Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie (Picture the Seasons)

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie follows Apples for Everyone in the Picture the Seasons series. This beautifully photographed picture book about everybody’s favorite fall treat is sure to please kids both young and old. The glossy, festive images and lively text are sure to get your family in the mood to celebrate the season.

Pumpkins! Who can resist the sight of big, round, orange pumpkins ripening in a field? Children piling off school buses to pick one out. Carving out funny faces, smiles, or scary frowns to illuminate Halloween doorsteps. Making room for that last piece of pumpkin pie after a delicious Thanksgiving feast. In this book, pumpkins aren’t just a fruit, they’re a symbol, a scent, a flavor of the entire season.

Celebrate the flavor of fall on every page of this beautifully photo-graphed picture book. Follow along as National Geographic takes you from seed to sprout, pumpkin to pie. Envelope yourself, your family, or your class in the season by reading and learning all about pumpkins.

Crock Pot Tangy Cherry Chicken
Adapted from Weight Watchers Slow Cook It
Servings: 3
Points: 6

1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1.5 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice or five spice blend
3/4 tsp table salt
1 cup medium baby carrots, diced
1 cup(s) onion(s), diced (red/white, etc)
1/2 cup(s) dried cherries, (80g)
16 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast*
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Whisk broth, honey, 2.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar, spice powder and salt in crock pot.
Stir in carrots & onion.
Sprinkle cherries over onion/carrots and top with chicken.

Cook low 6-8 or high 3-4.

25 minutes before removing, stir cornstarch & water in small bowl until smooth.
Stir into crock pot and cook on high until mixture simmers and thickens, about 20 minutes.
At end of cooking time, stir in remaining 1/2 tbsp vinegar.

*Original recipe is for 4 servings and uses 4 - 5oz skinless chicken thighs. I keep BSCB on hand, so I used those instead and it lowered the points value to 6 points for 3 servings rather than 7 opoints for 4 servings!

My notes:
I added a bit more chicken broth since my CP tends to run very hot (I have the large, oval Crock-Pot brand one that has a timer). My chicken breasts were mostly thawed, just a little ice left in the middle.

I cooked on low for about 6.5 hours. When it was time to add the cornstarch/water mixture, I removed each chicken breast with tongs to try to keep them together, stirred in the cornstarch and placed the chicken back in on top of the veggies/liquid. The liquid did not get all that thick in the extra 25 minutes, but when I re-heated leftovers, it was thicker.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it is SO easy and uses very few dishes. Prep was very fast and just involved a cutting board and knife. Total prep was maybe 10-15 minutes.

Feeling a little experiential today and not knowing what to do with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, I invented this soup. It was excellent!

I didn't have time to make homemade broth so I used one box of Campbells Chicken Broth.

Recipe:
One box of Campbells's Chicken Broth ( I added a little extra water too.)
6 chopped mini carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped turkey ( approx. -could have been more)
1 cup of cooked pumpkin ( left over from making the pie)
Spices: ground corriander, cumin, fresh cracked pepper ( I would have used white pepper, but I ran out of it so I used black peppercorns.)
I had some pastini leftover in a bag, possible 1/4 cup so I threw that in too.

Put everything in the pot except the cracked pepper. Bring to full boil, then simmer until everything is well blended. Spoon into bowls. Add cracked pepper before serving. Voila!

The pumpkin really makes this dish work. It thckens it up nicely and gives it a lovely creamy texture as well as making it more nutritious.
This is a very low fat soup, but you would never know it. Excellent for cold days.