Joining The Pumpkin Party!

Hi everyone! I'm happy to be joining Beth at Food As Art for the Pumpkin Party:@)

I found some fun pics on-line that I thought I'd share...

Piggy Pumpkin (of course!)

and Cutie Pie Pumpkin!

My own contribution is this Festive Pumpkin Dip!

An added bonus, I'm joining Foodie Friday and it counts towards my Personal PIGskin Challenge too:@)

Festive Pumpkin Dip from Reader's Digest

12 ounces cream cheese, softened 

3/4 cup cooked or canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix 

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup chopped dried beef or ham

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper

1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

1 round loaf (1 pound) Italian or pumpernickel bread

Fresh vegetables, crackers or corn chips 

What to Do

1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin, taco seasoning and garlic powder until smooth. Stir in beef, peppers and olives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

2. Just before serving, cut top off bread; scoop out bread from inside, leaving a 1/2-inch shell (save the bread from inside to make croutons or bread crumbs or save for another use). Fill shell with cream cheese mixture. Serve with vegetables, crackers, bread or corn chips. 

Notes:

1. I just drew a cute face on a cleaned out pumpkin and placed a bowl inside of it instead of using a loaf of bread.

2. Another recipe suggested 1/8th tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice. I made a half batch and added a couple shakes of the Pumpkin Pie spice.

3. I thought I'd be able to just mix this all up with a spoon... yea, don't do that. Use your hand held mixer for the cream cheese, pumpkin and spices, it will make life much easier! Mix the rest by hand.

4. Is the pumpkin flavor dominant, no, but this is tasty and different. I've seen it a couple places on-line and folks say they get rave reviews when they bring it. Works well for Thanksgiving too.

5. Can serve with crackers, veggies, corn chips or bread (really anything).

Have a happy day!