Creamy Pumpkin Penne

One more fabulous pumpkin recipe from Cara. And its another winner!

Oh - and a big THANK YOU to my amazing husband for cooking this one up! I have been working out after work lately, and sometimes I get home kinda late. It was so nice to have dinner ready for me! Love ya babe! (That also goes to show just how easy this recipe is to put together, no offense honey.)

Amazingly Creamy Pumpkin Penne

from Cara's Cravings, serves 2 as written (we doubled it for leftovers)

4 oz penne pasta (we used Healthy Harvest whole wheat)

2 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

about 2T chopped fresh sage (we omitted)

2 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced (we used a spinach asiago chicken sausage from Sam's club, but any will do)

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. nonfat milk

pinch of nutmeg

5oz torn spinach, thick stems removed

grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, optional

(Josh also added some sliced Portobello mushrooms we had in the fridge, optional of course)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook gently for about 10-15 minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage; continue to saute.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

3. In a blender, combine combine pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk. Blend until no lumps are present. Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat until heated through. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

4. Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.

REVIEW:

Lately, I haven't been serving a lot of pasta in the house. Josh will make himself some for lunch once in a while, and it is just something I have been cutting out of my diet. However, I knew I had to make an exception for pasta with a pumpkin sauce! Let me tell you - this sauce is delicious. It is wonderfully creamy, but there is NO cream! For those out there who don't like cottage cheese, trust me on this one - you can't taste it. It create a creamy, not lumpy, texture when blended. I might try using this trick with some other pasta-cream sauces I've been wanting to "lighten up."

Squash and White Bean Soup

I saw this recipe in a Real Simple magazine, and it was perfect for the cooler, overcast day we had today. I really like incorporating seasonal fruits and vegetables into my meals, and butternut squash were already on sale at my grocer. The flavors in this soup we kind of subtle, and Josh found it a little bland, but I really liked it and am looking forward to the leftovers!

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup
source: Real Simple; serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I roughly chopped about 2 cups fresh tomatoes from my garden)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (~4 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
5 c. water
2 15-ounce cans cannellini (great northern) beans, rinsed (I used a 24 oz jar)
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (~4 cups)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or stock pot) over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the squash, thyme, 5 cups water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes (mine took about 25 min to be tender enough for me). Stir in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

REVIEW:
Since Josh thought this was a little too bland, next time I will try subbing at least half the water for vegetable stock to see if that helps. I served with imitation Red Lobster biscuits, though real Simple suggested some parmesan biscuits. I liked the fact that the soup itself was quite healthy and contained lots of veggies!

Great American Taste Test: Macaroni Grill Focaccia Bread and a GIVEAWAY!

This GIVEAWAY is now closed.

A while back, I signed up to participate in the Great American Taste Test - it is a publicity event for Ron Douglas's new book America's Most Wanted Recipes. Ron reveals copycat versions of restaurant favorites so that families can now enjoy the meals they love most at prices they can afford. The book includes favorites from Olive Garden, KFC, Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster and PF Changs, among others.I was tasked with making one of the recipes and comparing to the original dish from the restaurant. There were lots of dishes I wanted to try - but we have limited restaurant options around here, and then our restaurants didn't carry some of the dishes any longer. So after much indecision, I settled on making Macaroni Grill Focaccia Bread. This is Josh's and my FAVORITE restaurant bread. I have been trying to avoid the excess carbs lately, but after a long run this morning, I deserved a treat :)Macaroni Grill Focaccia Bread
from America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas; serves 8

1/2 c. olive oil, divided
3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. semolina flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp quick-rising dry yeast
1 1/2 c. hot milk (120-130 deg F)
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour 1 1/2 tsp. of olive oil into a 9" square cake pan (I used a glass pan), spread to cover the bottom and sides. Lightly dust with a little flour.
2. Place the ap flour, semolina flour, 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp of salt, and all of the yeast into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook (or you can mix by hand).
3. Mix on medium speed until all the ingredients are blended. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the hot milk. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for 5 minutes, then knead for about 10 minutes by hand.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and spread evenly in the pan. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400 deg F.
6. Remove the towel and brush the dough with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Top with remaining salt and fresh rosemary leaves. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and drizzle with a little olive oil (we prefer some on a plate for dipping). Enjoy!

REVIEW:
This bread was very good. We had spinach pesto pasta with grilled chicken for dinner, and enjoyed some of the bread on the side with a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar or dipping. While this recipe was similar to the original, it wasn't exact. The flavors were there, but this recipe was much more dense. The Macaroni Grill bread is definitely more airy - J and I usually have no problem polishing off a loaf at the restaurant, but we could barely manage sharing a similar size portion of this recipe. I do want to try some of the other recipes in the book though, even if I don't have the original dishes to compare them too. We don't go out to eat very much and I do enjoy cooking when I have the time, so this book is a great resource to try dishes we wouldn't otherwise have.

Now for the fun part: I'm giving away a copy of America's Most Wanted Recipes to one lucky reader!

I accidentally received two copies from the publisher, and they gave me the go-ahead to give the other one away (Thanks Atria Books!).

So here's the drill:
Leave me a comment telling me one restaurant dish you would love to be able to duplicate at home by 11:59pm on Friday Sept. 18, 2009 (based on comment time stamp).
***To earn an extra entry, become a Follower of my blog, and leave a second comment telling me you are a Follower. (If you are already a Follower, just leave a second comment saying so.)

Be sure to include your email if its not public on your profile. The winner will be randomly selected via www.random.org on Saturday.

Good luck!

Dinner Spanakopitas

I came across this recipe while cruising Annie's blog. I has some left over phyllo dough from this wrapped asparagus appetizer, and spanakopitas looked like a good use-up since I love the spinach-feta combo.Dinner Spanakopitas
Annie's adaptation of an Ina Garten recipe
makes 8 large spanakopitas

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped yellow onion (I used ~3/4 c.)
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
1 (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I use the canned stuff)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 c. small-crumbled feta cheese (I used tomato-basil feta)
2 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts, chopped (I omitted)
16 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (I used the butter flavored Pam spray - shortcuts whenever I can!)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the green onions and cook for another 2 minutes until they are wilted but still green.
3. Meanwhile, add the thawed and drained spinach to a large mixing bowl. When the onions are done, add them to the bowl. Mix in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the feta and the pine nuts.

4. Place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface. Brush the dough lightly with butter. Working quickly, place another sheet of phyllo on top of the first, and brush it lightly with butter. Continue this process until you have a stack of 4 sheets of phyllo. Cut the stack of phyllo in half lengthwise (I found a pizza cutter useful for this step). Place ~1/3 cup of the spinach filling on the shorter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag. Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally again. Continue folding the first diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed. Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all of the filling is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down.
5. Brush the tops with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt (I used kosher) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.

REVIEW:
These were good. This recipe made 8 strudels for me, which left us with a lot of leftovers. Next time I will cut the recipe in half, since these didn't reheat well - the pastry got soggy. The leftovers were definitely still edible, but not as yummy as when they came out of the oven. You could also use this same filling and wrap smaller portions in smaller strips of phyllo for a great appetizer!

Shrimp Linguine with Spinach Sauce

I knew I wanted to make shrimp pasta for dinner on Friday, so I was off to look for a new sauce to try. I found a penne with spinach sauce recipe from Giada, and modified the whole thing a bit to fit my needs. My recipe is below, but I linked her original. I added shrimp, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the pasta to make a full meal. This sauce has a lot of garlic in it, and is stays raw - so if you don't like the taste of raw garlic, you will not like this. I thought it was really good though! (Please excuse the picture. Its spinach sauce! I just doesn't look pretty!)Shrimp Linguine with Spinach Sauce
serves 6 as written, I made half

1 lb. linguine, I used whole wheat
~40 medium sized sprimp, cooked with tails removed
~2 c. sliced mushrooms, I used portabella
~1.5 c. chopped tomatoes, I used roma
2 Tbsp. chopped basil

Sauce:
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
~3 Tbsp. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook the linguine according to package directions.
2. Saute the mushrooms in a small drizzle of olive oil for ~5 min, and tomatoes and shrimp for the last minute to heat through.
3. In a food processor, chop the garlic cloves. Add the cream cheese, salt, pepper, spinach, and parmesan cheese and process for 20 seconds. Stream in 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil until you are happy with the consistency. You want it thick, but not like a paste. You could also use some of the starchy pasta water to thin it out if you want a smoother texture but don't want to add too much extra fat. (I used 2 Tbsp EVOO and about 2 Tbsp of the pasta water.)
4. Drain the linguine, and toss with the mushrooms, shrimp and tomatoes. Top with the sauce and toss to distribute throughout the dish. Sprinkle basil on top and enjoy!
REVIEW:
We liked this a lot, but it is a raw sauce so the spinach and garlic tastes are STRONG. It didn't help that I made too much sauce for how much pasta I made (I didn't cut the sauce part in half) - I definitely could have saved some of it for another time. Another successful Lenten meal! You could use chicken instead though, and that would be good as well.