Recipe: Pumpkin Dip

Our family had fun making jack-o-lanterns this year for the holidays.  Brina choose to do a happy one and Karlie wanted to do a scary one.  While we were having fun doing the activity we set aside the pumpkin seeds and the pieces of pumpkin that we cut out so we could make more goodies with them.  The pumpkin seeds were a huge hit and were gone in less than 24 hours.  We used our Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipe and shared them with friends.  With the chunks of pumpkin that were remaining we made Pumpkin Dip for the evening meal.  It smelled amazing walking into the house as the aroma of sweet pumpkin soup greeted us.

Pumpkin Dip:

• 1 pound Pumpkin, seeded and peeled
• 1 cup Water
• 1 cube Chicken Bouillon
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Crackers, Pretzels, or Bagel Pieces (for dipping)
• Dash of Chili Pepper for Spicy Kick (optional) OR Dash of Brown Sugar for a sweeter dip (optional)

1.  Cut up the seeded and peeled pumpkin into one inch cubes.  Place the pumpkin, water, and chicken bouillon into the crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (or until the pumpkin is tender).

2.  Use a hand blender to blend the pumpkin mixture in the crockpot.  Add the cream and pumpkin spice to the pumpkin mixture.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes and stir or blend until smooth.  Pour the pumpkin dip into a serving dish, add your favorite dipping items and enjoy.  You could add a little chili powders to make it a spicy dip or a little brown sugar to make it a sweeter dip.

We used the pieces from our jack-o-lantern activity but you could use a regular pumpkin or canned pumpkin as well.  This would be a good one for upcoming Holidays and potlucks.  We used plain bagels cut up into bite size pieces to dip.  The girls loved it!