Savory Pumpkin Pie

One of my friends brought over a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving that she said was "a dinner pie". I was confused and a little skeptical...

Ok. SUPER skeptical. So skeptical that I didn't even eat any on Thanksgiving. But I had some of the leftovers and it was AMAZING! She didn't follow a recipe...all she told me was that she was making a regular pumpkin pie and then decided to throw some caramelized onions and some extra spices in! Below is my recipe for a savory pumpkin pie :)

Savory pumpkin pie 

Savory Pumpkin Pie

• 29 oz can of pumpkin puree
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 cup cooked ulu, diced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• dash of chili powder, basically to taste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 12 oz can coconut milk
• 3-4 eggs
• Pie crust--This crust is the best! It tastes like a cheez-it!

Preheat the oven to 375F. Make the pie crust ahead of time and refrigerate until the pie filling is ready. Caramelize the onions with the butter. Mix all the other ingredients, except eggs, and adjust the spice to your taste. I personally think I need to adjust my spices...maybe some herbs? A little more heat? Not sure. It still turned out good but I think it would be amazing with a little...something. Once your spices are adjusted add the eggs. Roll out the pie crust dough and place in pie pan and put in the filling. Bake the pie for 1 hour but check after 45 minutes. You don't want this pie to be runny in the middle so keep checking the texture. 

Savory pumpkin pie (back) and Luau pie (front)

Bacon, Kale Macaroni and Cheese

Ok. I'm going to apologize ahead of time. THERE ARE NO PICTURES! This was a very impromptu dish and I forgot to document the process and the final product. But it was so GOOD that I had to share!

I have to admit that this amazing recipe was not my brain child. I had a taste of it while I was in Washington. It was so good that I had to try and replicate it. The following recipe is what I could come up with! I love that it uses kale!

Bacon Kale Macaroni and Cheese

• 1lb pasta 
• One medium onion, diced
• One bunch of kale, chopped
• 4 mushrooms, diced
• 4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
• 4 Tbsp butter, plus some for greasing pan and carmelizing onions
• 4-5 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1.5-2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
• 1-2 Tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Grease your baking dish with butter. Cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Carmelize the onions with butter and some olive oil. Set aside. Saute the mushrooms and set aside with onions. Preheat the oven to 375F. 

Now make the bechamel sauce. Melt the 4 Tbsp of butter in a sauce pan. Once the butter is melted slowly add the flour while whisking. Once you have a fairly thick roux let it cook a little longer so the flavor is deeper. Add the milk and whisk. Now I'm pretty sure the measurements are correct but obviously adjust amounts if the sauce is too runny (slowly add flour) or too thick (slowly add milk). Now add the sage and the cheeses. Keep stirring until the cheese is melted. Mix in the bacon, onion, kale, and mushrooms.

Put the pasta in the baking dish and pour sauce over, mix it up a little bit. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly across the top and bake for 10 minutes. You don't want to put it in too long because it could dry up. Just bake it long enough to get hot. You may not even need to go that long. I took my dish over to a friend's house and that is why I baked it...to warm it up. 

ENJOY!