If you accidentally used a big can of pumpkin while making the pumpkin pies I posted about on Tuesday, you probably have a some leftover pumpkin sitting in a plastic container in your fridge and are trying to figure out what you want to do with it. Let me help you. Pumpkin muffins. 
I have made many, many versions of pumpkin muffins over the years. They are one of my kids’ all time favorite treats. We cheat and substitute the raisins with chocolate chips. My kids tend to not prefer raisins. And there are only so many times a week that I can put them into something before someone starts to complain. (Wait until we get into the sour cream raisin pie and the raisin sauce and raisin dumplings.) They never have the same reaction to chocolate chips for some strange reason.
I caught the little monkey girl at the counter multiple times with a butter knife in her hand popping the muffins out of the pan. There is something so enticing about the fun color, the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, and the meltiness of the chocolate chips. When the boys were little, they ate nearly an entire dozen for breakfast one morning.
You get what I’m saying, right? There are lots of reasons to make pumpkin muffins other than leftover pumpkin. You know, like you like good food, you are hungry, a good song comes on the radio and you want to dance in the kitchen, but feel like you should be productive at the same time, or you want to reward your husband for investigating the gross dead animal smell in the basement (and want to cover up the smell). 
Whatever the reason…or for none at all. Make a batch of pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. Leave the raisins for other things. 
There was the Thanksgiving where my brother-in-law’s friend discovered the song “Alice’s Restaurant.” I think every time he opened his mouth for that visit, the first word that came out was “Kid…”. If you know the song, you’ll know how this was said. If you don’t, I suggest looking it up.
For me, Thanksgiving has always been a pie holiday. Sure, there may be other desserts, but they don’t count the same way pie does. March 14th seems like less of a pie holiday than Thanksgiving. It’s tradition to leave the table, stomach groaning only to be lured back by someone bringing out the pie.
It took a me a long time to appreciate pumpkin pie. It always smelled so good and I loved all the flavors (despite my rant against pumpkin pie spice when it was apple season), but the texture was never my thing. It was too soft, too slimy, too spongy, something. I knew that I was bucking tradition by not eating it, but my mom made such wonderful other pies. I have fond memories of a black bottomed pecan pie.
This recipe for pumpkin pie is my go to. I found it in my great-grandma’s box of recipes and included it in the book I made for my grandma. It makes a heavily spiced thin pie filling.