Pumpkin Hand Pies

It's officially fall.  The leaves are changing colors, there's a crispness in the air, and everyone is making pumpkin recipes.  And I'm one of them. :)  These little hand pies are delicate and delicious...and they happen to be free of the top 8 allergens and refined sugar!

 Pumpkin Hand Pies
1 double batch of basic double pie crust (recipe below)
1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and grease or line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix together the pumpkin, coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla.  Set aside.

Split the pie crust dough into manageable amounts and roll out on a piece of parchment paper until about 1/8" thick. Using a round 3-3 1/2" cookie cutter, cut the dough and transfer half the rounds to the baking sheets.  Top the rounds with ~1 tablespoon of the pumpkin filling.  Top with the remaining round and gently press along the edges to seal it, then with a fork crimp the edges together. Use a toothpick or a fork to poke holes in the top for stream release. 

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, then cool on cooling racks.  They can be eaten warm or cool and should be good for a couple of days if stored in an airtight container.  Yield: 20-24 hand pies.

Basic Double Pie Crust

2 cups GF flour blend

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup palm oil shortening

6-8 tablespoons ice water

Directions

Mix together the flour blend and salt.  Cut in the shortening until pieces are pea-size.  Add in the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with a fork to moisten the dough.  Keep adding the water until a nice ball can be formed without breaking apart. Have enough water to make a soft dough and is almost sticky, but not quite. (So, the dough doesn't stick to your hand, but if any more was added, it definitely would.)

Use this recipe for any pie recipe, following the directions for baking in those recipes.  Or use as outlined above, in the pumpkin hand pies recipe.

Please note that this is a delicate dough, and can break apart easily, so be patient and careful with it.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, Whole Food Fridays, and Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Weekly Menu (9/29/13-10/5/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• bananas
• strawberries
• cantaloupe
• pomegranates
• oranges
• tomatoes
• both romaine and butter lettuce
• green cauliflower
• carrots
• onion
• sweet potato

We also got the Italiann add-on pack:

• eggplant
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• mushrooms
• red and yellow onions
• parsley
• basil, rosemary, and oregano
• garlic

Our garden is winding down, but we still have raspberries, kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant to use up.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, sleeping in
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  scrambled eggs with veggies (kale, tomato, mushrooms, peppers, etc)
• morning snack (9am): nothing
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Chicken and Eggplant Unparmesan
• GF pasta
• Sweet potato noodles (I just got a spiralizer!)
• strawberries

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and carrots
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie (with dairy-free yogurt, if I get it made today)
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): coconut date roll
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• chili
• baked potatoes
• corn-free cornbread
• green salad

Tuesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and carrots
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): pomegranate
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• tamales
• nachos
• leftovers for me
• green salad
• sliced cantaloupe

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): orange
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): dried cranberries and cashews
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): coconut date roll
• dinner:
• Grilled pastrami sandwiches
• tomato soup
• green salad

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): carrots and peanut butter
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs and veggies
• morning snack (9am):  cashews and dried fruit
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner: 
• crispy waffles
• bacon
• hashbrowns
• fruit salad

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and carrots
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): banana
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• pizza or calzones
• green salad

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• hamburgers
• oven fries
• green salad

Raspberry Cream Pie

The raspberries are still going strong at our house, so I'm having fun coming up with new ways to use them. Our family loves cream pies.  My hubbies favorite has always been banana cream, my boys both love chocolate cream, and I usually lean toward coconut cream.  Well, now we have another one to go to when we are in the pie mood:  raspberry cream. It's creamy with just enough raspberry flavor, along with whole raspberries throughout to give you just the right amount of cream and raspberries.

Raspberry Cream Pie
1 8-9" pie shell, baked (instructions are below for baking the pie shell, also the recipe for the pie crusts makes 3 single crust pies...I make a full batch and freeze what I don't need) or pie shell of choice
2 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup GF flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh raspberry puree
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2-2 cups fresh rasberries

Directions
Have the baked pie shell ready. To bake my pie crust, prep it as outline here. Once prepped and in the pie tin, prick the bottom ~8 times with a fork. Cover it with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.

In a saucepan, scald the milk and agave. In another saucepan, combine the flour and salt. Gradually whisk in the scalded milk.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cover and cook for two more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in raspberry puree until smooth and mixed evenly throughout.

Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks, to temper them, then add the yolks into the hot mixture. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add in the coconut oil and vanilla. Let the mixture sit until lukewarm.

When the mixture has cooled, cover the pie shell with fresh raspberries and pour the cream mixture over them. Then cover the mixture with the remaining berries. Allow to chill in the fridge before serving coconut whipped cream.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, and Whole Foods Friday.

Birthday Cake Time

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday, and as you know from my page of birthday cakes, I really like to overdo it. So here it is, my hubby's two favorite cartoon characters of late, Mordecai and Rigby:

Weekly Menu (9/22/13-9/28/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• bananas
• watermelon
• cantaloupe
• pineapple
• pomegranates
• green beans
• mushrooms
• celery
• onions
• tomatoes
• butter lettuce

We also got the Mexican add-on pack:

• green chilis
• jalapenos
• tomatillos
• cilantro
• limes
• onions
• green onions
• garlic
• avocados

Our raspberries, kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant are still going strong in the garden, so we'll be using those as well. I'm also going to try to make it to the farmer's market today and get apples, peaches, and corn.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, sleeping in
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  scrambled eggs with veggies (kale, tomato, avocado, mushrooms, peppers, etc)
• morning snack (9am): nothing
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Steak
• baked potatoes
• steamed green beans
• corn on the cob
• fruit salad

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal topped with extra raspberries and peaches
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): coconut date roll
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• tacos with homemade tortillas
• fruit salad
• green salad

Tuesday: My hubby's birthday!

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): pomegranate
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• going out to Pizza Pie Cafe as a family, then having cake afterwards

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): pomegranate
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): dried cranberries and cashews
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): coconut date roll
• dinner:
• Navajo tacos
• Salsa Verde
• corn on the cob
• fruit salad

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): celery and peanut butter
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs and veggies
• morning snack (9am):  cashews and dried fruit
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner: 
• french toast
• bacon
• hashbrowns
• fruit salad

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): banana
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner: date night, so this will just be for the boys:
• hot dogs
• sliced apples and baby carrots with peanut butter or almond butter

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• chili
• baked potatoes
• green salad