Butternut Squash and Spinach Stuffed Shells with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I know I've declared my love for brown butter sage sauce before...but if I could just take this moment to reiterate HOW MUCH I LOVE IT. Okay moving on, I realize it is not the healthiest of options, but hey, we're in that magical month between Thanksgiving and Christmas where you can eat whatever you want, right (or am I the only one that subscribes to this philosophy)?

I saw these guys on Lime in the Cocunut, who originally saw them on the Proud Italian Cook. Sadly, neither of their delicious looking posts had recipes with measurements, and you can see that my shells came out looking a bit different than theirs.

From the looks of it, it seems I added a bit less parmesan (oh - and now I just realized I didn't add the egg from PIC's recipe either!) than they did, although I must say, these were still incredibly delicious and I have no regrets!


Adapted from Proud Italian Cook

Ingredients

8 pasta shells
1/2 butternut squash
1/2 bag fresh spinach
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup ricotta
pinch nutmeg
salt
pepper
olive oil
1/2 stick butter
6 - 8 sage leaves

*Dice the butternut squash and roast at 425 for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender, tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper

*Cook the shells to al dente

*Meanwhile, saute the fresh spinach with olive oil, garlic and salt & pepper until cooked down.

*In a bowl, combine butternut squash and spinach and blend using an immersion blender

*Mix in the parmesan and ricotta cheese

*Spoon the mixture onto the cooked shells and put back into the oven (no need to adjust temp) for about 15 minutes, until heated through.

*While shells are cooking, make the brown butter sage sauch (melt the butter in a pan with the sage, allow butter to brown and sage to get crispy)

*Spoon the sauce over the cooked shells and serve.

Broken LG Dishwasher : (

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile - but its been rather difficult to maneuver in our kitchen lately due to our dishwasher acting up.

After several repair calls, we've come to the conclusion that our (not even two year old LG model LDFL7811ST) is definitely terminal. Instead of pumping any more money into repairs - we've decided to buy a new one...any recommendation (NOT and LG!)???

Cheesy, Bacony Potato Soup

As the weather starts getting colder, nothing beats making a big pot of soup and letting it simmer on the stove all day.

In our house, I can never go wrong with cheese, bacon and potato combinations : )

And while I wouldn't dare call this soup healthy, this method of cooking it is a nice way to get a thick, velvety texture without the traditional method of making a rue. I suppose if you forgo the bacon and cheese topping you could call it healthy, but I'm not sure its worth it.

Potato Soup

Soup:
4 russet potatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 tsp garlic powder
salt, pepper (season to taste)

Toppings
4 - 6 strips bacon, chopped and cooked till crispy
Shredded cheddar cheese
3 - 4 scallions, chopped

* Cube the potatoes, and add to a pan with the chicken stock. The chicken stock should completely cover them, if it does not add water. Add a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder and bring to a boil.

* Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked thoroughly. Turn off heat.

* With an immersion blender (if you do not have one, you can transfer this to a regular blender) blend the soup until the potatoes are thoroughly incorporated and you a smooth consistency

* Add the milk and heat till simmering

* Serve and top with cheese, bacon and scallions

Pumpkin Bread & I discovered the macro setting on my camera!!!

So this time of year, there are no shortage of pumpkin bread posts - but I just had to share this one because it was while I was taking the photos that I finally discovered the macro setting on my camera. I'm really not sure why it took me this long, every photo tutorial I read for food photography says to use it. I think I just assumed that I already was or my camera didn't have it.

Regardless, I am really jazzed about being able to actually show you my food up close (however I have some very blurry pictures of our friends tailgating the next day, I'll have to show Joe how to switch it back to people mode : ). The last few entries I have used it, but I felt like this was a really good example of how you can see the detail of the bread.

Although this bread was super delicious, this is a very bittersweet post for me, as our Jack Russell Terrier was the one who really got to enjoy it. After Joe and I were able to enjoy a slice each, Molly jumped on the counter and treated herself to the rest of it.

I highly recommend making this bread, and keeping it away from your dog!



Pumpkin Nut Loaf
Source: Good things Catered


Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. chopped walnuts, plus more for topping

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan (or mini loaf pans)
-In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, powder, salt, spices and whisk to combine.
-In large bowl of mixer beat oil, butter and sugars until creamy until lightened in color and texture, about 3 minutes.
-Beat in eggs one at a time.
-Add pumpkin puree and beat until combined; scrape down sides of bowl.
-Add milk and vanilla and beat until combined; scrape down sides of bowl.
-With mixer on lowest setting, add flour mixture just until barely combined.
-Remove bowl from mixer and fold in 1 c. walnuts.
-Scrape batter into pan(s) and spread evenly.
-Top with extra chopped walnuts and place into oven.
-Bake about until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour for regular loaf and 35-40 minutes for mini loaf.
-Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes.
-Turn out onto wire rack and let cool completely.

Beer Bread

While I've been getting more confident with baking since I started my blog, bread has always been something that's intimidated me. The other day though, I got a craving out of nowhere for beer bread. My (irish) Grammy used to make it when we were growing up.

I found a recipe online with lots of good reviews and sounded pretty simple - it actually was super easy, I was surprised! This bread was so delicious, moist and sweet.

I did add cheese in the bread as you can kind of see from the pictures. Actually a question for all you bread bakers out there - I wanted to add the cheese on top of the bread but didn't think that I could put it on top right away because I thought with an hour of baking time it might burn.

I went to add it halfway through but the top was already too crusted to make the cheese stick. Joe helped me do some surgery and sliced through the top layer of bread and put the cheese in the middle. It actually worked out fine but I would have preferred to put it on top.

So - is it okay to put the cheese on top for the whole baking processes?

Beer Bread

Recipezaar.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (sifted)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 (12 ounce) can beer
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)
• 
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients and beer.
• Pour into a greased loaf pan.
• Pour melted butter over mixture.
• Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes

Pumpkin Risotto with Shrimp and Pancetta

In case you didn't know - there is a pumpkin shortage this fall. If you want a little hint on where to find it, higher end stores like Whole Foods seemed to be pretty well stocked on organic canned pumpkin. You'll pay a little more for it, but hey what's fall without pumpkin?

Pumpkin in hand, I wanted to make a savory dish and found this risotto recipe via Tastespotter.

I really just used that recipe for inspiration and decided to do shrimp instead of crab and add pancetta. The pancetta was a great addition, the saltiness of it was a great contrast with the sweetness of the cinnamon in the pumpkin.

This was a delicious, one dish meal that I will definitely be making again!

Pumpkin Risotto with Shrimp and Pancetta

1 cup arrabrio rice

olive oil

1 white onion, chopped

salt

pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock

15 oz. can pumpkin puree

8 - 12 pieces shrimp

4 strips pancetta

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in heavy bottomed pan and saute the onion about 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat with salt and pepper to season.

Add the rice, cinnamon and cloves and allow rice to brown slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the wine and let simmer until all the liquid is gone. Then add one cup of the chicken stock, one cup at a time, cooking until the liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup (about 30 - 40 minutes total). While the risotto is cooking, brown the pancetta in a separate pan and set aside, reserving the grease in the pan.

Cook the shrimp (seasoned with salt and pepper) in the same pan as the pancetta, about 3 minutes on each side. If not enough grease in the pan add a bit of olive oil. Once the last cup of stock is almost absorbed, add the pumpkin, shrimp and cheese and mix to combine. Top with the pancetta and serve.

Marathon/Anniversary Party

This weekend, we had a lot to celebrate. Sunday was our first anniversary and after heading back from Cleveland where we celebrated my cousin's wedding, we had a post marathon party for two good friends who ran the Chicago marathon on Sunday .

Since my friend Melissa put off her marathon plans for a whole year in order to attend our wedding, I figured it was the least I could do to support her. When I asked her what she would want to eat post - race, her immediate reply was "Cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake."

Not wanting to disappoint, I planned a menu around her request (apologies in advance for the lack of "recipes" in this post, but its pretty basic stuff and kind of self explanatory) :

Sliders

Italian Sliders: Fried pancetta, mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil and pesto

Americana Sliders: American cheese, tomato and onion

Swiss Sliders: Swiss cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms & truffle aioli

French Fries with Dipping sauces

Honey Mustard: Equal parts honey and whole grain dijon mustard

Truffle Aioli: Mayo, a tiny bit of truffle oil, lemon juice (about 1 tsp), dijon mustard (about 1 tbsp), whisked together with olive oil drizzled in until desired consistency

Rosemary Garlic Ai0li: Similar method as above, mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice, rosemary, garlic (minced very fine) and olive oil drizzled in while whisking

Pesto: Basic pesto recipe

Fries: Russet potatoes cut into slices, tossed in olive oil and seasonings. Baked at 400 degrees until cooked through and then broiled until crispy.

(Again, I did not really measure as I was making the sauces but just keep tasting till you get it right)

Milkshake Martinis

Made with mint chocolate chip ice cream and vanilla vodka!

Joe helped out by making one of his famous cheese balls, and (reluctantly) allowing our friends to share the top layer of our wedding cake.

Congrats Melissa & Lindsey on finishing the race!!! I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for being a super spectator and making it to five different spots along the race - I'm exhausted : )

German Chocolate "Thank You" Cupcakes

I've previously made this in cake form, and have been visualizing these cupcakes in my mind ever since just waiting for the opportunity to make them.

Luckily, someone did Joe and I a HUGE favor, so of course we owed them baked goods. Once I confirmed that said person was a fan of German chocolate cake, I got down to business.



I made these using the same recipe as the cake (omitting the syrup), baked the cakes for 20 minutes and decorated just like you would the cake.

These were slightly less time consuming than the cake but not much. I was really pleased with the way they came out, this is a fun, more portable way of making one of the most delicious cakes ever!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

My friend Melissa told me about this recipe from Hungry Girl last year and I've been waiting for cooler weather to make it. Well its not quite cool, but it is September, I wore a jean jacket today and footballs on, so as far as I'm concerned, its time for pumpkin stuff. I think I'm in good company too, since I've seen quite a bit of pumpkin popping up on blogs the last week or two. This is likely to be the first of many pumpkin recipes over the next month on here.

I haven't tried pumpkin much in savory dishes, but this recipe did not disappoint. It actually was surprisingly similar to chili, but with the rich pumpkin flavor it was so delicious. Pumpkin is a fantastic way to make a soup rich and creamy without adding a lot of fat.

I altered the recipe slightly from Hungry Girl, namely adding double the amount of pumpkin to the soup. I think this really contributed to the rich creamy texture so I recommend making the same change.

Also, the original recipe called for a tablespoon of chili powder for a serving of 4. I like my food spicy, but that seemed like a ridiculous amount so I only added a teaspoon and thought it was well flavored.

I will definitely make this again, and the only other thing I would change would be to try it with a pinch of cinnamon in it.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Adapted from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil

pinch salt

pinch pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
4 cups Fat Free broth (chicken or vegetable)
28 oz. can pure pumpkin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn
3/4 cup salsa
Optional toppings: shredded reduced-fat or fat-free cheese, and reduced-fat or fat free sour cream

Directions:
Heat olive oil in soup pan. Add garlic, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. Then add chili powder and cumin, and stir for one minute. Add broth to the spices, and bring to a simmer. Add pumpkin and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. This soup can be served with a sprinkle of cheese and a little fat free sour cream on top. Serves 6

Mango & Jalapeno Shrimp Kebabs

As the summer is winding down (er...actually we are finally getting the weather we should have been getting in July...but technically its not summer anymore), I feel like I've exhausted mango salsa in our little household. I just have a really hard time NOT buying mango from the grocery store though because they are ONLY $1!!!

So I was trying to think of a different way to use it and decided to do kebabs. I love the taste of grilled pineapple so thought that grilling the mango along with jalapeno marinated shrimp would be a great combination (Jalapeno compliments of our herb garden!).

I served it over a bed of rice with black beans, cilantro and lime. The creaminess of the rice and sweetness of the mango were a great compliment to the spicy shrimp.



Mango & Jalapeno Shrimp Kebabs

12 shrimp
1/2 jalapeno (finely diced)
1 mango
1 lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper

*Combine the juice of the lime with olive oil in bowl. Add the jalapeno, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

*Toss the shrimp in the mixture and let marinate 30 minutes.

*Skewer the mango an shrimp, alternating.

*Grill on a hot grill, about 4 minutes on each side.

*Serve over a bed of rice. For the rice I just followed basic rice cooking directions, and added 1/2 can of black beans, cilantro and lime juice at the end.

Very tasty and healthy meal - enjoy!