin pancakes today, but I wanted those pumpkin pancakes to be oatmeal pancakes.  I know I know just a few small demands.  Well remember those Applesauce Oatmeal Pancakes I feel in love with?  The ones from this post?  Well my thought was why couldn't I sub in pumpkin puree for the applesauce?  They both have the same consistency, and would not change the nutritional stats of the pancakes at all!  And you know what that crazy idea worked!  This morning I was happily munching on delicious pumpkin pancakes with a pumpkin yogurt topping!

Here is the fabulous recipe, which was adapted from this Taste of Homes Recipe

Pumpkin Pancakes

Serves 5 - 2 Pancakes Each

Dry Ingredients 

1-Cup Quick Cooking Oats

1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour

1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

Cinnamon, Nutmeg and a bit of sweetener-All as much as you want (not in original recipe)

Wet Ingredients 

1 Cup Milk (Calls for Skim I used Unsweetened Almond Milk)

2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Puree (Not Pumpkin Pie Filling)

4 Egg Whites 

A Splash of Vanilla

What you do:

Combine all Dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Then combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. 

Add your wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and start flipping pancakes!

Cook the pancakes as you would a normal buttermilk pancake, about 3-4 min per side.  Wait till you see tiny bubbles form and pop to flip your pancakes!

For the Pumpkin Yogurt Sauce!

1 Container Dannon Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Puree

Cinnamon, and Nutmeg

Combine all the ingredients together stir and enjoy!

I ate all the yogurt atop my pancakes with a bit of peanut butter!  I have to say there was jut the faintest hint of pumpkin to these pancakes, that is why I added a pumpkin dipping sauce! But still they were YUM!

I will leave you with this, enjoy your Thursday and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!

This quote was emailed to me today and I laughed a bit to myself when I read it!

"Always behave like a duck-keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath"

-Jacob Braude