Chocolate Pumpkin Custards from Extra Pumpkin Pie Filling

I don't know about you, but every time I make pumpkin pie filling, I always have extra filling left over.  Maybe I have weird sized pie pans, but this seems to happen no matter what size I use.  So what's a baker to do?  I've tried just baking the filling plain in a couple of ramekins, but it's not so good without the crust.  So I came up with this recipe on the fly by making a butter-crumb-chocolate crust in some ramekins and using up the filling that way.  Let me tell you, these are SOOO good!  When they're warm out of the oven, it's like eating a gooey chocolate chip cookie with a bit of spice.

The recipe is below, but first here's the step-by-step with pictures.

First I melted butter, then crushed up a snack pack of Ritz crackers, added a couple spoonfuls of sugar and mixed it up.

The oven was already set at 350 to bake the pumpkin pie, so I stuck lined 3 ramekins with the crumb mixture and baked it for about 10 minutes.  While they were still warm, I sprinkled about a tablespoon of chocolate chips on each one.  I was going to bake it again, but then I noticed the chocolate chips were already melting.  I tried smearing them around to get an even coating, but all that did was make the chocolate pick up chunks of the cracker crumbs.

Next I poured the pumpkin pie filling into each of the ramekins.  It was just enough for three, but it probably would have worked with two.   Then, into the oven until they set - about 15 minutes.  They came out more firm than pumpkin pie, but I think that made them taste even better with the crust.

I didn't get a great picture of the finished product, but here's a blurry idea of what you get.  It's quite rich as is, but I'm sure some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be quite nice with it as well!

Ingredients
Pumpkin pie filling left over from a pie
1 snack size roll of Ritz crackers- about 14 crackers*
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
*you could substitute graham crackers or really any dry cookie/cracker for the Ritz crackers.

1. Melt the butter in the microwave.  about 15 seconds will do it, but keep an eye on it so it doesn't explode all over!


2. Crush crackers (I just squeezed the roll of crackers until it was crushed), mix with melted butter and 2 tsp sugar.


3. Divide cracker crumb mixture evenly among ramekins.


4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes


5. Divide chocolate chips among ramekins while still hot, distributing evenly across the cracker crumbs.  The chocolate chips will melt a bit.


6. Pour pumpkin pie filling, dividing it evenly into each ramekin.


7. Bake for about 15 minutes, until filling jiggles just a little when you shake it.


8. Let cool slightly, and eat!

Peach and Strawberry Daiquiris

 

On a hot summer day, my husband decided to surprise me with a mystery drink.  We'd stocked up on peaches and strawberries since they're in season, so we had a bunch cut up and frozen in our freezer.  We also have some mint that survived the winter in an outdoor planter, so he threw some of that in there too.  What a refreshing drink!  And it beats paying $10 at a bar for one of these!

Ingredients:

2 peaches

5 medium sized strawberries

10 ice cubes

a handful of mint leaves

2 tbsp vanilla syrup (the kind you use for coffee flavoring)

3 shots rum

1. Put all ingredients into blender.  Some blenders may have you put the ice in first.

2. Blend.

3. Pour and enjoy!

Note: You can substitute sugar for the syrup, or leave it out altogether.  Use fresh or frozen fruit - and if it's the kind in syrup, leave out the vanilla syrup/sugar, of course.  You can also use a couple drops of vanilla extract instead of the syrup if you're watching calories very closely.

Indian Spinach (or, classy creamed spinach)

I would call this saag paneer, but there's no paneer (cheese). But if you like saag paneer and you are either lazy, forgot to shop, or are in a hurry to make a quick meal for one (or maybe two), this is a keeper.  I tried this yesterday without the rice and it was a great.  Today I used the rest of it over macaroni and it made for super delicious mac n' cheese with an Indian twist.  I feel so fancy.

Ingredients:
1 box of creamed spinach from the freezer
1/4 tsp curry powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala (or to taste)
Rice or pasta

Directions
Heat the creamed spinach following the directions on the package.
Stir in the curry powder and garam masala.
Serve over rice or pasta.