Pumpkin Pasta with Italian Sausage

I love fall! And one of the main things I love about fall is the excuse for to try pumpkin in everything. I saw this recipe on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to try it. Just a few minor tweaks and this recipe has already become one of my favorites. The flavors are amazing, bright and unique…you need to make this dish!

Pumpkin Pasta w/ Italian Sausage

• 1 pound Ground Turkey or Italian Sausage (I did a mix)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or substitute plain non-fat yogurt)
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• 1-2 large Spaghetti Squash (you can use noodles as seen in the picture above; however, this dish is amazing with the squash!)

Pre-heat oven to 450F. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place squash flesh down. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Once done, scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

Meanwhile, saute garlic and meat over medium heat. Once meat is cooked, add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve over the spaghetti squash and get ready to enjoy!!!

Original Inspiration from: http://abirdandabean.com/2010/11/creamy-pumpkin-pasta.html#_a5y_p=1000769

Crab Cakes w/ a Spicy Aoili

Dinner plans tonight with Kristina turned into a wonderful culinary adventure. The night began with Pinterest browsing as we narrowed our dinner options down to chicken and something Mexican. So the natural choice that followed was crab cakes 🙂 After a store run (crab meat is not for the penny pincher), we began to flood the kitchen with utensils and yummy smells.

Crab Cakes

• 1 lb. crab meat (we used claw meat)
• 2 stalks of green onions, sliced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, rough chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (we improvised by grinding mustard seeds)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 egg
• squeeze of lemon
• 1 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break up crab meat and add into a bowl with green onions, garlic and parsley. In a smaller bowl, combine the spices, mayo, Worcestershire, egg and lemon. Mix the wet ingredients into the crab mixture. Slowly incorporate the bread crumbs, until the consistency will hold together without falling apart. Form 12 crab cakes and place on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until browned.

Meanwhile, make the spicy aoili by combining the following:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• dash of salt

Test the flavor and adjust as needed. I did not measure any of the spices, so you may need to play around with them to find the perfect flavor blend.

 

Asparagus and Ground Turkey Pasta with a Garlic Cream Sauce

Tonight I wanted pasta with a garlic cream sauce so the below was created in my kitchen:

• 1/2 pound of ground turkey
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3 Tablespoons salted butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• Asparagus, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 box of shell or penne noodles

Boil water and prepare noodles according to package, drain. In a saucepan, cook turkey and onion. Add butter, garlic, asparagus, and mushrooms to the pan. Add in heavy whipping cream and spices. Once the cream is heated, stir in the noodles. Enjoy!!

Ahi Tuna with a Pineapple-Avocado Salsa

Since getting a grill a few weeks ago, I committed to using it at least once a week throughout the summer. This week’s grilling adventure took the form of Ahi Tuna and asparagus along with a fresh salsa for a delicious and light dinner.

You Will Need:

• Ahi tuna steak
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper, cayenne
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 avocados, cubed
• 2 cups of pineapple, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• Corn, cut off of 1-2 cobs
• Juice from a lime
• 1/3 yellow onion, chopped

To make the pineapple salsa, include ingredients above starting with the avocado through the onion. Mix in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste.

I coated the ahi tuna with some oil and lemon juice, then heavily seasoned it with salt, pepper and cayenne. After my grill was heated, I cooked it on direct medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side. (This is a great time to toss some asparagus on the grill coated with some olive oil, salt and pepper). This meal is very simple to prepare and the flavors are highly rewarding!

 

Lemon-Mint Slushy

One of my all time favorite drinks in summer is a combination of lemon and mint – refreshing, tart with just the right amount of sweetness and easy to make!

What You Need (for a single serving):

• Juice from 1 lemon
• 6-8 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• a sprig of mint

Place all ingredients in a blender. Adjust ingredients as needed (more sugar if too tart, more lemon if too watery, etc) Pour into a fun glass and enjoy!

Apricot Almond Shortbread Dessert

It’s March and I’ve had a tin of shortbread cookies taking up room in my pantry since Christmas. Tonight was the night to create something with them…and the outcome was this:

Crust:

• Shortbread cookies (or graham crackers), crushed (about 25-30 cookies)
• 3/4 to 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all crust ingredients together and press into a greased 8×8 baking pan.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 1-2 cups dried apricots
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325. Put almonds onto a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 6-10 minutes, checking regularly.

Meanwhile, bring wine to a boil in a small saucepan. Add apricots to wine and reduce heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Melt butter and add vanilla and cinnamon, remove from heat after about 4 minutes.

Place almonds into a food processor and blend until crushed. In a large mixing bowl, combine almonds, flour, powdered sugar and salt. Add butter mixture and eggs; mix well. Add almond extract. Stir to combine.

Pour almond mixture over crust. Press apricots lightly into the top of the mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes until browned.

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cake with Bailey’s Liqueur

My decision to try a new dessert today turned into quite a lengthy process; however, it was totally worth it. This ice cream cake is comprised of mint and coffee ice cream, brownies, fudge and a Bailey’s cream sauce. My original plan was to make whipped cream infused with Bailey’s. That plan changed when I realized I only bought coconut milk and not heavy whipping cream. I improvised and the outcome is quite yummy!

Ice Cream Cake with Bailey’s Liqueur – fills an 8×8 glass pan

• 1/2 gallon of coffee ice cream
• 1/2 gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 9x 13 pan of brownies (I made a box mix from the store)
• 1/2 cup chocolate sauce (I made mine from scratch, see below), could also use fudge
• Bailey’s cream sauce (recipe below)

Scoop out half of each ice cream flavor into separate bowls and let sit at room temperature to soften. Meanwhile, break up half of your brownie into small pieces and line the bottom of your 8×8 pan.

While waiting for the ice cream to soften, make your chocolate sauce, following recipe below.

Chocolate Sauce

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• dash of salt
• 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl. Add in half of the milk and wisk to combine.

Place mixture and remaining milk into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, add vanilla and cool.

Spread the mint chocolate chip ice cream (more like sauce) over the layer of brownies.

Drizzle a healthy layer of chocolate sauce over the ice cream.

Break up the remaining brownies and add to the pan.

Add your coffee ice cream on top of the brownies and place your pan in the freezer.

Now make the Bailey’s cream sauce:

Bailey’s Cream Sauce

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 tsp gelatin powder (I used French vanilla flavor)

Pour milk into a bowl and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the gelatin with cold water. Turn burner to low and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Remove bowl from freezer (your milk will be slushy)and add remaining ingredients.

Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes until mixture has thickened and is a creamy consistency. Place mixture in fridge. After 20 minutes, remove from fridge and add to the top of your 8×8 ice cream cake pan. Place your ice cream cake back in the freezer and allow to harden. The cake will probably need at least 2 or 3 hours dependent upon how soft your ice cream was. The Bailey’s mixture will freeze in under an hour.

Enjoy!

Quinoa with a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce

For some, this will sound delicious; for others, a horrendous combination of healthy foods. I wasn’t quite sure what the outcome would be, but wanted to try something completely different from what I’ve tried in the past. As I’m typing this up, I am staring at an empty plate and my taste buds are very happy with the outcome. Try this recipe…I dare you 🙂

Quinoa with a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
• 2 Tbsp coconut milk
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes or cayenne, turmeric, cumin, garlic powder and coriander
• 1/4-1/2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

Bring 6 cups of chicken broth to a boil in a large stock pot. Add chopped squash, onion and garlic to the boiling water.

Boil for 15-20 minutes until squash is soft and can be forked. Meanwhile, combine quinoa with the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth in a large saucepan with lid. Bring to liquid to a boil, then turn to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until the chicken stock is absorbed.

Using a blender or food processor, cream butternut squash, onion and garlic (do not add any of the stock unless needed).

If you want, you can set aside some chunks of the butternut squash to add into the quinoa whole. Transfer the creamed squash mixture to a boil and add a splash of coconut milk (about 2 Tbsp). Add spices.

Here is my guess at what I added: a couple dashes of pepper and salt, 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, 1/8 tsp each: turmeric, cumin, garlic powder and coriander.

Pour squash mixture into the saucepan with quinoa and heat on low. Taste mixture and add additional spices (after in the pan, I added more salt, red pepper, cumin and coriander). Add shredded cheese to the pan and stir to melt.

Spicy Cashew Chicken Salad

I LOVE chicken salad and throughout the years have had many yummy versions. Tonight I was inspired to through together a handful of flavors and my taste buds are currently enjoying the outcome 🙂 I decided that this would be lunch for the week, so I made a decent amount.

Spicy Cashew Chicken Salad

• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 2 lbs. Chicken Breast, cleaned and cubed
• 1 Poblano pepper, de-seeded and diced
• 2 Celery Stalks, diced
• 2 Green Onions, diced
• a large handful of cilantro, rough chopped
• juice from 1/2 of a lime
• 1/8-1/4 cup cashew pieces
• salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin
• 1/4-1/2 cup mayo

In a large skillet, heat oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and poblano peppers. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne and a squeeze of lime juice. Once the chicken is cooked through, drain excess liquid and let cool. (I wanted to eat this quickly so I stuck my chicken in the freezer for about ten minutes). Add the remaining ingredients and mix. I added somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 tsp of cayenne and cumin to my mixing bowl until I got the kick I was looking for; I also used less mayo as I prefer other ingredients to have center stage 🙂

Try this chicken salad and you will never settle for the standard chicken salad again!

Chicken Avocado Enchiladas

This was my Sunday afternoon food experiment. I was craving something new, but didn’t have much to work with in the house. The result? A definite keeper…I will be making this recipe again in the near future!

The below is based on the amount I made, three enchiladas:

Sauce

• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno diced (I left the seeds in because I like my food spicy)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp each, salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• juice from 1/2 a lime

Filling

• 1/4 lb of chicken (I had two chicken tender size pieces)
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 cup spinach, rough chopped
• 4 oz cheese shredded (this is a guess) I mixed pepper jack and mozzarella. Monterey would be good as well.
• 3 tortillas (I used medium-sized wheat tortillas)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and sauté garlic and jalapenos for about 1 minute. Add flour and continually stir for 1 minute. Add in chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat. Add cilantro and lime.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken in about a tablespoon of oil with the onion. Season with salt and pepper.

Spray the bottom of an 8×8 pan and then put a very thin layer of the sauce in the bottom. Take your tortillas, fill with a third of the chicken/onion mixture, avocado and spinach. Add a small amount of cheese to each, leaving 1/2 of the cheese for the top.

Place the enchiladas in the pan and cover with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!

***Notes:

• This would also be great as a vegetarian dish. Next time I will probably filled with sautéed mushrooms, onions and tomatoes along with spinach and avocado.
• Extra avocado, cilantro and sour cream would be great garnishes.