Penne with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

 

I saw an episode of Pioneer Woman and was inspired to create this recipe.  I can’t even link to her blog because I don’t even know the recipe she was doing, just saw it part way through and used some of her ideas to create something that I thought was new and that our family would like.  It was funny, Brady was helping me and I was pouring ingredients into the pan.  He asked, “Aren’t you going to measure anything?”  I said, “no, don’t you trust me?  I know what I’m doing, I’m the cook”

This is what I came up with:

1 lb Turkey sausage (I like Jenni O or Honeysuckle white- I use the breakfast sausage and not just ground turkey- I love the flavor)  (I’m on a turkey sausage kick lately, its healthier and has more flavor that regular ground beef)

Brown the sausage and remove from the pan

Saute 1/2 an onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic in the sausage drippings and a little olive oil

Add 1/2 cup chicken stock

Add 1 jar or your favorite Pasta Sauce- I used and we LOVED it Ragu Parmesan and Romano

stir until bubbly

Add 1 cup of cream (I used heavy whipping cream)

Salt, Pepper to taste

Chopped Italian Parsley and Fresh Basil

Add to pan and simmer until thickened

Pour over Penne pasta, or your favorite pasta and Enjoy!!  (WE DID- for 2 nights)

Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos

 

My whole family LOVED this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff here.  I used some leftover chicken from a Rotisserie Chicken and some leftover Prime Rib Roast .

1 8 oz package of cream cheese

4 cups meat (chicken, beef or whatever you have leftover)

12 slices of back cooked and crumbled

2 cups of cheese (their recipe called for Monterey Jack, but I only had Colby Jack- what I always have)

1/2 package dry Ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Salt, and pepper to taste

20 flour tortillas

cooking spray

salt for the top

Mix filling and fill and roll tortillas tightly.  Place seam side down on cookie sheet.  I make 10 at a time and save the rest of the filling for the next night.  They are best freshly cooked.  Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt.  Cook at 425 for 15-20 min.  Tastes great dipped in Ranch, Sour cream, or Salsa Ranch (equal parts of ranch and salsa).

Sage Ciabatta Stuffing

I must apologize for the bad picture.  This was taken with my very dumb phone and didn’t get a better picture before it was gobbled up (both times I’ve made it).

I have never been fond of stuffing.  I have wanted to and always go into the Thanksgiving season with the intention that I like it and am excited to make it.  However, I am always disappointed after I eat it… it wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.  I’ve been searching for the perfect stuffing recipe and trying different variations.  I think I have found it!!  We all loved this recipe..and all who have tried it have liked it.  I found the basic recipe from thechew.com here.  I liked his idea, but as always, I like to make it my own, based on my family’s likes and tastes.  So, this is my version of the stuffing:

6 large square ciabatta rolls, cubed and dried in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 min.  Cook them on 2 cookie sheets and let them cool.

While the bread is cooking,  cook 1 lb sage flavored pork sausage until crispy (a little more done than you might think).  Remove from the pan.

In the drippings, saute a chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Add 3 or 4 stalkes of chopped celery to the pan.

Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp poultry seasoning

Chop up 1 bunch of Italian Parsley, put half into the pan and save 1/2 it  for a little later.

Pour cooled bread into a LARGE bowl that you can stir all the ingredients together.

Pour sausage mixture into it.  Shred 2 apples with a cheese grater and add to the mixture.  I don’t even peel the apple.

Add the rest of the parsley

Stir all together

Add 2- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth mixed with 1/2 cup butter.  Add as much as you like depending on how moist you like your stuffing.

Pour into a large roasting pan.  I like to use a very large one because I like my stuffing on the crispy side and the thicker it is, the more moist it will be.

Cook at 350 for 30 min covered with foil.  Remove the foil and cook longer if you like it crispy on top

Mini Meat Loaves

1 cup ketchup

4 TBSP Brown Sugar

1 1/2-2 lbs ground beef (or 1 lb beef, 1/2 lb pork,  or any other combination you like equaling about 1 1/2-2 lbs meat)

1/2 cup bisquick mix

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1 small onion finely chopped

Mix together ketchup and brown sugar.  Mix meat and all other ingredients together.  Add in 1/2 cup ketchup mixture.  Form small loaves/balls… make between 10 and 12 mini loaves.  Place in a 9x13 pan and pour remaining ketchup mixture over the top of each loaf.  Cook at 450 for 20 min. or until thermometer reaches 160 degrees.

I got the idea for this recipe on Betty Crocker’s website here and changed it according to what I had on hand (I didn’t have the onion, but it was still very good).  This is a keeper recipe because it was super easy, very fast and all my kids liked it.  Those are the kind of recipes I’m looking for!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

I saw this recipe on the Two Peas and Their Pod Recipe blog here.   I was so excited to try it.  I’ve been in a rut in my cooking and was really looking forward to trying something new.  This looked great and I thought my kids would go for it too.  I took their recipe and, like always, did my own version.

12 Lasagna Noodles, cooked in salted water to aldente, dained, rinsed, and layed out on parchment paper to cool

Filling:

1 15 oz tub of Ricotta Cheese (that is how big the Great Value container was, the TPTP blog recipe said 2 cups)

4 oz cream cheese (I added this to my recipe for the creamy texture and to make up for the less ricotta cheese in my container)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used the squeeze kind that you store fridge that is already minced)

1 egg

2 cups fresh spinach chopped fine (the original recipe call for a 10 oz frozen spinach, but why use frozen when you have fresh)

1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning (the blend of oregano, basil, etc)

Pinch of Nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella  cheese

Mix all these ingredients together and spread on the flattened noodles.  I had more filling left over than I could fill in 12 noodles, so I guess can add more noodles to the recipe next time.  Then sprinkle some more mozzarella over the filling and roll up.  In the original recipe they put some marinara sauce on top of the shredded cheese before they rolled it up.  I didn’t because I got ahead of myself.  However, I would have run out of sauce had I done that.  It called for 4 cups of marinara sauce and I only had one jar.  I think that I’ll probably do it the same next time too though because I think that the cheese against noodles as I rolled it up helped keep it together and not be as slippery when you cut into them out of the oven.

Place some of the Jar of Marinara sauce on the bottom of a glass rectangle backing dish (I had to use one rectangle and one square because my rectangular dish was too small).  Place the rolled up noodles over the sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the rolls.  Sprinkle with Mozzarella or Italian Style shredded cheese and cover with foil.  Cook for 35-40 min. at 350.

I’m excited to try this again.  I’d like to try and add some ground beef or ground turkey next time… maybe to the sauce before I pour it over the rolls, or add some finely shredded chicken to the cheese mixture.  So many fun things to do inside the Lasagna Rolls!!  And the best thing is… my kids LOVED them and said they wanted to eat them AGAIN  TOMORROW!!

Homemade Cereal Bars/Breakfast Cookies

I got this great recipe for a Breakfast cookie from my friend Marrianne and I have loved experimenting with it.  My kids love these and they are loaded with lots of great stuff and you can mix them up and change them every time you make them.

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of either: pumpkin, banana, or applesauce depending on the flavor you want the cookie to be

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats (you can use instant or regular)

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup coconut

Now this is where it gets fun…..

you can add… 1/2 cup of any of your family favorites to add to the flare of the cookie

Our favs……  craisins, dried apples, dried blueberries, almond slices, pecan pieces, a few chocolate chips, etc.

Mix and bake at 350 for 10 min. 

Sunday Beef Stew

An Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs.  Stew Beef (I bought a big package from Sam’s and split it in half)

5-6 peeled carrots

6-8 Red Potatoes

1/2 onion

Place Crock pot setting on Low.  Layer Beef in bottom.  Sprinkle, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Steak n’ Shake (or other steak seasoning) over beef.  Add carrots and potatoes.  Add more salt, pepper, garlic salt, and steak seasoning. 

Mix together 2 cups beef broth and 1 can cream of mushroom soup.  Pour over veggies and beef.  Cook on Low for 7 hours.

After 7 hours, use 1 pkg brown gravy mixed with 1/4 cup cold water.  Pour into sauce to thicken.  Use a mixture of 1 TBSP flour to 1/4 cup water to thicken as needed until the desired consistency is met.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Curd

These muffins are so great and are very easy.  We made them this Saturday morning and it had been probably a year since I had made them last.  The girls were so excited and we devoured them.  I usually make the Lemon curd from scratch but I found this one at Walmart and thought I’d give it a try.  It was really good- as good as the homemade.  It can be found near the Jam’s and Jellie’s.  This time I also changed up my flour combination to try and make it a little “healthier” and it turned out great.  I used 1 cup white flour and 1 cup Whole Wheat flour. 

Here’s the original recipe for Gingerbread Muffins:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup molasses

Combine flour, sugar, BP, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves.  In a separate bowl, combing egg, milk, oil and molasses and mix together.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill muffin cups half full and bake at 375 for 15-20 min.  Serve warm with lemon curd.

Here is a picture of the Lemon Curd I bought at Walmart.  You can find it or try the homemade one.  Here’s the recipe.

Lemon Curd.

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup lemon juice

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 tsp grated lemon peel.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon Juice until smooth.  ring to a boil and sir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Stir in  a small amount of egg yolks.  Return all to the pan and bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly.  Cook for 1-2 minutes longer or until mixture reaches 160 degrees and coats the back of a metal spoon.  Remove from heat and gently stir in butter and lemon peal until blended.  Store in the fridge.

Pizza Pockets

 

This was a product of “What is the fridge that I can whip up for dinner”.  It turned out to be a big hit and will definitely be on our menu rotation.  Totally kid friendly and a great last minute maker.  Takes little to no time to prepare and only 13 min. to bake.  A great idea for those busy and hectic nights.

1 package Reduced Fat Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits

1 package Turkey Pepperoni Minis (found in the lunch meat section)- I didn’t use the whole package

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup pasta sauce

Take a biscuit and smash it out flat.  Spread about a tsp of the pasta sauce, sprinkle on some mini pepperonis and some mozzarella cheese and fold together and pinch together.  I will probably try and and pinch them harder since you can see that they kind of bust open a bit.  That didn’t take away from the taste however.  The kids devoured them and the cleanup was awesome (especially since we also used paper plates). 

Enjoy!!!

Homemade Mac N Cheese

This was a really yummy recipe that I got off of the Betty Crocker website.  It calls for cooking the dish like a casserole once it is finished, however, when I make it again, I’ll probably skip that step.  It seemed to overcook the noodles and the sauce was less creamy than when we tasted it right after I added the noodles and the sauce together.  The recipe also didn’t call for ham, but I added it to give it some more protein and make it a complete meal rather than just like a side-dish.

2 cups elbow macaroni- cook with a little salted water

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard (the dry kind)

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn’t measure this out- just poured some in- it was probably more than 1/4 tsp, but it was yummy)

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used a Mexican blend because that is what I had on hand)

Chopped turkey ham (my personal addition if you like)

While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and W. sauce.  Mix it into melted butter until smooth- this is a roux (pronounced roo) and is what will make the mixture thicken.  Stir in milk and heat to boiling- stirring constantly so the milk doesn’t scald.  Heat until it is thickened- kind of like gravy. Stir in cheese until melted.  Stir in cooked macaroni and ham if desired.

It calls for baking it uncovered for 20-25 min at 350 in a casserole dish.  I think I’ll skip this part next time.

Let me know if you guys like this recipe too.

Cinnamon Bread

I was reading this GREAT book on being a Mother called “The Mother’s Mite” by DeAnne Flynn.  This book highlights how even our smallest (and what we think are insignificant) efforts matter.   Each chapter has a personal story describing a great personality trait portrayed by a real mother’s life.  It highlights that trait and tells how that mother displayed that certain trait.  One of the chapters had this great Cinnamon Bread recipe in it.  I had to try it because it seemed so easy.  It WAS easy and delicious!!  The personality trait highlighted in this chapter was “Reassurance” and described how a mother baked this bread and then when the daughter was older and off at college she would always have it for her when she would come home to take back to school with her.  When she was lonely or discouraged, she would make this bread or buy some and it would remind her of her mother’s love.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon in a bowl and set aside
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil

Combine all dry ingredients together and all wet ingredients together and then combine and mix until moist throughout. (It’s thin like pancake batter)
Pour half of batter into loaf pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon/sugar mix.  Pour remaining batter carefully over cinnamon/sugar mix and then top with the rest of the cinnamon/sugar mix.  Swirl a knife through batter to marble it.
Bake for 45 min at 350.  Let cool in pan for 10 min.  It’s easier to cut after it cool and been wrapped in foil or plastic rap and refrigerated.  However it’s great warm too, just a little crumbly.  I’ve made it for an after school snack and it’s great for breakfast too.  My kids LOVE it!!

Grilled Lemon Herbed Chicken

We have tried this chicken once this summer and it was SOOOO good!!  Use FRESH herbs to get the full effect.  I really recommend growing them in your own garden if possible.  Herbs are so easy to grow and you don’t need much room.

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 or 4 cloves minced garlic

1 TBSP grated lemon zest

1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary (just the little needles- don’t chop up the stem)

1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme

1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano (leaves only)

1 handful fresh basil leaves chopped fine

1 TBSP chopped fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf parsley)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4-6 chicken breasts

Put the chicken in a plastic bag.  Pour marinade over the chicken and mix in the bag.  Put on plate and place in fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight (turning every so often).

Grill to 165 degrees.

I find that if you turn your grill up really high to warm it up for about 10 min.  Place the meat on it and turn it down to Med-Low (I also like to use Grill Spray so it doesn’t stick as easy).  The hot temperatures at first with seer the chicken and keep the juices inside while it cooks at a lower temperature so it doesn’t dry out.  Watch it closely so it doesn’t dry to a hockey puck state.  Take it off just as it hits 165 or even just before.  It continues to cook for a few minutes after you remove it from the heat.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

This isn’t so much a recipe as it is an idea that is easy and my kids LOVE

I am in love with the roasted chickens at Sam’s Club.  They are big, juicy, and only cost $4.98.  An uncooked whole chicken cost more than that at most grocery stores.  To get one already cooked to perfection is divine in my book.  I usually try and pick one up every time I shop there.  There is so many things you can do with them.  My one piece of advice is that you remove the chicken from the bone while the chicken is still warm.  It is much easier to do warm than after the chicken has been refrigerated.  For this dish I bought it in the morning, de-boned the chicken and stored it in a Tupperware until I made dinner.

Shredded Chicken from a Roasted Whole Chicken

3/4 –1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

1/4 cup of water

Add all to a skillet, mix, cover to get warm.  Serve on warm toasted buns.  The ones pictured above are on rolls since they are easier to eat for the kids, but they are great on toasted hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls.

Lemonade Cake

This is an easy fun recipe if you like “lemon” flavor anything like I do.  Sorry the picture isn’t great.

1 Box Lemon Cake mixed and bake according to directions on box

After it cooks, cool it for 10 min.

Top with 1 can lemonade concentrate mixed with 3/4 cup powdered sugar.

Pour over top of warm cake and poke holes in the top so the lemonade seeps through.

Cool in fridge for 3-4 hours

Top with whipped cream and garnish with lemon zest.

My Mother's Rice Pudding

There is a story to this wonderful recipe.  I grew up on this Rice Pudding, as my Father did (or some version of it).  I've been making this Rice Pudding since I was first married and much more recently since having kids.  I've probably made it 50 times.  It's a Gottfredson family recipe (well, not this version, but a previous one).  I was always told that the Rice Pudding was from my Great Grandmother.  I assumed up until this day that this was HER recipe.  My cousin posted a Rice Pudding recipe on her blog and said it was Great Grandma Gottfredson's but it was different that my recipe so I had to do some investigating.  I quickly called my mother to find out the story to the rice pudding recipe.  Turns out, my Mother is just like me (or I'm like her rather) and she altered the recipe from my Great Grandma to her liking.  So actually, this is My Mother's Rice Pudding, not my Great Grandmother's.  I have to say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it- and so do my kids.  We make it and eat it for breakfast.... no worse than sugared cereal I presume.

Warning:  Be careful, this recipe is very easy to mess up.  You have to be a student of the recipe and learn from it.  You can't overcook it and you have to be very careful not to turn it into egg drop soup.

3 cups Long Grain Rice

6 cups water

Cook Rice until all water is absorbed.  (Boil about 10-15 min- until rice is just under the top of the water, turn off heat and cover until it is done absorbing all the water)

Add to cooked rice and stir:

3 cups Milk

1 Cup Half n Half

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins (optional)  (Raisins in Rice pudding are never an option at my house, it's always a no- but some people like it so I put it up there.)

Turn the heat back on the stove (Medium-Low)

As soon as you get that stirred in, mix these ingredients together and add to warming rice/milk combination.

5 beaten eggs

2 TBSP vanilla (I like to use double strength vanilla)

 1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup half n half

1/4- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (how much you want)

You have to add this before the above mixture gets too warm on the stove or it will quickly cook the eggs and you will have little bits of cooked egg in the pudding.  I add it and whisk it quickly into the 1st rice/milk mixture.  Keep it on the stove just until it warms and then I turn off the stove and let it sit.  It will continue to cook and thicken (I give it about 30 minutes).  You can easily over cook this and  it over-thickens so be careful.  Milk can also scald on the bottom and burn so watch your temperature. 

We love this recipe and we hope you do too!!!

Enjoy

Banana Bread/ Banana Cake

This is a coveted family recipe from my Grandma Margaret.  It is her infamous Banana Cake recipe, but I love it better than my banana bread recipe so if we want to make banana bread, we just bake it in a loaf pan.  If I make it a cake, we frost it with her oh so delicious cream cheese frosting.  It is heaven and I bask in my memories of her every time I make it.  My Grandmother's middle name should have been Banana because she is famous for so many wonderful Banana recipes- Banana Bread, Cake, Banana Oatmeal Cookies, and the most wonderful of all, Banana Drink.  Thank you for passing on your love of cooking and your wonderful Banana recipes.  I love you!!!

1 cup sugar

3/4 butter or margarine

2 eggs

2 mashed bananas

1/2 C sour milk  (to do this you measure almost a 1/2 cup milk (about a TBSP less) and add enough vinegar to make it 1/2 cup- it will immediately curdle like sour milk)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp soda

1 tsp vanilla

 1/2 tsp lemon extract

 2 1/2 C flour

1 cup chopped nuts (optional) (I never use the nuts- my kids don't like them in breads or cakes)

Mix together sugar, butter and add beaten eggs.  Add bananas.  Sift flour together with soda and baking powder.  Add alternately with sour milk.  Bake in a loaf pan or a 9x13 cake pan.  I also love it in a bunt cake pan.  If you make the loaf, Bake it at 375 for 45-50 minutes.  Check for doneness  with a toothpick.  If you cook it as a 9x13 cake, 25-30 min at 375.  For a Bunt Cake pan, 375 for 40 minutes- checking for doneness.

Crock Pot Potato Chowder

I got this AWESOME crock pot recipe from my great friend and next door neighbor who shared it with me after a friend of hers shared it with her after she had her baby.  It's just too yummy and too easy to not share with everyone you know.

1 pkg frozen shredded hash browns (30 oz)
3 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup green onions (I used half of a small regular onion and it was great)
1/4 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in crock pot and stir.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  After 4 hours add an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese and stir in.  Cook for an additional 30 min.

I also added some cooked chopped bacon at the same time as the cream cheese.  Another time I added chopped leftover ham at the beginning.  They both turned out yummy. 

As a side note:  I also tried this recipe using low fat soup and low fat cream cheese.  It was still o.k., but the consistency was off- kind of pasty-- sticky.  I think I'll stick to the original recipe- or at least staying with regular cream cheese.

Pork Fried Rice

Here's an idea for using leftover Pork Chops

We had Rosemary Pork Chops on Sunday and then with the 2 or 3 pork chops I had left over, I chopped them up while they were still warm put them in a container to use the next day.  It is ALWAYS easier to cut-up or de-bone meat when it is warm instead of the next day from the fridge.  It may take a few extra minutes the night before while you're trying to clean up, but it is WELL worth the time the next day.

Recipe:

2-3 leftover pork chops de-boned and chopped up

One Rice Pilaf recipe (see below)

1/2 chopped onion

1 carrot shredded

1 cup frozen  broccoli cooked and chopped

1 tsp crushed rosemary

Put 1 TBSP olive oil in a skillet, sweat onions, add meat, broccoli, carrots and rosemary.  Mix together and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add rice and combine all together.

Rice Pilaf:

2 cups Long grain rice

4 cups water

4 heaping tsp chicken bouillon granules

3 TBSP lemon juice

2 TBSP butter

Another kind of rice that is REALLY good in general, but especially with this recipe is Jasmine Rice.  You can find it next to the regular rice.  It has a very floral aroma.  Just cook according to the directions and you can add the bouillon and lemon juice and butter too.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found these on the Betty Crocker website and we decided to try them this Holiday Season.  I'm sure glad we did because they are SUPER EASY and SUPER DELICIOUS!!  If you like the Mint Chocolate flavor combination- you will love these. Enjoy!!

1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (1 lb 1.5 oz)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (I tried each one and liked the way the margarine ones turned out better- just my opinion)
1/4- 1/2 tsp mint extract (in the seasoning isle- next to the vanilla, etc.)
6-8 drops green food coloring
1 egg
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips (next to the chocolate chips)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.  Combine Cookie mix, butter/margarine, extract, food coloring an egg until soft dough forms.  Stir in chips.  Cook for 8-10 min.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

I grew up on Pumpkin Chiffon pie rather than the traditional pumpkin pie (however, I love traditional pp, I don't think my mother did).  This is a very YUMMY pie  recipe and is SO EASY!!!

1 pie shell - you can use a graham cracker pie crust, shortbread crust, or a traditional pie crust.  I personally like it best in the traditional pie crust.

1 cup pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix)

1 Large instant vanilla pudding.

1/2 cup cold milk

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 8 oz cool whip

Mix pumpkin, pudding, milk and spice together until it is mixed thoroughly.  Fold in Cool Whip and put in crust.  Refridgerate for a few hours until firm.