Updated: Brûléed Maple Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust

We are hosting Thanksgiving AGAIN this year, and my dreams are coming true.

One of my most favorite parts of being an adult is having control over our holiday plans. This year we will be joined by seven friends and two kiddos . Having friends, my chosen family, surround us on holidays feels like the highest honor to me. I am BEYOND excited! Feeding friends and family is one of my favorite ways to say, I love you!!!

That being said, I want to make sure everything we eat is as yummy as possible, so it was time for a pie run-through. I’ve been making Brûléed Maple Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust for YEARS and look forward to it every time. I made several adjustments to the original recipe, making it dairy free and even tastier than I remembered!

Fresh Greens + Satsuma Oranges + Burrata = Super Salad

Last weekend, I managed to scarf down two doughnuts before we left the parking lot of the Franklin Farmer's Market. I felt like I needed some greens to balance me out. The crisp, crunchy greens paired with the sweetness of satsuma oranges would be good enough on its own, but add in creamy burrata with flakes of salt sprinkled on it and a drizzle of tangy balsamic vinaigrette?? DREAMY!

A Compilation of Delectable Thanksgiving Fare!

It's Turkey Lurkey TIME! No turkey for me, but there is one recipe in this compilation that will help you use your leftovers deliciously! In this post you will find EASY flavorful appetizers, a collection of delectable vegetable focused dishes, a couple of special dessert recipes (including my FAVORITE pumpkin pie in the world), and some hilarious holiday headlines from The Onion!!

Vegan Strawberry Pistachio Crumble Pie

Strawberry picking is one of our favorite summer activities! Usually we pick about three to four buckets of strawberries, but this time we we had to scale back a bit due to the size of the freezer in our new house. (I'm fairly certain our freezer was designed by someone with only ice cube and frozen pea storage in mind)

Until we can get a new fridge/freezer, I've taken to bribing people with berry desserts in exchange for freezer space. This pie is my newest bribery tool! The strawberry fruit swims in a sweet syrup right on top of a rich layer of cashew cream, all of which is complimented by a salty pistachio crumble on top.

Spicy Almond Chickpea Salad Sliders

I love to be sneaky and trick people who usually shy away from anything labeled 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' into eating exactly those kinds of things and then watching their reactions of surprise and delight.

This is a GREAT recipe for that purpose.

Blood Orange Kale Salad with Farro and Crispy Rice Clusters

One of the highlights of Citrus Season are Blood Oranges!!! They are so beautiful and happen to be one of the most nutrient dense citrus fruits out there! The next best thing about this salad aside from the blood oranges, are the crispy rice clusters. They are SUPER easy to make, delicious, and add a slightly spicy crunch to the salad. Who knew they would be so DARN good on a salad? They are also really good on their own. I've been eating these clusters by the handful....

Thanksgiving Leftover Sliders!!!

Obviously, breakfast on Friday is always BRÛLÉED MAPLE PUMPKIN PIE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST and then for lunch you have leftovers, of course. Growing up, I loved leftovers on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Everyone loves the first round of leftovers.

Its day 4 of leftovers that I dread. The turkey is dry. The rolls are rather stale. Someone ate all the marshmallows off of the sweet potato casserole. And I wouldn't touch the green bean casserole with a ten foot pole, no matter how fresh they were.

Brûléed Maple Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust

The memory of this pie tugs at me during the hottest months of the summer. It is that good.

I love pumpkin pie, and always have since I was little. Growing up in Minnesota, the weather was usually pretty cold by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, so we could just store pies in the garage. I used to sneak out to the garage with a fork and just help myself from time to time. I consider myself a pumpkin pie enthusiast. It's possible I gave myself away by leaving pits of crust behind. Friends, I believe I have solved the problem of boring crust.

Roasted Squash with Farro, Toasted Pepitas, Pomegranate & Warm Maple Cinnamon Drizzle

In walks you, tamer of delicious Thanksgiving vegetable delights. Carrying a platter of beautifully roasted butternut and delicata squash, topped with savory barley and farro, pomegranate and toasted pepitas, topped with warm maple cinnamon drizzle. As soon as you reach the table, the compliments start flowing, even conservative Aunt Janice pipes up!

Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wild Rice Dressing with Roasted Hazelnuts

My least favorite Thanksgiving dishes seem to be the items that no one would ever dream of replacing. Every Thanksgiving, I see the sponge like, wood colored stuffing along side the worm-like green bean casserole. I usually pass up both of those options, and not just to make room for pumpkin pie. Now that I am in charge of Thanksgiving, I look forward to more than just rolls and pumpkin pie! One of the highlights of our holiday meals is definitely my Wild Rice dressing. It has been a mainstay on our table for about five years now, and was one of the first, more creative vegetable dishes I made when we started cutting meat out of our diets.