fall is here: take 2

alternate titles:

• pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere
• a butt-load of pumpkin foods
• one can of libby’s pumpkin puree: 4 recipes

so i know i proclaimed that it was fall a while ago with the start of football season, but today, with rain pouring down outside, a high of 60*, and after a day filled with pumpkin treats, it really feels like fall!

yesterday, for whatever reason, all i wanted to do was put myself to work in the kitchen! i woke up semi-early (sundays are my no-alarm clock/sleep in days!) and came straight to the computer to see what i wanted to make.

several pumpkin recipes jumped out at me, but i didn’t have any pumpkin. so i grabbed my sneakers and walked to the grocery store to get some + other ingredients i needed. it was totally worth being caught in a downpour on my way back home!

first up: averie’s pumpkin spice latte (i’m enjoying another one right now!).

i followed her directions, but i used vanilla almond milk (from trader joe’s) and didn’t add any additional sweetener since that milk is pretty sweet on it’s own.

this was like being at starbucks! or, dare i say it? even better!

brad was thrilled when i presented him with one of his own as soon as he stumbled out of bed (only about 4 hours after i made mine!)

if you’re looking for a very simple and delicious at-home alternative to spending $4 every time you crave one of these babies, definitely try this recipe!

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next up: julie’s coffee shop pumpkin syrup (version 2.0).

i would have made this first, since i can never go wrong with a recipe from julie, but it seemed like it would take a bit longer than the first recipe, so i decided to try it with my second cup of coffee for the day!

again though, this is a very easy recipe and it doesn’t take much time at all. just mix together the ingredients, cook them in a saucepan for a bit, cool, and pour into storage container.

i love that this is a syrup, so it’s very versatile! i can use it as pumpkin flavoring in coffee or a latte, or i could use it over ice cream, waffles, or anything else i want to add a bit of pumpkin flavor to!

note: it really is good in coffee! and  you don’t need much – maybe 1 tbsp, so this will really last for a while.

another note: if you’re doing a homemade christmas (ahem, jessica), this would be a great gift!

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speaking of jessica, she posted a recipe for pumpkin bread yesterday, and it could not have come at a better time (for me)!

i had a bit over a can of pumpkin puree left, and no more recipes in my queue (the last one i’m going to talk about had already been prepped at this point)!

i was a bit hesitant to make bread since we have an overabundance of it right now, but i decided that i could easily freeze some of the bread – and i really needed to use up that can of pumpkin!

brad went crazy over this bread too! it was delicious warm from the oven with some butter. mmm mmm good.

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last up: pumpkin ice cream from julie (again!).

we haven’t used our ice cream maker since the first time (about a month ago), so i’ve been looking for a recipe to inspire me! kristen has a ton of them on her blog (and several that we are going to try soon!), but when i saw the recipe for pumpkin ice cream, i knew that was going to be our next one.

this ice cream is delicious! i highly recommend it to any ice cream + pumpkin lovers! brad ate his over a warmed slice of jessica’s pumpkin bread and loved it. i ate mine plain, and it was so good that way too!

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i made a couple other delicious treats yesterday that i’m excited to tell you about, but i figured i’d stick with the pumpkin-themed ones today.

now i’m going to get some work done! i’m working from home today (!!), which means i get to be productive around the house and with work things.

*****

i have another can of pumpkin calling my name from the pantry. what else should i make?

Tagged as: bread, ice cream, latte, pumpkin, syrup