Love apple butter? Give Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Butter a try! It's so easy to make this in your crock pot at home.
Well, 1st grade has been cooking again! This time, as you've probably already figured out, we made pumpkin butter. And, oh, was it ever good.
Our vocabulary unit this week was centered around the job of a chef, and included the words 'utensils' and 'ingredients' ... among other words, of course. I just couldn't resist incorporating a hands-on cooking activity! And it just so happened that we were also learning about the pumpkin growth life cycle ... ya know, pumpkins start as a seed, then grow into a sprout, which grows into a plant ... remember learning that kind of stuff?
Hmmmm, combine cooking vocabulary with pumpkins? Could it get any easier?? I mean, really, no challenge at all. I decided this slow-cooker pumpkin butter would be perfect!
So, my crockpot once again made the journey into school, along with a few other utensils and the ingredients to make this rich, flavorful pumpkin butter. Then my little helpers and I set about whipping this up.
It's sooooooo easy. Easy-sneezy, as we'd say in our class.
Put two cans of pumpkin into a slow-cooker and stir in a bunch (quite a big bunch!) of brown sugar ...
In goes the brown sugar
... and some cinnamon and ground cloves. (Two of my boys did a fantastic job stirring this up. They really got into it! Notice the two-handed grips on that spoon??)
In go the spices
Cook it for a while until it's a gorgeous and rich dark brown color ...
... and then slather a big ol' dollop on a biscuit (or other mouth-delivery vehicle of your choice). We tried it on biscuits and graham crackers, and decided as a class that we liked the biscuit best. Oh, but rest assured, there was certainly a fair share of us eating it straight up with a spoon! Fabulously delicious.
Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!
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Love apple butter? Give Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Butter a try! It's so easy to make this in your crock pot at home.
Prep time: 5 MCook time: 3 H & 30 MTotal time: 3 H & 35 M
Ingredients:
2 (15 oz.) cans 100% pure pumpkin (about 4 c.)
1 (16 oz.) box light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of salt
Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a slow-cooker; stir until well combined.
Cook on low heat for 3 to 4 hours. (Alternatively: Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and cook over medium to medium-low heat until thickened and the color is dark brown, stirring occasionally).
Serve warm or cold with graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers, biscuits, English muffins, toast, etc.
Last summer my husband and I took a trip to Tangier Island, Virginia ~ a small historic island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, 12 miles off shore and accessible only by boat or small airplane. So why am I writing about a summer trip now, in the Fall? Because I think this corn pudding dish we discovered while there is a perfect Thanksgiving side! With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I figured now was a great time to share this find.
But before we get to the scrumptious corn pudding, let me tell you a little about this unique and interesting island.
Approximately 500 people make 0.2 square-mile Tangier Island their home. There are no cars (well, we saw two), no city sounds, no traffic lights, no rushing around, no chain restaurants. There are narrow quaint streets, lots of marshes and seagrass, the beautiful sounds of boat engines and waves, a laid-back atmosphere, bicycles and golf carts for transportation, and crabs. Lots of tasty crabs. This quiet island is certainly not for everyone. My husband and I? - we loved it.
To be honest, Mark was immediately comfortable on Tangier, but I was a bit apprehensive at first. It took me a couple of days to settle into the island way. But Tangier certainly grew on me. It's not easy to describe the island, it's people, the Tangier way of life, or exactly why we loved it. And I'm sure I won't even come close to doing it justice. But here are a few snippets of Tangier life to give a tiny glimpse into this unique place.
Water & Quiet:
I think these pictures speak for themselves!
The beach ... in JULY!! If you want a private beach, here you go.
How beautiful is that? And a beach in July with nobody on it? Not many other places you can find that!
There's an airport on the island, accessible for small aircraft - it's quiet, too. Have you ever walked to the beach on an airstrip? Well, Mark and I have! That's how quiet the airport is. You simply need just look up in the sky before embarking on your walk to the beach. All clear? Then go ahead!
Our feet on the airstrip, walking back from the beach
Super-Fresh Crab:
Crabbing is the way of life on Tangier. In fact, Tangier is referred to as the soft shell crab capital of the world. I had crab in some form or another for every meal while we were on Tangier. I love crab, and could eat it every day. I swear I could.
Thanks to Ooker, a local waterman and mayor of Tangier, we had the pleasure of visiting a crab shack and learning about the soft shell crabbing industry. From what I could tell, being a waterman is tough work, but also a tradition and labor of love for the residents of Tangier.
Crab shacks
Tourism:
During the summer, a couple of ferry boats come to the island each day, allowing passengers to explore the island. The tiny streets would bustle with activity for a few hours each mid-day while these short-time guests visited the island offerings.
Ferry coming in
Golf carts (one of the island's modes of transportation) would buzz visitors around ...
Island transportation
... and then the visitors would board back on their ferry boats and the streets would return to their 'normal' quiet.
Quiet street
Unique Dialect:
One of the most intriguing experiences on Tangier Island was hearing the unusual accent of the residents. Because of centuries of relative isolation, the islanders still speak in a unique island way that is similar to the speech spoken when Tangier was settled in 1686. The accent is still strong enough that some people are not able to understand everything that is said. I was one of these people. After several days on Tangier I was getting much better at conversing with the residents, but I admit that I had to concentrate. Many videos and documentaries have been made about the island, highlighting the unique island dialect, if you'd like to learn more.
Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House:
And, finally, let's talk about Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House, one of the three inns on the island, and the only inn also serving lunch and dinner. Family-style. With lots of food. Yummy home-cooking kinda food.
John Crockett settled Tangier island in 1686. Many of the inhabitants still have the surname Crockett - and I can only assume Hilda Crockett was descended from the island founder. Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House was started in 1939 by Hilda herself, and is now run by Denny and Glenna Crockett.
Thankfully, Hilda Crockett's Chesapeake House is willing to share it's recipes. And, as you know if you're a frequent reader of this blog, I am a totally-obsessed recipe collector! So, naturally, I gathered all the recipes I could while visiting Tangier. I've made many of the dishes I learned about during our visit, and Hilda Crockett's Corn Pudding is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it's smooth-and-creamy, sweet-and-tasty deliciousness as much as I do! Thank you to Hilda and her family for graciously sharing her wonderfully scrumptious recipe.
(Visit Wikipedia to read more about Tangier Island.)
Slow Cooker Applesauce ~ Making fresh applesauce in the slow-cooker is so easy, even a 1st grader can do it! And it's oh so yummy, too. CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER
Yes, this slow-cooker apple sauce is so easy, 1st graders could make it.
In fact, 1st graders did make it!
Well, except for the cutting-up-the-apples part - that part should be (and was) handled by an adult. But don't let the ease of this slow cooker applesauce recipe fool you into thinking it isn't delicious. It's absolutely delicious! Just ask my first graders ... and me.