People everywhere are getting into the swing of autumn. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks are back, Halloween costumes are out for buying in stores, the state fair is in full swing here and fall and winter weather clothes are coming out from storage boxes. The pumpkin is such a celebrated food in the fall, I thought I would share my favorite pumpkin recipe and it's actually a drink. This pumpkin juice is from a recipe that was on MuggleNet and I looked at the recipe just the other day and saw that it was changed from how I originally made it so here it is how I remember it.
Half a can of pumpkin puree
1/2 c pineapple juice
1 1/2 c apple juice
1 tbsp honey
water to thin *optional
Add contents to blender, blend till smooth. Taste, add more honey if you want it sweeter or a pinch of cinnamon to spice it a little. If you want to make a treat of it, add a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream.
I'm not going to make any promises on this but when I was younger and I drank this I lost weight with it. I am going to make a pitcher of this and try and drink two glasses of it a day all through October. I hope to be able to lose some weight with it again.
Cheese Shell Stuffed Shells
I was scanning the main page of one of my favorite blogs and I found this recipe and I'm going to make it later today. Any pasta recipe from The Noble Pig has always been a winner in my book which is why I'm so excited to try this recipe!
From Better Homes and Gardens
24 dried jumbo shell macaroni
8 oz. dried tiny shell macaroni (2 cups)
2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded (8 oz.)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or pepper
1 24 oz. jar vodka sauce (Emeril is my favorite brand)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)
Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Preheat oven to 350o F. Cook jumbo shells according to
package directions. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer shells to a
colander. Rinse with cold water; drain well and set aside. In same pan
cook tiny shells according to package directions. Drain; set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese,
half-and-half and pepper. Heat over medium-low heat until cheese is
melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Stir in tiny shells.
Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular
baking dish. Spoon cheese-shell mixture into drained jumbo shells;
place stuffed shells in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta
sauce.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella
cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes more or until heated through.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh basil and serve.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Squash Casserole and Tofu Nachos
Ok, it's been pretty busy here, traveling on the weekends and such. I'm back and here are the recipes that I promised in the last post!
Squash casserole is a recipe I got from a lady that is in the local quilters club. I had attended a club meeting last month and the lady passed out papers to everyone with this recipe. The next week I tried the recipe cause i was wanting to try something new and I have never been a big squash person. I probably should have cooked the squash softer the first time. The squash is chunky in it, if you want to you can try and get smaller pieces in it or just smash it. Here it is!
2 lbs yellow squash
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
3 grated carrots
1 c sour cream
1 can of chicken soup*
1 stick butter, melted
1 package herb stuffing mix**
Bake your squash however you prefer to, I cut mine in half,oil the inside with olive oil and then bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. While it is baking, grease your baking dish. Melt your butter and pour over the stuffing mix and them mix to coat. Set aside 2/3 of the stuffing as it will go on top. Put your carrots, onion, cheese, sour cream, and soup in the dish with the stuffing. After the squash is cooked, let it cool a little before you start to handle the extraction of the flesh- don't need any burns! Scoop the squash out and then mix everything together and spread evenly in the dish. Top with the remaining stuffing. Bake in the oven at 350F until bubbly and browned.
*you can substitute with cream of mushroom soup
**you can substitute with cornbread stuffing
My husband really enjoyed it, we ate half of it as our dinner that night!
Tofu Nachos
Since we have been trying to eat less meat, tofu has become somewhat of a regular in the fridge. My husband wants nachos frequently and not tortilla chips with cheese and salsa on them - he wants it with meat or rather meat substitute. So my search began on how to make tofu nachos! I don't follow a recipe to the t for these nachos, I just go with whatever feels good and whatever I have. I use firm tofu, drain the water from the container and also squeeze the water out of it otherwise it won't turn out as good. Crumble the tofu into a pan or a skillet with some olive oil, start to cook over medium low heat, stir occasionally while you chop some onion and bell pepper. Add to the pot, make sure the tofu doesn't burn/ stick to the pan. If you have cilantro, chop and add to the pan. If you are cooking in a skillet, leave out chopped tomatoes and salsa for now. Add your spices now, some chili powder and cumin and cayenne pepper to your liking. I add a little paprika for a little smokiness but my husband doesn't notice any flavors like that, he just knows it tastes good. Keep mixing everything in. Add a couple tablespoons of water as it will help the tofu absorb the flavors. Once you have everything mixed in and cooked up, top your chips with the "meat" and whichever toppings you want. I will used shredded cheese and it melts on top some. It's also great with sour cream and guacamole on top. Give me some feed back if you want the recipe!
Squash casserole is a recipe I got from a lady that is in the local quilters club. I had attended a club meeting last month and the lady passed out papers to everyone with this recipe. The next week I tried the recipe cause i was wanting to try something new and I have never been a big squash person. I probably should have cooked the squash softer the first time. The squash is chunky in it, if you want to you can try and get smaller pieces in it or just smash it. Here it is!
2 lbs yellow squash
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
3 grated carrots
1 c sour cream
1 can of chicken soup*
1 stick butter, melted
1 package herb stuffing mix**
Bake your squash however you prefer to, I cut mine in half,oil the inside with olive oil and then bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. While it is baking, grease your baking dish. Melt your butter and pour over the stuffing mix and them mix to coat. Set aside 2/3 of the stuffing as it will go on top. Put your carrots, onion, cheese, sour cream, and soup in the dish with the stuffing. After the squash is cooked, let it cool a little before you start to handle the extraction of the flesh- don't need any burns! Scoop the squash out and then mix everything together and spread evenly in the dish. Top with the remaining stuffing. Bake in the oven at 350F until bubbly and browned.
*you can substitute with cream of mushroom soup
**you can substitute with cornbread stuffing
My husband really enjoyed it, we ate half of it as our dinner that night!
Tofu Nachos
Since we have been trying to eat less meat, tofu has become somewhat of a regular in the fridge. My husband wants nachos frequently and not tortilla chips with cheese and salsa on them - he wants it with meat or rather meat substitute. So my search began on how to make tofu nachos! I don't follow a recipe to the t for these nachos, I just go with whatever feels good and whatever I have. I use firm tofu, drain the water from the container and also squeeze the water out of it otherwise it won't turn out as good. Crumble the tofu into a pan or a skillet with some olive oil, start to cook over medium low heat, stir occasionally while you chop some onion and bell pepper. Add to the pot, make sure the tofu doesn't burn/ stick to the pan. If you have cilantro, chop and add to the pan. If you are cooking in a skillet, leave out chopped tomatoes and salsa for now. Add your spices now, some chili powder and cumin and cayenne pepper to your liking. I add a little paprika for a little smokiness but my husband doesn't notice any flavors like that, he just knows it tastes good. Keep mixing everything in. Add a couple tablespoons of water as it will help the tofu absorb the flavors. Once you have everything mixed in and cooked up, top your chips with the "meat" and whichever toppings you want. I will used shredded cheese and it melts on top some. It's also great with sour cream and guacamole on top. Give me some feed back if you want the recipe!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)