The Great Pumpkin and A Pumpkin Bowl

I spent my childhood in Upstate New York. You cannot begin to appreciate the fall season unless you have experienced autumn in the North East! The colors are breathtaking!

One family tradition we had while I was a kid was going to the Pumpkin Farm. It had a huge pumpkin patch of course, and you could get hay rides, apples, cider and other seasonal goodies. It was just a fun, family atmosphere, not an evil scary thing. There was a HUGE pumpkin, called The Great Pumpkin. I think it was made of paper mache'? A person would sit inside it and children could come up and ask him questions. Fun memories...

How many of us grew up watching Charlie Brown in the fall, in The Great Pumpkin?
HERE is a little trivia quiz you might have fun with.

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Making a Pumpkin Bowl

You can do this with most anything, pumpkins, cabbage, bell peppers, squash etc...
I made this one for the Barn Party we went to last month!

Just cut the top off, carve it out.
You may need to thin out the top of the rim to make a larger opening.

This is great for dips, cheese cubes etc...
You could put a dip in one and have cubes of bread around it for dipping.
You could also use crackers around it. Use your imagination!

Garnish with some fresh herbs.
This one has Rosemary in it.

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Pumpkin Pie Crust Cookies w/Dip
A great dip to be make when you have extra pie crust dough.
With the extra dough, make cutouts using leaf or pumpkin shaped cookie cutters.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and
bake at 475o until firm, 5 to 7 minutes.
Allow to cool.

For the Dip:
2 cups powdered sugar
1, 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
16 oz. pumpkin puree
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger (optional)

Combine powdered sugar and cream cheese.
Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and ginger.
Refrigerate

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