Come back on Tuesday for an announcement of the giveaway winners for the Oct. 21 edition of Crock Pot Wednesday.  I will be posting the link for next week’s Crock Pot Wednesday that evening as well.  You can still enter and vote.  Check it out.

 

 

 

Thanks to Heather at My Red Apron for this Over the Top Award:)

 

 

 

An Over the Top Recipe that I think you might enjoy and have fun with is this special pumpkin soup.  You will need a steamer basket, bamboo steamer or a pasta pot with a steamer insert.

 

4 golden nugget butternut pumpkins (or any other small pie pumpkin), about 3 1/2 pounds total
1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoons plain (natural) yogurt or sour cream (I prefer Greek yogurt.)
12 sprigs watercress (I find mine at Fresh Market.)
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

Partially fill a large wok or pot with water and bring to a rapid simmer.  Place a whole pumpkin in oiled steamer.  Place steamer over water (it should not touch the water), cover and steam until the pumpkins are just tender, 40-45 minutes.  (You may need to do these in batches depending upon the size of your steamer. )  Remove steamer from the wok before removing the pumpkin.

Place pumpkin on a cutting board, flatter side down (remember that it will be hot).  Cut off the tops and discard.  Discard the seeds and scoop out the flesh to within 1/4 inch of skin, being careful not to break through.  Turn the pumpkin upside down in a colander over a bowl to drain, adding any drained juice to the flesh.  Puree squash flesh.  Cover shells to keep warm.

Heat butter or oil in  a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Cook garlic, onion and ginger until softened but not brown, 4 –5 minutes.  Add pureed pumpkin, stock, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Pour soup into shells and serve garnished with yogurt, watercress and hazelnuts.

Note:  Pumpkin and soup can be prepared the day before serving and chilled.  If reheating soup in a saucepan, steam pumpkin for 10-15 minutes to heat through before filling with hot soup.  To reheat soup in shells by steaming, allow 45 minutes.

You don’t, of course, have to serve the soup in the pumpkin shells, but it makes a really pretty presentation when you do.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Heather for the “Over the Top Award”. 
Here are the rules for it: USE ONLY ONE WORD!

It certainly is  not as easy as you might think.

Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s quite tricky to use only one-word answers! Once you have filled it out be sure to pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers. Alert them that they have been awarded! Have fun!
1. Where is your cell phone? nearby
2. Your hair? highlighted
3. Your mother? deceased
4. Your father?  Wallace
5. Your favorite food? all
6. Your dream last night? Italy
7. Your favorite drink? tea 
8. Your dream/goal?  Heaven
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? beach
13. Where were you last night?  bed
14. Something that you aren’t? fake
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? Ireland
17. Where did you grow up? Sheridan
18. Last thing you did? laundry
19. What are you wearing? pajamas
20. Your TV? downstairs
21. Your pets? none
22. Friends? fantastic
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? content
25. Missing someone? grandchildren 
26. Vehicle? convertible
27. Something you’re not wearing? socks
28. Your favorite store? Chico’s
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When was the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? August
32. Your best friend? Gary
33. One place that I go to over and over? classroom
34. One person who emails me regularly? sister
35. Favorite place to eat? Ya Ya’s

I’ll be passing this on to seven favorite bloggers.  I hope you enjoy learning what they have to say. 

One of my favorite people is a young friend who is loving being a mom to Brody.  Jennifer is terrific.  I hope you will take time to meet her at Joshua Brody Francis.

A new friend from Arkansas is Christy at A Southern Life.  She has a beautiful blog with great ideas for food, fun and gifts.

Mary at  One Perfect Bite truly has an over the top food blog.  It is amazingly beautiful and the presentation of her dishes will just make you drool.

Jane at Frugal Fine Living for inspiring me with her beautiful home decor. I just wish she would take over decorating at my house.

Barbara at Purple Goat Lady – how could you NOT love a blog with that name?

Debby at Just Breathe inspires me every time I read her thoughts.  She has the cutest little dog, Skye, that you simply must meet:)

And a blog that I have enjoyed since I started blogging is Whistlestop Cafe Cooking by Sandi.  Hers, too, is definitely “over the top.”

There are certainly many more that deserve this award, but I will leave them to others to pass on to you.

 Check out Heather’s How to Tuesday blog event at My Red Apron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linked to:
Menu Plan Monday
Eating Simply with Kari – check out her pumpkin posts
Friday Feasts
Foodie Friday
Family Recipe Fridays
Soups, Salads, Casseroles and More
Souper Sunday

I hope to see all of you back here next week for Crock Pot Wednesday.  I usually have Mister Linky up and ready for you on Monday, but I will not post it until Tuesday in order to give everyone time to vote in the giveaway.  Come post a favorite slow cooker recipe or tip.  Thanks so much.  

I’m on the lookout for this “resident” groundhog.  He/she has successfully eaten seven (yes 7) pumpkins, my mums, and now my pansies!  It’s free to a new home.  Wanna’ adopt?  I will gladly ship it to you free of charge.