Pumpkin Quinoa, Lemon Mustard Salmon and a Fall Mojito

After making last weeks pumpkin macaroni and cheese, I had some pumpkin left over so I decided to spice up my quinoa with it!

First I prepared 1 cup of quinoa with 1 cup chicken stock and 1 cup water.  You can also choose to do 2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups water.  I personally think that the chicken broth added amazing flavor.  After the chicken broth and water begins to boil, mix in the quinoa and cook for 12 minutes.

While the quinoa was cooking I sauteed about a 1/2 cup of red onion.  Once the quinoa is fully cooked, mix in the red onion and pumpkin along with some cilantro and mint.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

I paired the pumpkin quinoa with a lemon mustard salmon.  I mixed olive oil, dijon mustard and lemon juice until the mixture thickened.   I then placed the salmon flesh side down into the sauce and cooked it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

I then turned the salmon skin down, added red onion, cilantro and freshly ground pepper on top and cooked for an additional 10 minutes.

The Fall Mojito we made last week was delicious, and it smelled amazing!  It takes about 30 minutes to prepare so plan accordingly.

Ingredients:

2 ounces apple cider

2 cups apple brandy

2 apples cut into chunks

6 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise 

2 ounces spiced dark rum (we used Captain Morgan)

1 ounce simple syrup

mint leaves to taste

1 lime

Step One:

Combine the apple cider, apple brandy, apples, cinnamon and star anise ans simmer for 30 minutes.  This mixture smells amazing and combines so many delicious fall flavors.

While this is simmering, take the mint and lime and muddle them in your glasses.

Once all of the flavors have combined strain and chill the liquid.  We put it in a martini shaker with ice.

 Then add ice cubes, some of the apple pieces and rum to your glasses, pour in the apple cider mixture and top with a cinnamon stick and sprig of mint for the garnish!

Pumpkin Mac n Cheese and S'more-tini

The weather is slowly starting to feel like Fall so I am excited to start cooking with all of the amazing Fall flavors.  This time I put together a good old comfort food, mac n cheese, and a popular Fall flavor, pumpkin to create Pumpkin Mac n Cheese!

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin
1 box (16 ounces) pasta ( I used rigatoni)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
3 tablespoons fresh sage
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups reduced fat milk
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/2 cup white cheddar
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko
Pinch of Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start with the pumpkin.  Cut it in half, and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  I removed the seeds, but left the remaining "guts" on the pumpkin to add moisture during the roasting process.

The pumpkin will be done when you can easily pierce through the flesh and skin with a knife.  Once done, remove from oven, let cool, remove the remaining guts, and cut up into 1 inch cubes while removing the skin.

Then season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Combine the Panko, 1 tablespoon of fresh sage and half of the Parmesan and set aside.

Cook the pasta as directed.  While the pasta is cooking begin on the cheese sauce.

Start with combining 2 tablespoons of sage and butter, until the butter browns.

Add in the flour until combined, then mix in the milk, nutmeg, dijon mustard and cheese.  simmer until all the cheese has melted.

 

Next combine the pasta, cheese sauce, and pumpkin.  Then transfer into a greased baking dish (I used Pam)

Top with the panko mixture, spray with cooking spray, and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

And Enjoy!

Now for the S'more-tini's!!

Ingredients:

Vodka

chocolate liquor

crushed graham crackers

marshmallow creme

marshmallows

Half and Half

Step One: Chill glasses in Freezer

Step Two: Rim glasses with marshmallow creme, and then in crushed graham crackers

Step Three:  Combine vodka, chocolate liquor and half and half in shaker.  Shake until chilled, and pour into glasses

Step Four:  Prepare garnish!   Roast a marshmallow( I used a creme brulee torch) and place in glass to garnish

  

Pumpkin Martini

This week we wanted to do a not so sweet martini, but I still wanted to do one that was kind of Halloween themed.  I thought about how delicious the zucchini-tini was, and came up with a recipe to duplicate that, but using pumpkin instead.

We used the same ingrediants- gin, saki, simple syrup, and then used "pumpkin water."

Getting the pumpkin water was a bit more challenging than it was with the zucchini.

It took us a few tries, but we managed to get enough juice out of the pumpkin to make it work!  We ended us using about half of a three pound pumpkin.


For the garnish I used a few of the pumpkin seeds, and then I cut the top of the pumpkin in half, cut some slits and put them on the rim of our glasses!

It did not taste quite as good as the zucchini-tini, but very close.  It was fun to try something new, and to put our own creative twist on a favorite recipe!

Last weekend we went up to my in-laws, and they sent us back with a bunch of home grown squash.  So I came up with another creative way to utilize these and made squash tacos for Taco Tuesday!  It may sound odd, but trust me, they were delicious!! I steamed the squash until tender, and then let them continue to cook in red enchilada sauce for 10 minutes, and that was all it took!

Healthy Meets Fall

This week I decided to try some more new, fall inspired ideas!  I planned a dinner of pepita crusted trout, creamed cauliflower, and brussel sprouts!

First was the Pepita Crusted Trout.

Ingrediants:

Trout, pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), panko crumbs, fresh garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

First Step: I crushed the pepitas in a food processor.

Then I mixed the crushed seeds with the panko crumbs, salt and pepper, and set it aside.

My next step was to crush the garlic

If you do not have one of these plates for crushing garlic, I highly recommend it, they are amazing!



Then it was time to prepare the fish!

While the fish was cooking, I prepared my side dishes, the creamed caulifloer and brussel sprouts.

The creamed cauliflower is basically the same as mashed potatoes, only healthier!  Once the cauliflower is cooked and tender, add fat free sour cream, a little bit of butter, garlic, salt, and pepper, and mix it all up with a hand blender (another amazing tool!)   I used mine for the first time for this, and it was so easy, much easier than pouring it all into a blender.

I also chopped up come green onion to go on top.

Now for the brussel sprouts!  I know not too many people are fond of brussel sprouts, but I happen to love them!  My husband used to hate them, but one day I took a chance that he would like them the way  I prepare them, and he did!  Now he not only likes them, but he requests them!

First cut the brussel sprouts in half, pour olive oil on top, and then season with garlic salt and freshly ground pepper.

The finished products:

Now, some of you may be looking at this picture and think, "uh-oh she burned them!"  Yes, they are burned, but it was no accident!  I love it when they are burnt to a crisp!  I really think this gives them that extra flavor that may make you think twice about brussel sprouts!

The only down-fall of this meal was that the cauliflower did not retain it's heat for long.  It seemed to get cold quickly, and is definitly better when warm, but other than that everything turned out amazing!

'Tis The Season for Squash

I love fall,  and being able to experiment with all of the flavors that are not readily available all year round. 


I have never made soup from scratch, but have always wanted to give it a try.  With it being Autumn, I thought Butternut Squash soup would be perfect for my first time.

Lets start with the two main ingrediants...

Cutting the Butternut Squash was a bit of a challenge, especially as I got to the thicker end, but it smelled amazing!  I love the smell of fresh cut squash!  After I cut the squash and carrots into cubes, I put them into a deep frying pan with vegetable stock, butter, nutmeg, allspice, and pepper.

Once the vegetables were tender I transfered the entire mixture into a food processor and blended until smooth.  I then transfered the soup back into the deep frying pan, and added the cream, reheating the soup for about 2 minutes.

Then it was time to eat!

And because this was such an Autumn inspired meal, I paired it with some of my Autumn Punch!

ENJOY!!