Pumpkin Ravioli with Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage and Sauteed Kale

I'm getting the feeling this blog is going to slowly turn into a Trader Joe's blog... haha :) Here is a simple meal I cooked tonight, which sounds a lot more gourmet than it actually was...thanks to TJs. 

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage and Sauteed Kale

1 package Trader Joe's Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli

a few big handfuls of baby kale, rinsed & dried

3 links Trader Joe's Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage

extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

chicken or vegetable stock

kosher salt

ground black pepper

juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Start boiling the water for the pumpkin ravioli. While water is heating up, slice the sausage into bite-size pieces and saute in 2 tbsp EVOO until edges are golden brown. Wrap in tin foil and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add a little more EVOO and saute the garlic until fragrant, but not colored. Add just enough stock to cover the bottom of the pan, and add the kale to the pan. Toss to combine, lower the heat, and cover.
3. Drop the pumpkin ravioli in the boiling water and let cook for 2 1/2 minutes. Drain and set aside, then toss together with sausage pieces.
4. Season kale with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Transfer to dish or platter. Place ravioli and sausage on top. Drizzle with a scant amount of maple syrup.
5. Enjoy!

I can't wait to try the chicken sausage with breakfast. It is SO good with some maple syrup drizzled on top. The sausage has little chunks of apple in it which add a delicious autumnal flavor. Yum!!

Cheers,
L

Pumpkin! Pumpkin!! Pumpkin!!!

Welcome to autumn. It is officially that season where you see pumpkin (or the ever popular "pumpkin spice") everywhere -- muffins, quick breads, pies...all sorts of foods for that matter, lattes, coffee beans, coffee creamers, beer, candles, bath products, etc. For a few months, everyone deems pumpkin their favorite food and believes it is the best thing ever invented. Then the holidays are over and it seems everyone forgets about poor pumpkin until next year. I admit I am one of those people. I wish pumpkin was in season all year. Since October rolled around I've been dying to use it in the kitchen. I've had pumpkin spice coffee creamer on hand for the past month -- currently on my second bottle. When one store was out of said creamer, I went to another store to find it (success!). I am that desperate to grasp tightly onto the pumpkin craze before it disappears for another 10 months. Anyway, I haven't cooked with pumpkin yet this autumn. I have plans for pumpkin bread tomorrow, but tonight it was pasta.

My coworker recommended a Rachael Ray recipe and I'm glad I tried it. I altered the portions to serve two, and used half-and-half instead of heavy cream to cut the fat content, among other tweaks. The original recipe calls for sage, but I had none. So, if you have it, use it. But, word to the wise... follow Rachael's directions and USE WHOLE WHEAT PASTA! I only had regular semolina pasta on hand, and upon my first bite, my face lit up at the taste of the sauce but then I frowned a little. This pumpkin cream sauce needs the nutty richness of whole wheat pasta to bring out that autumn-y essence. Without it, the dish just lacks...something. I taste the pumpkin, the spices, but my palate is craving something else. One of the many reasons I love a really good quality (read: non-cardboard/sandpaper variety) whole wheat pasta is the depth of flavor it adds, and this is one of those cases.

I also want to mention that this would be a great main dish if you added chicken or sausage. Tonight, this was the "second course" of our dinner. Paul cooked the first course, and I cooked the second. I love when Paul cooks because his dishes always have his personality in them... from the seasonings he uses, to the tricks he's learned from his mom, to the very diligent, delicate, and patient way he chops up carrots into perfectly shaped little pieces. :) His first course was a salad consisting of romaine lettuce, carrots, apples, walnuts, and dried cranberries; topped with a pan-fried salmon fillet. Simple, yummy, and refreshing. This was a nice warm follow-up.


Pumpkin Lovers' Pasta for Two
adapted from Rachael Ray's Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

• 1/2 pound whole wheat penne
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken)
• 7 to 8 ounces pure pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
• a dash of ground cinnamon
• a dash of ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a sautee pan over medium heat.  Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft.  Don't burn the garlic, like I did, and always will do.
3. Stir in the broth, pumpkin, and half-and-half. Add the hot sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Let simmer on low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
4. Toss pasta and sauce together, and serve with grated cheese and a dash of cinnamon on top.

Shallots & garlic cooking in olive oil. One of my favorite smells ever.

Simmerin' sauce.

Bon appetit!

Cheers,

L

Adventures in Hummus: Pasta Edition

I've been on a hummus kick lately, but that "kick" has almost exclusively consisted of dipping a variety of snacks -- Wheat Thins, pretzels, veggies -- in the delicious and healthy dip/spread. I have had it on a pita and with falafel before, but I started to think, "There's gotta be more I can do with this stuff." Last week I made some scrambled egg whites for breakfast and on a whim, put a few dollops of Tribe roasted red pepper hummus on top, and it was delicious.

Yesterday at Pathmark, I bought some artichoke-garlic Athenos hummus, which I've never had before. I was dipping pretzels in it today at work, and I have to admit, I wasn't too crazy about the flavor. I think I'm just not an artichoke fan. Anyway, while fantasizing about dinner, I did some brainstorming. I remember reading in one of my Rachael Ray mags something about tossing hummus with pasta. I didn't want this hummus to go to waste, and I thought if it was combined with a variety of other ingredients, the flavor wouldn't bother me as much. Long story short, this was my final plan: toss whole-wheat spaghetti with sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes I already had in the fridge, and make a sauce out of this hummus!

Pasta with Hummus and Sautéed Veggies

1. Cook pasta (I recommend whole-wheat spaghetti) and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine 2 parts hummus, 1 part water (use your judgment with the amount of hummus to use, depending on how much pasta you're making).  Stir and place on low heat.
3. In a skillet, heat extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté chopped mushrooms until tender and browned, and add some chopped tomatoes at the very end.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. To the skillet, add the pasta and hummus sauce.  Mix well.

The verdict? Using hummus as a pasta sauce is, in a word... interesting. It adds a creaminess much different from that of Alfredo sauce, for example. And I was right: the nuttiness of the pasta, meatiness of the mushrooms, and sweetness of the tomatoes all counterbalanced the "funny" taste I didn't like about the hummus, but you could definitely tell the hummus was there. And this was so, so easy to make.

Next adventure in hummus? MAKE MY OWN! Hmmm, perhaps that will be a blog in the very near future.

Cheers,

L

Sunday Dinner: Pesto Pasta

Tonight's vegetarian dinner was low-key and healthy.  We had a very busy day full of errands and other activities so an easy-to-prepare meal was needed.  I made a fresh batch of pesto, tossed it with whole-wheat spaghetti and some fresh tomatoes, and grated fresh parmesan on each bowl of pasta.  We lit up our new tiki torches for the first time (!) and ate this meal out on the patio with the sounds of crickets surrounding us.  A nice relaxing end to a busy day!

To make this pesto, I used fresh basil and thyme from our little "garden", pecans, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Finished product. Delicious!

What did you eat this Sunday?

Cheers,
L

Pasta Salad

Today is a rainy Sunday.  Not the downpour kind, but a gentle mist that has persisted throughout the late morning and afternoon.  I love these kinds of days...the rain is soothing, it puts me in the mood to drink that extra cup of coffee, and it [usually] puts me in the mood to cook.  And that I did.

Admittedly, this is not the most exciting dish to blog about.  Pasta salad, macaroni salad, whatever you call it -- a routine summer staple.  Still, it's one of my favorite things to eat, and I have never made it from scratch.  I had fun making this today as I sort of made it up as I went along and it turned out delicious.  So, blog-worthy to me!

Sunday Pasta Salad
dressing adapted from  Taste of Home's recipe

Salad:

• 2 cups uncooked pasta -- I used mini penne
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 1 small-to-medium tomato, diced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• about half of a 16 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• Optional: 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup prepared ranch dressing (eyeball it)
• 3 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp dried minced onion
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sweet relish

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. While the pasta is cooking, mix together dressing ingredients and let sit.
3. Toss together the salad ingredients, and add the dressing. Mix well.

 Dressing.

 Salad ingredients ready to be tossed.  Not pictured: eggs which I added after this picture was taken, and the chicken, which I decided to add at the last minute after everything was mixed together.  The chicken was left-over from a stir-fry Paul made a couple nights ago, and I didn't want it to go to waste.  I labeled the chicken as "optional" in the recipe because I added it in order to make it more of a meal (I had not yet eaten lunch and was getting hungrier and hungrier as I was preparing it!).  Personally, if this is just a side dish, I'd leave the chicken out.  But it's up to you!

Yummy side-dish or, in my case today, a light lunch.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday, rain or shine.

Cheers,
L

Tomato Sauce from Scratch

I had the blessing of receiving a whole big batch of home-grown tomatoes from Paul's mom's garden.  They are unlike any tomato you can buy in the store; sweet, tender, juicy, yum.  Unfortunately, there were more tomatoes than I knew what to do with, so I decided to try a batch of tomato sauce (something his mom had also done while I was staying at their house this summer).  I pretty much winged it, eyeballed everything, and threw it in my (CUTE) mini slow cooker (I'm usually cooking for two -- it probably holds about 3 or 4 quarts). Here's my "recipe":

Homemade Tomato Sauce

• 4 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• a few shakes of dehydrated minced onion
• generous helping of whatever herb you have on hand (all I had was dried parsley for now)
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove, peel, and chop to your heart's desire. Place tomatoes in slow cooker.
2. Add tomato paste, garlic, onion, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir.
3. If, like me, you want a less chunky sauce, stick your immersion blender in there and puree.  I blended until there were just a few tomato chunks left.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

Mine's still simmering, so I'll have to update this post and let you know how it turns out.  Seems pretty foolproof to me, though.  I plan on boiling some frozen (yeah, I know) gnocchi tonight or tomorrow and using the sauce for that.

Cheers,
L

UPDATE: Great success! The sauce was sweet but not too sweet, and had a nice kick from the garlic.  The only negative was that it came out a bit watery -- next time, strain the tomatoes after chopping & before adding to the pot.

 Gnocchi (from frozen) with Homemade Tomato Sauce, Freshly Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese