Pumpkin Dip

A few weeks ago I gave y'all the recipe for these stuffed mushroom caps.  Know they were super delish and easy to make, they made another appearance at a family get-together this past Sunday.  But if you can believe it, I made them even easier!  Last time I used a teaspoon to stuff the 'shrooms.  This time...a ziplock baggie.  Make the filling as directed here (or do what I did to come up with this recipe in the first place, use whatever you have on hand) and then spoon it into a baggie.  You can do this a few days in advance if you want things to be easy peasy the day of too.  Snip the tip of the baggie and fill the mushrooms.  For our family dinner on Sunday, I made three packages of mushrooms.  This baggie trick made it a lot faster and neater to get them all filled and in the oven.

I realize that baked mushrooms don't look all that fabulous in a photo but trust me that they taste fantastic!

The second appetizer I brought to the party was this pumpkin dip. The recipe originally came from Bestie (who by the way, is having a very big time day so be sure to pop over and wish her and the eggies good luck!) but I lost hers years ago and this is my take on it now.

Ingredients:
* 1 block cream cheese, room temperature
* 1 small can or half a large can of pumpkin puree
* a few tablespoons of maple syrup to taste (or white or brown sugar are fine too but I like real maple syrup best)
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* spices (I like cinnamon, a tiny bit of ginger and a tiny bit of nutmeg but any warm pie type spice will do)

Everything goes into a mixer (or mix by hand) until blended.  Chill until ready to serve.  Serve with sliced tart apples, crackers, gingerbread cookies or pretzels. 

I didn't think to take the photo until I was walking out the door- hence the plastic wrap.  Ooops.