Pumpkin Pie

I don't have a picture for this recipe.  However - it did win a blue ribbon at the 2011 Tillamook County Fair.  It's mostly from the Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe found on the pumpkin from the store.

Pumpkin Pie
2 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie shells
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 eggs
1 quart homecanned pumpkin, drained
1 pint homecanned carrots, drained and pureed
2 (12 oz EACH) cans evaporated milk

Combine all pie ingredients except shells.  Mix very well.  You may need to run it through the blender to make sure the pumpkin and carrots are pureed.  Pour into prepared shells.  Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.  Refrigerate.  Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Carrots

These won a red ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!

Carrots
Before you start on your carrots, place your lids in a saucepan covered with water, place on stovetop and turn on low.  You want the lids hot - but not boiling.
You also want to fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Trust me.  It's easier to do at the beginning. :)

Wash carrots so there is no dirt.  Peel.  Cut so the pieces are pretty much the same size.  Place carrot pieces (or small whole ones) in clean canning jars to within 1 inch headspace.  Add 1/2 tsp salt for pints OR 1 tsp salt for quarts.  This is optional - it does not affect whether your vegetables will process correctly or not.
Add boiling water to within 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe tops of jars and add hot lids.  Twist bands on tightly. 
All vegetables must be processed in a pressure canner.  Process times and pounds are based on your elevation.  I am at sea level so my processing time is 25 minutes/pints OR 30 minutes/quarts at 10 pounds pressure.  If you do not know how to pressure can and you live close to me - I would be happy to show you.  If you live far away - contact your local extension office.  They even have pressure canners you can check out library style.  So....you wouldn't even have to buy one!  They will also have information regarding time and pounds for your elevation.

Minestrone Soup

My cousin's wife sent me a Minestrone Soup recipe - and then I found another recipe online. So....I combined what I really liked from each of the recipes - some things were the same - and came up with my own version. It's pictured with the garlic rolls that are made cinnamon roll style.

Minestrone Soup
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small zucchini, cubed (if not available - leave out)
1 handful kale or spinach, chopped (I use kale)
1 (14.5 oz) can white beans (the above picture has red beans since I was out of white. Both work well.)
1 TBSP dried parsley
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
6 cups broth - either chicken or vegetable
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 cup dry pasta of your choice (I used dry ravioli found in the WinCo bulk section.)

Simmer all ingredients for a couple hours. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This recipe also freezes really well.

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

This recipe actually comes from Taste of Home. I have had it for many years. The original recipe calls it Teddy Carrot Bars because they use Teddy Grahams. I changed some things in the actual recipe to make it work for our jars and jars of food storage.

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 pint carrots, drained

1 pint applesauce

4 eggs

4 TBSP vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. You have enough batter here to do a couple different things. You can make 2 9x13 pans OR lots of muffins OR 1 9x13 pan and 12 muffins.

Spray your pans and divide the batter evenly. Bake at 350 degrees. About 20 minutes for the muffins and closer to 30-35 minutes for the 9x13 pan. Cool completely. If desired - frost with favorite cream cheese frosting. I like to frost the 9x13 pan but leave the muffins as is.

Carrot Cake

This recipe comes by way of Jen T from New Zealand. She found it in a "Taste" magazine in 2006 courtesy of the "Fat Dog Cafe" in Rotorua, NZ.

Don't mind my feeble attempts to decorate this cake. I didn't feel like messing with frosting so made carrots from gumdrops. I think it's a rather ingenious idea! :)

This is a very moist cake.

Carrot Cake - courtesy of the Fat Dog Cafe

1 cup vegetable oil (you could go 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup applesauce as well)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups grated carrots (this is where those grated freezer carrots come in handy)

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (plain - NOT shelled. )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat oil and sugar until well mixed. Add eggs and carrots. Mix thoroughly. Add in remaining ingredients.

Divide between two 9 inch round cake pans. Don't forget to grease and flour them. I forgot to flour mine and it was a bit tricky getting the cakes out of the pans in one piece.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cakes spring back after pressing lightly. Don't overcook.

Leave cakes in pans for 10 minutes before turning onto cooling rack.

Icing

This icing was a bit overpowering so next time I will use something different. I changed the porportions as well since I was making a layer cake.

12 oz cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup powdered sugar (I would use more of this next time)

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Mix icing ingredients very well. When cake is cool, fill in the middle and frost the cake.

To make the carrots:

I rolled out orange gumdrops in some granulated sugar until flat. Then I rolled up the gumdrops to shape into a carrot shape. The tops - I cut a green gumdrop in half and used scissors to cut almost all the way through to make "tassles" for the carrots. Very elementary.