Pumpkin Pie

Who doesn't love pumpkin pie? Especially around Thanksgiving... And it's not that bad for you, either.  My fiancee loves pumpkin pie, so when we moved in together, his stepmom bought us all the ingredients for this pie as a housewarming gift.  Best gift we've ever received. 
The first time you make this, you may have to stock up on a few spices, but the second time around, you'll have almost everything you need.  So really, it's not very expensive, and you'll reuse the spices for many other recipes as well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 9" pie shell

Directions

1. Set oven to 425 degrees.
2. Blend sugars, spices and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Add beaten eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk.
4. Pour into the pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.*
5. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees, and bake for another 40 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely, then top with whipped cream.

*To keep the crusted edges from browning too quickly, I recommend lining the edge of the pie with tin foil.

Pumpkin Seeds

I got to carve pumpkins yesterday with my niece and nephews, and of course we had to make pumpkin seeds.  Usually when I try to make them, I end up burning them.  But I tried this new recipe from Simply Recipes, and they turned out to be the best seeds I've ever tasted.  Great for your next Halloween party :)

Ingredients

• Pumpkin seeds (as many as you want)
• Salt
• Olive Oil or Pam

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.
2. In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with Pam-or-spread around about a tablespoon of Olive Oil so the seeds don't stick.
4. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Mine weren't salty enough, so I sprayed another layer of Pam over top of the seeds and added more salt.
5. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, about 20 minutes.
6. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.