It’s finally fall, which means finally Pumpkin Season! Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin candles and pumpkin décor, not to mention pumpkin on your plate! Embrace the season with your children, and your taste buds with these recipes.

Pumpkin Nacho Dip

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter

½ cup green pepper, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped

1 can cheese soup

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

½ cup half and half

1½ tsp. canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, diced

½ tsp. salt

Pumpkin tortilla chips (if you can find them: Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc.) or corn tortilla chips

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the green peppers and onions. Sauté until tender, about three minutes.
2. Stir in the soup, pumpkin, half and half, chipotle peppers and salt, cooking over low heat until heated through, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Pour into bowl and serve warm with tortilla chips.

Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

2 (9-oz) packages cheese tortellini

1 Tbsp. butter

1 small shallot (or half small onion), finely chopped

½ cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for garnish)
Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh Italian parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions.
2. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
3. In a skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. Add the finely diced shallot (or onion) and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and cook until thick, about 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Add the tortellini to the skillet and toss with the Alfredo pumpkin sauce, adding the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce if needed. Divide among four bowls and garnish with more freshly grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

Pumpkin Flan with Maple Caramel

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar

One-third cup pure Grade A maple syrup

¼ cup water

Cooking spray

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

1 (14-oz) can low-fat sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, cook sugar and maple syrup over medium-low heat until dissolved, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly. Cook, swirling (no stirring!), 7 minutes more or until golden. Immediately pour into cake pan.
3. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, eggs and milks to a food processor, blending until smooth. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the caramel mixture in the cake pan. Place the pan into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle baking pan; add enough hot water to the large pan to come halfway up the sides of the round cake pan.
4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center is set. Remove round cake pan from the water and cool on a wire rack. Once completely cool, refrigerate overnight.
5. Loosen edges of flan with a knife or rubber spatula. Place a large serving plate, upside down, over the round cake pan and invert flan onto the plate. Drizzle any remaining caramel over the flan.