Pumpkin Pie, Candles and Tuna Mac'n Cheese

I am having a slightly prolonged food crush on pumpkin. From the day my mom decided that pumpkin pie was an acceptable post-Thanksgiving breakfast, I've been smitten with this frumpy vegetable/fruit creation.

I'm not so much going to make pumpkin tuna mac'n cheese. I mean, let's not go crazy now. If I'm eating pumpkin, it's because the poor thing has been beaten, mashed, and slathered in sugar. Or it's gooey syrup is hijacking my innocent latte in the fall.

Because I was avoiding unpacking, repacking and looking at the cheese induced ring of comfort that now sits above my waistline, I decided to make a pumpkin pie.

For.the.love.

Here's the allrecipe.com recipe:

I even made the pie crust out of these graham cracker cousins that we call "wheat digestive crackers." Marketing fail on the name, but when you add sugar and butter even wheat digestive crackers will taste good. But then again...so would cardboard. 

• 
  

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

I purposely ate a small dinner so that I could have more than one piece of pie after the kids went to bed. Pathetic...yes. As I was eating, I decided to burn one of my new candles. It was of course a pumpkin spice candle. I ordered these from a company called Johnston Farm Candle Company and I'm in love. I burned the mulled cider today during homeschool and I swear it made me a better teacher. They are hand-poured candles and they smell amazing. They even come with a short wick, so that you don't singe your eyebrows when forgetting to cut a new candle wick. I mean, who would do that anyway?! Certainly not me. 

While I realize that pumpkin is supposed to be a seasonal thing, I've decided to rise up and buck the system. My pumpkin candles, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin lattes will be here all summer long.