pumpkin pie

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

Turkey

If you were following our posts on our Facebook page last night you would already know that we are celebrating Thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend. Our family dinner was actually yesterday and I’m still full from all the delicious food that Claudia made. I mean, look at that turkey above! I’m excited for my lunches over the next few days which will consist of all the delicious leftovers.

Cabbage Rolls

It would not be Thanksgiving in our house without Cabbage Rolls. Claudia decided to make an entire roaster full! When I asked her why she made an entire roaster full when she was only cooking for 6 people, she replied “Well, why not?!”. I love my mother! You can find our delicious Cabbage Roll recipe by clicking here!

Gravy

While Claudia and I were preparing dinner, I learned yet another valuable food lesson. She always uses potato water mixed in with the turkey drippings to make her gravy. It gives it a little added flavour rather than using just regular water. Brilliant, right? It blew my mind anyways.

Pumpkin Pie

We finished off the evening with the Claudia’s delicious Pumpkin Pie, and the standard family debate: whether pumpkin pie should be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I take ice cream every single time. There is nothing better in my opinion.

Whether you are celebrating this weekend, or in a few weeks, Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie

Claudia's Cookbook - Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie 6

The past few weeks have been super busy over here. As previously mentioned on the blog, I decided after a 10+ year hiatus to go back to playing hockey. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m slowly getting my hockey legs back (i.e. not looking like Bambi on the ice). We play  mostly in the early evenings one to two times a week. It’s great exercise, even though I don’t consider sports exercise. It’s way too fun and enjoyable to be exercise in my opinion.

Since my games are in the early evening, I tend to eat my dinner a couple hours prior to my games and often come home not feeling like eating another full meal, especially at 8:30pm. That’s where this beauty of a smoothie comes in! Protein is very good to consume after exercise to repair muscle, so I figured this smoothie is not only delicious but healthy and full of protein and vitamin A. I also enjoy it as my dessert as well. It is also super simple to make. I made it with chocolate protein powder because that is all I had, but you can make it with vanilla, or none at all if you just want to enjoy it as a delicious treat on its own. I also love the richness of almond milk, but you can use any dairy or non-dairy milk you so desire. The possibilities are endless with this treat. I hope you try it soon!

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Our Favourite Pumpkin Desserts

One of the only reasons I get excited for autumn is the abundance of pumpkin everywhere. Pumpkin desserts and pumpkin lattes… I honestly cannot get enough! I also live in Canada so I have to try to focus of something positive when the temperatures start to dip and winter is upon us, right? While I am currently perfecting my next pumpkin recipe for the blog (should be posted within the next few days!) I wanted to take the opportunity to  compile our favourite pumpkin recipes!

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes – These are probably one of the richest cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. And they are absolutely, positively delicious! If you want a substitute for pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake this Thanksgiving, these babies are by far your best bet.

Pumpkin Caramel Dream Cake

Pumpkin Caramel Dream Cake – It’s simple, rich and full of caramel and pumpkin flavor. Perfect for the season and ooey, gooey good!

Pumpkin Creme Pies

Pumpkin Creme Pies – These sandwich cookies are super simple to make and absolutely delicious. The perfect mix of warm spices and sweet cream cheese. They also freeze extremely well, which is good if you can’t manage to finish all 24 cookies this recipe makes! But I’m sure you can give it a good try 🙂

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie – A classic. No introduction required. This pie is scrumptious, whether you prefer it with whipped cream or ice cream on top.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream – This ice cream is creamy, rich and decadent! It literally tastes like pumpkin pie. Absolutely delicious and perfect for holding onto the last bits of summer but embracing autumn flavours.

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Scones – Move over Starbucks! These scones are dense and almost exactly like the pumpkin scones you will find at your neighbourhood coffeehouse. The icing is also very flavourful and decadent. I dare you to not lick the spoon!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Vanilla Icing – These beauties are like soft cookie pillows of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a sweet pumpkin-vanilla finish. Absolutely perfect for any autumn day.

Happy September everybody!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

A couple weeks ago I had my first taste of Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. I was hooked. I needed to find a recipe that I could make at home so I could enjoy it at my leisure. Probably not the best move if you’re watching your waistline, but everything is okay in moderation, right?

As I’ve mentioned before, pumpkin pie is best served with vanilla ice cream. Well, in my humble opinion anyway. So this dessert was clearly a no-brainer for me to feature. This ice cream is creamy, rich and decadent! It literally tastes like pumpkin pie. Absolutely delicious and perfect for holding onto the last bits of summer but embracing autumn flavours.

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Vanilla Icing

Oh how I love pumpkin! One of the only reasons why I look forward to autumn is the emergence of all things pumpkin in my baking repertoire and Starbucks menus. I’ve posted my fair share of pumpkin-filled recipes on this blog during the past 2 years. Pumpkin Scones, Cupcakes, and Creme Pies – heck even Claudia’s amazing Pumpkin Pie still could not fulfill my desire to bake with pumpkin! I wanted something easy. Something lighter but full of that rich flavour that reminds me of autumn so much. Enter these delicious Pumpkin Snickerdoodle cookies! They are like soft cookie pillows of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a sweet pumpkin-vanilla finish. Absolutely perfect for any autumn day.

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Pumpkin Pie

With Canadian Thanksgiving coming up this weekend, we decided it was a perfect opportunity to share Claudia’s special pumpkin pie recipe.

Now, there is a furious debate in our household on whether or not pumpkin pie should be eaten warmed up with vanilla ice cream or with whip cream. Now, when I say in our “household” I mean it’s a debate between my immediate family (i.e. my brother, Claudia, my Dad and me)  against the newcomers – my boyfriend and my brother’s girlfriend. My family feels that anything other than vanilla ice cream on pumpkin pie is simply absurd. The newcomers (and apparently everybody poled on our Facebook fan page) think otherwise. I still stand by my ice cream opinion.

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