Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

I love Fall because of all the great new recipe options it brings - especially for pumpkin! I was a little skeptical about this recipe at first, despite reading all the great reviews, just because I wasn't sure how the pumpkin/sausage combination would come together, especially with the cinnamon and nutmeg...but I'm glad I decided to try it because it is a definite winner! The final dish is a yummy, creamy pasta with a subtle pumpkin flavor that is just perfect. And sprinkled with some extra sage (which I LOVE) this dish just says "Fall" to me. I better stock up on canned pumpkin now so I can make this one all year long!


From Rachael Ray


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade,about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating (I used Parmesan)
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Directions

1. Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

2. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

3. Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas

I found this recipe on Everyday Food, and Marci had also posted an adaptation on her blog, so I decided to stray from our usual Perfect Enchiladas and try this...and I was glad I did! I used elements from both versions to make mine. I love chipotle flavor and was already planning on doing my favorite Mexican Chicken Lime Soup this week, so this was a great way to get more use out of the chipotles I was going to buy anyway. The only thing I worry about with chipotles is that they can be too overwhelming, but this sauce used just the right amount where the flavor comes through without too much heat. I'm already trying to think of more ways I can use this sauce!


Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8-10 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, chipotle and adobo sauce, and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, stir in 1/4 cup cilantro and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

2. Make filling: In a nonstick skillet, add onion, garlic, and beef; season with salt, pepper, and some cumin (optional). Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 450°. Spoon 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside. Make enchiladas: Heat tortillas about 30-45 seconds in the microwave to soften. Fill each with a heaping 1/4 cup beef mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese; tightly roll up.

4. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with additional cilantro.

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Panini - No Recipe Needed

I've never been a sandwich person, so I blame my recent interest in them on this pregnancy. The flavors of this one all work really well together, and the ciabatta is the perfect bread to use because it gets nice and crispy once cooked. And, you can definitely change it up according to what you have on hand!

Here's the basics:

Ciabatta roll (I got individual sized ones from the bakery section)

Wholly Guacamole (or mix some fresh avocado with a little mayo)

Sliced turkey breast

Roasted red peppers

Baby spinach

Pepperjack cheese

Cut the ciabatta roll in half and spread both sides with guacamole. Top one side with turkey, red peppers strips, spinach and cheese, then top with the other side of the roll. I don't have a panini maker, so I put a little olive oil on the outside of the roll and then cooked in a pan, weighing it down with some heavy pans, a few minutes on each side until the cheese melts and the bread crisps. Enjoy!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

I didn't take a picture of this one, but trust me when I say you need to make this! Its definitely going to be added in to our regular rotation. Easy to put together and its simply delicious...even my almost 2 year-old willingly cleaned her plate.

I wanted leftovers, so I sort-of doubled the corn bread mixture but left everything else the same and I actually think it turned out perfect that way. I posted my version here, but you can see the original recipe from Cooking Light here.

Ingredients

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
2/3 cup fat-free milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
2 (8.5-ounce) boxes corn muffin mix
1 (7-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I cooked a breast, then shredded it and simmered it a while in some water with taco seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin)
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into pieces; top each serving with sour cream.

Fettucine Carbonara

Pasta. Cream. BACON.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
12 oz. bacon, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. fettucine
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
3/4 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, at room temperature
1 - 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and bacon and cook until the onions are translucent and the bacon is beginning to crisp. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fettucine according to package directions until al dente, about 11-12 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander and return to pan. Add in the bacon and onion mixture. Stir over high heat until pasta is coated with the pancetta mixture.

3. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and half-and-half and add to the pasta, along with the Parmesan and mushrooms. Remove the pot from the heat and toss the pasta until it is well-coated and the egg has had time to cook. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Rolls

I've been craving seafood lately, especially shellfish. And since it seems as though we only enjoy shrimp two ways - in tacos or in pasta - I decided to come up with something a little different this week. These sandwiches, loosely based on a lobster roll, were fabulous. For never having made something like this before, I was surprised at how great the shrimp mixture turned out(it would be great on crackers as an appetizer too!), and these were a perfect meal to be enjoyed on a hot summer evening.

Ingredients

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt (or Old Bay)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh crab meat (optional)
4 sandwich rolls
A few pinches of dried dill weed

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine shrimp, seasoned salt, chili powder, and paprika. Mix well. heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until pink and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from pan and reserve any remaining liquid/butter from the pan. Cut shrimp in half and let cool slightly.

2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, celery salt, green onion and crab meat (I had some snow crab that I removed from the shell and used for this; not necessary but I love crab and it did add great flavor!). Stir in cooled shrimp. Let rest in the refirgerator at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat broiler. Cut a v-shaped slit in the top of each sandwich roll and remove the top. Scrape out any excess bread from the center. Brush the inside of the rolls with the reserved shrimp butter, and sprinkle with dill weed. Broil 2-3 minutes until butter melts and bread begins to crisp.

4. To serve, stuff rolls with the shrimp mixture. Enjoy!

Chile Rellenos...the best ones I've made so far!

Just thinking about the yumminess above makes me crave them...and I would probably make these at least once a week if they weren't so time consuming! I know I've posted a recipe for these before but this one does things a little differently, with fabulous results. The batter is perfect and the sauce has the a great flavor to complement the chiles. Of course its much easier to just order these at a restaurant and have someone else make them, but when I am feeling ambitious this is going to be my new go-to recipe for making these.


Chile Rellenosadapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
4 large poblano peppers
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dredging

1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Cholula®)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 egg whites at room temperature
1 egg yolk, beaten

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
1 cup oil for frying, or as needed
sour cream for garnish


Directions

1.Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place the peppers onto the prepared baking sheet.

2.Cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, 8 to 10 minutes per side. When the peppers are about 80 percent blackened, place them a plastic bag, seal, and allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Once cool, remove the skins and discard. Cut a slit lengthwise into the side of each pepper, and remove seeds and veins. To reduce spiciness, rinse out any remaining seeds with water. Pat the peppers dry with paper towels.

3.Mix together the shredded mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar cheese in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Divide the cheese into 4 portions, and squeeze each portion lightly in your hands to make a cone shape. Insert a cone into the slit in each pepper, and pin the openings closed with toothpicks. Dredge each pepper in flour, dust off the excess, and place on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper. Place the peppers in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

4.To make sauce, blend the stewed tomatoes in a blender until pureed, and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook and stir for about 30 seconds, and pour in the pureed tomatoes, chicken broth, vinegar, oregano, cumin, black pepper, hot pepper sauce, and cinnamon. Reduce to medium-low, and simmer the sauce until reduced by half and thickened, about 20 minutes, stirring often.

5.Preheat an oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C), and warm a platter in the oven.

6.To make batter and finish the chiles rellenos, mix 1/3 cup flour with salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until the whites form stiff peaks. Lightly mix the egg yolk and flour-salt mixture into the egg whites to make a fluffy batter. Remove peppers from freezer and coat them in flour again; shake off excess flour, and dip each pepper into the egg batter, using a spoon to gently but completely coat each pepper with batter.

7.Heat frying oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot oil, and fry on both sides until the batter is golden brown and the cheese filling is hot, about 5 minutes per side. Remove peppers to warmed platter while you finish frying. To serve, ladle a generous spoonful of sauce onto plate, and place pepper on sauce. Serve peppers hot with a dollop of sour cream.

Eggs in Purgatory with Salami

* Photo and recipe from Food Network

A little something different for dinner...I like throwing an egg dish in there every so often because then it feels like breakfast, and I can do breakfast all day every day :)

The salami isn't crucial so you could leave that out to make it more vegetarian-friendly - but definitely don't omit the crusty bread to eat it with!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
4 oz. deli-sliced salami, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 Italian green frying pepper, thinly sliced (I couldn't find this, so I used an Anaheim pepper)
1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup tomato puree or marinara sauce
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
8 large eggs
2 Tbsp. grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
Crusty bread, for serving

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Increase the heat to high and add the salami, onion, peppers and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the salami starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree and 1/2 cup water and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Reduce the heat to medium. Scatter the parsley leaves into the skillet. Make 4 indentations in the pepper mixture for the eggs. Break 2 eggs into a small bowl, then pour both into one of the indentations. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Cover and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to desired doneness. Serve with the bread.

Linguine with Eggplant Ragout

From Rachael Ray magazine. A yummy, light summer supper!

Ingredients

2 eggplants (about 2 lbs)
1 lb. linguine pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced (my addition)
1 - 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Pierce the eggplants all over, place on a baking sheet and cook until very soft, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly, then cut each eggplant in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl; discard the skin.

2. Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice and cook until the liquid has reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in the eggplant; heat through. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the pasta and basil; toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta and cooking water as needed.

Asian-style Chicken Noodle Soup

The story behind this soup is that I saw a recipe for something similar in a magazine in the Orlando airport and it looked so good...but I didn't buy the magazine and by the time I got home I had totally forgotten which one it was, and I couldn't stop thinking about that soup! I therefore decided to come up with my own version and see if it turned out how I was hoping it would - and luckily it did! I am a definite soup lover, but I've never been a big fan of homemade chicken noodle soup (okay I'll confess that I did consume an insane amount of the Campbell's condensed variety in college, though!), but the "Asian-style" twist turns this into something I'll be making again and again.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. (1/2 box) linguine or other noodle-type pasta
6 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. Sriracha
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 heads baby bok choy, chopped
1 cup chopped cooked chicken (or more, if desired)
1/4 cup cilantro, cilantro
4 green onions, chopped
Crispy wonton skins, for garnish

Directions

1. Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large pot, combine chicken broth and the next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in bok choy and chicken, and cook 3-4 minutes, until bok choy is slightly wilted. Turn off heat and add in linguine, cilantro, and green onions. Serve piping hot, garnished with crispy wonton skins.