This is my entry in the
Troublesome Turkeys contest sponsored by
Happy to be at Home.
Our first Thanksgiving together, my husband (then, boyfriend) and I were in school in Arkansas. Because we were hours away from our nearest relatives, I wanted to make a nice Thanksgiving meal for the two of us.
Thanksgiving staples in my family always include a turkey, macaroni and cheese, green beans, biscuits, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. This was a meal I lovingly prepared for Richard and myself. Preparing the turkey went well, as did the side dishes. The dessert was a different story.
I'd made dozens of pumpkin pies in my life, but something went horribly wrong with this one. I followed the directions on the can - or at least I thought I did. However, somehow, I wound up with too much pie filling. I poured the filling into the pre-made crust (hey, I wasn't as adventurous with my cooking in those days), but after filling the deep dish shell, I still had half of a bowl of pumpkin filling. So, I decided to make pumpkin muffins! (It seemed like a good idea at the time.)
I added some flour to the pumpkin mixture. That was it... the only ingredient I added to the pumpkin pie filling mixture. (The first mistake.) I put the batter into a muffin pan. Then I put it in the oven at 350 degrees. (The second mistake - I shouldn't have let it get that far.) After about 30 minutes or so of baking, I took the muffins out.
Oh! Allow me to digress for a moment. By this time, we had eaten our Thanksgiving meal, which was fabulous. However, the pumpkin pie didn't turn out well - it didn't cook.
Okay, back to the muffins. I placed a muffin on a plate for Richard and got one for myself. Since the pie didn't cook, we would have pumpkin muffins for dessert! Our third mistake was eating that disaster. I can't describe it, other than to say the one bite I took was quickly disposed of in my napkin. Richard couldn't swallow his either. Terrible.
To this day, I have no idea what happened to my pie. I surmise that I added too much evaporated milk, but I'm just not sure. Also, to this day, every time I mention making something other than pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin, my husband visably cringes - especially if I intend to bake pumpkin muffins. Finally, we have a scale of the likability of food I prepare at home. My husband always loved my fettuccine alfredo; and you now know how he felt about my pumpkin muffins. So, upon presentation of a new dish I query, "On a scale of pumpkin muffins to fettuccine, where does this place?"
A VERY GOOD Pumpkin Bread Recipe (No, really! It is good! I promise.) Not sure of the original source of this recipe... I got it from Nonnie, who got it from someone at church, who got it from...
1 teaspoon nutmeg1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs, unbeaten
2/3 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 cups sugar
Sift together nutmeg and the next four ingredients. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix eggs, water, oil, sugar, and pumpkin.
Add dry ingredients and beat until all lumps are gone.
Grease 3 medium loaf pans and fill each 1/2 full.
Bake 45 minutes to one hour at 350 degrees.
Yield: 3 loaves
