Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

We might have lost an hour today, but we had plenty of time to make this super quick and flavorful dinner.

It might look like pasta with a cheese sauce but there is actually only a half cup of Parmesan in there.  It’s pumpkin!  And sure, today might have finally felt like spring but this sweet and savory dinner hit the spot.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce (ours is with rotini) is quick because it has only a few ingredients and minimal chopping and it makes a lot so there are plenty of leftovers. I highly recommend trying it.

Cheesy Penne with Broccoli

Tonight I decided to try Cheesy Penne with Broccoli which was in this month’s Cooking Light.

This was a basic macaroni and cheese recipe except the sauce is made with a few different cheeses plus Dijon mustard and without any butter or oil. I normally like to add something green to macaroni and cheese, so this stood out as I was looking through the magazine.

We opted for shells instead of penne just because we had them on hand.  Otherwise, we followed the recipe exactly.  I thought it was pretty good but could use a bit more flavor.  Mike’s suggestion was to add more Dijon mustard and I read in the comments on the recipe that maybe adding some crushed red pepper would help.  But it was good enough and easy enough for a weeknight so we’ll definitely try it again maybe with a little modification.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

Last weekend I actually tried a new recipe.  I saw this Spinach Artichoke Pasta from the Pioneer Woman earlier in the week and knew I had to have it.

It was really easy to make.  We modified it by cooking the artichokes and spinach together and omitted the panko on top.  If I make it again, I’d use two to two and a half cups of milk instead of three because I like a thicker sauce.

Spinach Macaroni and Cheese

Last night I made Spinach Macaroni and Cheese inspired by this recipe I found on Pinterest.

I say inspired because there was nothing Weight Watchers friendly about this mac and cheese and I didn’t make them into muffins.  But I did love the idea of using spinach in my macaroni and cheese because we usually add broccoli. I was ready to try a different green addition.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk (I used skim)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mild and sharp cheddar blend)
• 2 eggs
• 16 oz. cooked elbow macaroni
• 2 boxes of frozen shredded spinach thawed and drained

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and got the macaroni cooking.  When it went in the water, I melted the butter in a small pot and then mixed in the flour until it was just cooked through.  Then I slowly added the milk, stirring until it thickened (last night it did not thicken as much as I would have liked but I was rushing).  Then I slowly added in the cheese, stirring constantly.  At this point you can season it with salt/pepper/garlic/nutmeg or pretty much anything you want.

I had my two eggs whisked up in a small bowl and slowly added a bit of the cheese sauce to temper the eggs.  After the macaroni was cooked, we drained it, put it back in the pot and added the cheese sauce, the eggs and the spinach.  I put it in a greased dish.

Then I baked it for about twenty minutes before sprinkling a bit more cheese on top and broiling it on low for four minutes.

The top was a bit crunchy and the inside was creamy and delicious.

And the spinach was awesome!  Like I said, we usually put broccoli in our macaroni and cheese but after mixing in spinach, I might just do that from now on.  It was perfect.  We have tons of leftovers for this week which is good because we have a busy week ahead.

 

Not Authentic But Very Tasty Chicken Enchiladas

I’ve been wanting to use the crockpot again so today I decided to make chicken enchiladas.  I’ve been improvising on chicken enchiladas for a while, but this seems to be such an easy and tasty way to make them.

Today I put boneless chicken breasts, Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce and two cans of Rotel into the crockpot on high for about four and a half hours. When they were finished, I shredded the chicken and rolled them in high fiber flour tortillas with some sliced green pepper. I ended up with eleven enchiladas.  I put some of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dishes and the top of the rolled tortillas and baked them for about half an hour at 350 degrees.

Then I topped them with cheese, about one and half cups total of reduced fat Mexican blend.

After a few more minutes, they were ready to eat and they were really good.

I put the ingredients into My Fitness Pal and they come out to about 250 calories each which is pretty good for such a filling and fun dinner.  I made corn cake as a side which compliments this really well. It might not be anything fancy but it’s easy and the sweet goes well with the slightly spicy enchiladas.

This made enough for two dinners for us and one lunch for Mike.

This soup is from a hospital newsletter

Last week I stayed with my parents one night while traveling for work. They made me taste a bit of this soup that they made from a newsletter that my mom got at work. The soup didn’t have a name but I really liked it so we made it tonight.

This was super easy to throw together and worked out great because just as it was starting to simmer for fifteen minutes, Butler got his head stuck in the handle of a plastic bag. We could just ignore the soup on the stove and move the bed that he decided to hide under wrapped in a bag. He was fine by the way and got the bag off himself before we got to him. Chica followed him under the bed and stayed by his side through the whole ordeal.

Anyway here’s the recipe:

1 med onion chopped
2 tbsp veg. oil
1 can 15 oz black beans, drained
1/2 can refried beans
1 can 11 oz corn, drained
1 can 14.5 oz chicken broth
1 cup bottled chunky salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper

Saute onions in oil until tender.  Add the other ingredients, simmer for 15 minutes and serve.

The soup is hearty, thick and creamy and very filling. I used medium salsa so that it would have a bit of heat.  I didn’t put in the salt or pepper and I felt it didn’t need either although Mike said it needed some pepper.  Maybe my sense of taste is a bit off because I have a cold.

We had cheese quesadillas on the side.  I found these high fiber flour tortillas at Giant that were only 80 calories.  They were softer than usual but toasted up perfectly in the pan and tasted just as good as regular tortillas.

For such a quick, easy dinner, it really was very cozy and homey.  Perfect for a weeknight.

Simple Tomato Sauce: New Year’s Eve Dinner

We decided to end the year with one of Mike’s favorites – stuffed shells and meatballs.  The basis of all of this is a delicious tomato sauce recipe I found a couple years ago.

It’s been a while since I’ve made stuffed shells but I seem to remember the shells of my youth being much bigger.  The box says jumbo but I am skeptical.  This shell is next to a teaspoon for scale.

Everything turned out perfect especially the cheese filling which I always just sort of make up as I go. Our only error was that we prematurely meatballed the sauce and realized after that we hadn’t yet blended the sauce per the recipe. It was a bit chunky which wasn’t a big deal at all but I always like having a reason to use our immersion blender.

And the best way to wash down New Year’s Eve dinner is with some sparkling wine.

Love the bubbles.

Happy New Year!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

I think I mentioned this previously, but the number one best recipe find of the last year was Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas.  I’d eat these any time of year, but we haven’t made them all summer, so tonight was the first time in months.

It’s pretty easy to do and I guess we’ve done them a little differently each time.  We make the sweet potatoes and mash them up with half the black beans. We add the other half of the black beans with the green chiles, cilantro, cumin, chili and red pepper.

I always made enough for plenty of leftovers so I divide the mixture into ten flour tortillas and put them in baking dishes that have salsa verde on the bottom.

Then I pour the rest of the salsa verde on top and then sprinkle (um, heap?) on some white cheddar and bake at 350 degrees.

Tonight’s were in for about 15 minutes total because we were running low on time.  All the ingredients are cooked and the sweet potato mixture was probably still warm so they still turned out great.

Perfect! Goes great with pumpkin ale.

I think I’m going to cast off my boneyard shawl tonight! And today I ordered the yarn to start my DNA scarf for my dad. In the meantime, I might work on an old project or maybe start something quick and fun.  We’ll see!

Granary Gourmet Candlelight Dinner

 

The Lemont Village Association hosted their eighth annual Gourmet Candlelight Dinner in the John I. Thompson Grain Elevator and Coal Sheds (the Granary).

The dinner raises funds for the renovation and restoration of the Granary.  It’s a really beautiful old building and the Lemont Village Association has invested a lot of money so that the community can continue to use and enjoy this unique feature in our town.

The eight course meal with a North African theme was catered by Tom Everly, Culinary Arts Chef, and his wife, Judy Everly of Keystone Yankee Catering in Lemont and Pastry Chef, Julie Meiser Rioux.

Here was our table.

Mike and I both had the meat option and I tried to get pictures of each course. I was challenged by the light but you should get a good idea of the dinner.

Appetizer: Lamb Meatballs with Apricots

Soup course: Lamb Yohgurt

Fish Course: Casablanca Salad

Releve: Pork Loin with Moroccan Spices

Entree: Marrakech Style Chicken with Rice with Pistachios and Orange Water

Salad Course: Tossed Salad with Lemon Juice and Olive Oil

Cheese and Fruit Course: Local Cheeses and Dates

Dessert: Pear Tart with Ice Cream

My favorite things were the lamb meatballs, the soup, the rice (orange is one of my number one flavors and it was just so good), the cheese plate and the ice cream with the tart. But everything was really delicious and the company was great. We got to sit with some of our neighbors who we’ve never met before and enjoy a nice evening out in a really unique space.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Because there were thunderstorms predicted throughout the day, when we planned the menu for the week, we decided that tonight was not the night to grill.  Of course, we had a big storm this afternoon with hail and house shaking thunder that was pretty exciting but it was calm and beautiful outside as we made dinner.

Either way, dinner was delicious.  Not very photogenic, but delicious.

We made Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light. I’ve made this before and it’s always very good and easy.  The part that takes the longest for me is shredding the chicken, but I usually buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and I sort of enjoy pulling it apart.  I know that’s kind of gross but I also like cleaning off the turkey carcass on Thanksgiving.

Ours is not as light as the original recipe. I used an egg, instead of egg substitute, probably used a half a cup more cheese on top, used most of the chicken from a rotisserie chicken (which was likely more than two cups though I didn’t measure) and I got a bigger can of enchilada sauce (although I didn’t use it all, it was more than the recipe called for).  At the recommendation of a friend who made it before I ever did, I mix the enchilada sauce into the chicken instead of over the corn bread.

Ours didn’t set up as nicely as the picture in the recipe but I am a huge fan of food all mixed together and the flavors in this are great.  I think that corn bread in the first part of the recipe could be made to go with chili or soup.