Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta

I've been cooking a lot with pumpkin this year.  Maybe someday I'll actually try making puree myself from fresh pumpkins.  But I'm not ready for that level of commitment yet.

Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta

Ingredients

8 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta
2 slices center cut bacon, chopped
1 shallot, minced
15 oz homemade or canned pumpkin puree
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese
salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x9-inch baking pan with oil spray. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat add chopped bacon and sauté until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add chopped shallot and cook 1 minute. Add pumpkin, chicken broth, rosemary and 3 tbsp Pecorino Romano, stir and add salt and pepper to taste; simmer about 8 - 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the pumpkin sauce and mix well.

Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly. Top with the remaining shredded Pecorino Romano and mozzarella.

Cover and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. Let it cool 5 minutes, then divide into 4 equal portions.

Note: This can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

Original link:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/11/cheesy-baked-pumpkin-pasta.html

Chickpea Curry

I don't know if my daughter is strange or if I'm just lucky or if all kids naturally like curry but no parents were brave enough to try... but my daughter loved this dish.  Except the spinach.  Which is weird, because she loves spinach, but she doesn't like green things in her food.  Toddlers.

Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice, cooked
2 tsp olive oil + 1 tbsp
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated
4 tsp curry powder
2 cans Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups cauliflower, roasted
1 pint cherry tomatoes, roasted
4 cup spinach
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cauliflower and tomatoes in one tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. On a baking sheet roast cauliflower and cherry tomatoes until golden brown for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onion; stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder; stirring until fragrant about 1 minute. Add chickpeas, roasted tomatoes, and 2 cups water; bring to a boil over high. REduce heat to medium, cover, and gently simmer for 8 minutes.

Add cauliflower and cook until cauliflower is warmed through and chickpeas are tender about 8 minutes. Stir in spinach and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately on a bed of basmati rice and sprinkle with additional cilantro if desired.



Original link:
http://www.katiescucina.com/2012/01/chickpea-curry/

Vegetable Polenta Casserole

Another easy, tasty vegetarian dish.  I think I could really be a vegetarian... if it didn't mean giving up bacon. 

The original recipe calls for frozen spinach, but who would ever do that to themselves?  Just wilt fresh spinach in a large pot, drain, and use...

Vegetable Polenta Casserole

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup cornmeal
8 oz. chopped spinach, cooked
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. (1 cup) shredded mozzarella

Directions

Bring the vegetable broth to a rolling boil in a medium sauce pot. Stir together the cornmeal plus one cup of water to make a slurry, then stir it into the boiling water (this helps reduce clumps). Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-15, or until thickened. Once thickened, stir in the spinach until heated through.

Meanwhile, mince the garlic and dice the onion, zucchini, and squash. Combine the onion, garlic, and olive oil in a large skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened. Add the zucchini and squash and sauté about five minutes more.

Once the zucchini and squash are soft, add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, paprika, and pepper. Stir to combine and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Begin to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the cornmeal (polenta) is finished cooking, pour it into the bottom of an 8x8 inch casserole dish. After the vegetable mixture has finished simmering, spread it on top of the polenta in the casserole dish. Top with the shredded mozzarella.

Bake the casserole for about 20-25 minutes, or until it is heated through and the cheese is bubbly on top. Serve hot.




Original link:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/01/vegetable-polenta-casserole/

Garlic Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes with Spinach

As I was making this dish, I had some serious doubts about how it would turn out.  In the end my worries were completely unwarranted.  This side dish was amazing!  Not only that, I used the leftovers to make some incredible potato pancakes (if I recall correctly, the pancake mix is 1 cup potatoes, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup flour...)

Garlic Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes with Spinach

Ingredients

7 red potatoes, scrubbed & chopped (or Yukon Gold variety)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1.5 cups pumpkin puree, to taste
Two handfuls spinach, stems removed & chopped
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika, for garnish

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and boil potatoes for 18 to 22 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and place in a very large bowl. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over low heat in a skillet and sauté garlic for about 1 minute. 

Mash potato chunks in the large bowl. Mix in garlic, pumpkin puree, spinach, butter, black pepper, and salt.  Sprinkle paprika on top and serve.

Original link:

http://ohsheglows.com/2010/11/11/garlic-pumpkin-mashed-potatoes-with-spinach/

One-Pan Pasta

A few weeks ago we had a mini-dinner catastrophe.  The main ingredient in my planned dinner had spoiled in the fridge.  With two small kids at home and 30 minutes until dinner time, heading out to the grocery store to find a replacement was not a viable option.  Luckily, I found this recipe for an incredibly quick meal based entirely on ingredients I had on hand.  It was a last minute life saver and a total hit.  I did make one small change, and used 2 cups chicken broth (that I had on hand) in place of 2 cups of the cooking water.  It was a good addition, but the dish probably would have still been good either way.

One-Pan Pasta

Ingredients

12 ounces linguine
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 1/2 cups water
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.

Original link:
http://www.marthastewart.com/978784/one-pan-pasta

Tofu with Peanut Ginger Sauce

Another super easy, super tasty tofu dish.  I really love cooking with tofu.  It's incredibly easy and almost impossible to mess up.

Tofu with Peanut Ginger Sauce

Ingredients

5 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or white vinegar
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 ounces extra-firm tofu, preferably water-packed
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups baby spinach, (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms, (4 ounces)
4 scallions, sliced (1 cup)

Directions

To prepare sauce: Whisk water, peanut butter, rice vinegar (or white vinegar), soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic in a small bowl.

To prepare tofu: Drain and rinse tofu; pat dry. Slice the block crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Coarsely crumble each slice into smaller, uneven pieces.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tofu and cook in a single layer, without stirring, until the pieces begin to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Then gently stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes more.

Add spinach, mushrooms, scallions and the peanut sauce and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just cooked, 1 to 2 minutes more.


Original link:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tofu_with_peanut_ginger_sauce.html

Green Tomato Tarte Tatin

We had a ton of tomato plants this year, and at the end of the season we had a ton of green tomatoes that I didn't want to go to waste... so we cooked them.  Green tomatoes (of "fried green tomatoes" fame) are really just unripe tomatoes of just about any variety.  When cooked, they have a tart but tasty flavor - similar to a green apple.

Funnily enough, I still haven't made the classic fried dish, but this recipe is definitely a keeper.  The result is a savory cousin of the classic tarte tatin.  It makes a very nice main dish for a lunch or light dinner.

If you don't have an oven safe skillet, you can transfer the cooked tomatoes to a pie plate or similar for the oven portion of the dish.

Green Tomato Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
6 tbsp. butter, frozen
1 egg
1/4 cup ice water
5 to 6 large green tomatoes (or equivalent amount of smaller tomatoes), sliced 1 inch thick
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 large shallot, finely diced
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and Parmesan cheese. Grate in frozen butter, and mix it into a fine crumb. Add one egg and stir that in. Add ice water. Knead very slightly, and draw dough into a ball. Wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large oven safe saucepan, over medium heat, melt a few tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar. Add the tomatoes and shallots, and stir very gently, letting them get soft and begin to brown. Add a teaspoon or so of thyme. When the sugar and butter start to thicken and reduce, add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, to deglaze the pan. Cook until the liquid is quite thick and syrupy, and the tomatoes and shallots are soft and slightly brown.

Roll out the dough to 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick.  Set the rolled dough over the cooked tomatoes and tuck in the edges all around.  Bake a 400 for 1/2 hour until the crust is brown and juices start to seep out the sides.  Remove from oven and flip onto a pie plate.  Slice and serve immediately.




Original link:
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2011/10/20/green-tomato-tarte-tatin/