Laura Cooks: Cooking with Pumpkin (w/ illustrations)

Hey everyone just wanted to update my blog with a pumpkin-themed fun cooking adventure I had. And since this is my illustration blog, I also created a cute little pumpkin character to guide us through each dish!

I LOVE all things pumpkin. I'm a pumpkin addict!! And fall just happens to be my favorite season. Unforunately everyone is still focused on summer and it's just a TAD too early for stores to be carrying their "pumpkin spice" seasonal eats. I decided I'm not waiting until fall. Armed with a can of pumpkin and Pinterest recipes I had all day pumpkin feast!

 

First came breakfast. Even though it's been about a billiondy degrees outside almost daily I decided to start my morning with the "Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal" recipe from "The Gracious Pantry." The recipe only required simple ingredients I already had at home. The oatmeal serves 4 but I'm only one person so I adjusted it back to 1 serving.

Drizzled with maple syrup and topped with chopped pecans, this was such a filling breakfast!! And yes, it looks as good as it tastes!! Next up came my lunch. What could you possibly make for lunch with canned pumpkin?? Two words: grilled cheese.

Mmmm cheese on carbs!! Not the healthiest thing to be stuffing my face with but the ingredients weren't too terrible for you. For instance, the recipe calls for a laughing cow cheese wedge which are very low in calories (and super yummy). And instead of a deli cheese slice I used some vegan cheese made from rice and it tasted just as good.

Bizarre sounding but totally savory!! The pumpkin "filling" was enough for 2 separate sandwiches but I piled it all on one anyway. YOLO my friends. I ate my sandwich with some wheat thins and some applesauce. Mmmm!! Check out the full recipe by user asally04 on the "KeyIngredient" website. And last but not least dinner.

All I needed was one more pumpkin recipe and my pumpkin feast would be complete!! And I definitely had one up my sleeve. "Pumpkin Mac and Cheese" by "Eat. Drink. Love." I can't say no to Mac and Cheese. It took me two attempts to make this. The first attempt I burned myself on the pot of boiling water and spilled the entire pound of curly noodles all over the floor. Yikes!! It just goes to show you accidents happen. We all need to be careful when we cook!!

I'm glad I picked myself up and tried again because this recipe was a unique filling dish!! It calls for not only cheddar cheese but also Gruyere. If you don't feel like buying Gruyere you can use Swiss but I wanted the full Pumpkin Mac and Cheese experience!! It was a great way to end my day. I hope you enjoyed the illustrations. If you're a true pumpkin addict like me, go try out some of the recipes!!