Pumpkin Muffins

Since Fall began, I've had nothing but pumpkin on my mind. I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of pumpkin coffee creamer, pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin beer. The good news is that last week I found the beer (Blue Moon) and today I (finally) found the coffee creamer, thanks to my friend Deanna. Still awaiting pumpkin ice cream, but the stock boy assures me it will arrive soon. If you are like me and love this season of pumpkin, try this recipe for pumpkin muffins.

They are moist and easy to make. Your house will smell amazing while they are in the oven.

Pumpkin Muffins

Mix the following dry ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

Add these wet ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs beaten

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup pumpkin

Mix until moistened. Don't over mix or the muffins will be tough. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Makes 12.

To Meat or not to Meat....

My family loves pasta, we generally eat it twice a week. Our only argument comes to the meat. Husband and I prefer our pasta meatless. Our daughter, however, loves meatballs. These recipes help to please everyone.

Spaghetti Sauce

Saute the following in a large dutch oven:

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

8 ounces of fresh mushrooms

1/2 chopped green pepper

Add the following:

1 quart of crushed tomatoes (or 1 large can of crushed tomatoes)

1 small can of tomato paste

1 cup red wine

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp marjarom

1 tbsp honey

Let cook on low heat, uncovered until sauce reaches desired thickness. I like to cook for a minimum of 1 hour.

Meatballs

When it comes to meatballs, I refuse to buy hamburger. I have read too many articles about the number of cows found in one pound of ground meat. The practice of putting hundreds of cows in a large vat before packaging increases the risk of e.coli. This bothers me a great deal. Why in the world would this practice continue? For a long time I refused to make any dish with ground meat in it. Protests from my daughter convinced me to find an alternative. I get a steak from the meat department and have the butcher grind it. I use a round steak or a sirloin (a chuck roast will also work). The butcher is more than happy to do this for you. It takes only a few minutes of your time and you know what the steak looks like before it is ground. No strange parts are added. You can serve your family a product that makes you feel safe.

Okay, enough about the horrors of hamburger. Here's my recipe.

1 pound of ground beef

1 small minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

salt

pepper

Gently combine ingredients and shape into meatballs. Don't overwork the meat. Brown the meatballs in a skillet on medium heat. When meat has browned, add 1 cup of the sauce from the recipe above. Turn down to a simmer and let cook until cooked through.

When the sauce is ready, boil the pasta. My preference for this dish is thin spaghetti. Be sure to add plenty of salt to the water, your pasta will be flavorless if you don't. Cook for the shortest amount of time on box (al dente).

Lots of chefs tell us to add the pasta to the sauce before serving. I find this makes the pasta even better. The pasta soaks up the sauce and adds extra flavor. Be sure to top the pasta with lots of freshly grated parmesan. Now add the meatballs, or not!

Pesto Pizza

I've told you all before that I love pesto. It is a gift from the gods as far as I'm concerned. I want to share a tasty pizza recipe featuring this yummy concoction.

Pesto Pizza

1 pizza crust (recipe follows)

1/2 cup pesto (recipe in July 20th post)

1 small onion, sliced

handful of fresh mushrooms, sliced

handful of chopped sun dried tomatoes

1 grilled chicken breast, sliced (optional)

4 ounces black olives, sliced

8 ounces of shredded mozzarella

2 ounces of goat cheese crumbled

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Preheat pizza stone in oven for at least 30 minutes. This is what gives the crust it's lovely texture. Don't even think of preparing a good pizza without doing this.

While oven preheats, roll out dough to roughly the size of of your stone. Have all ingredients ready to top the pizza before taking stone out of the oven. Take out the stone and immediately place dough on it. Top with pesto, mushrooms, onions, sun dried tomatoes, chicken if using, black olives, mozzarella and goat cheese. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Check on pizza often. It will be done when cheese is bubbling and crust is lightly browned.

Pizza Crust

1 package of yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

Olive oil for oiling bowl

Mix the yeast, sugar, and water. Let rest for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Add flour. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. It crumbly, add more water, 1 tbsp at a time. Knead dough until it's smooth and elastic. Form dough into a round ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Once the dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and roll to needed size. This makes a large crust.

Chicken Broccoli Pasta

I was in the grocery store this summer and overheard a troubling conversation between a mother and son. The grocery cart was overloaded with the "blue" box of macaroni and cheese. The son was telling the mother, "I'm not supposed to be eating this. I need other things for my body." Of course my imagination went wild. Does he have health problems? Has his coach expressed the beauty of performance food? Sadly, the mother left all the mac and cheese in her cart and I was unable to hear (I tried) the rest of the exchange between them.

My mind immediately thought of a great alternative to the blue box, Chicken Broccoli Pasta. The original recipe was in a swimming magazine my daughter was subscribed to. I modified it to fit my family. We love this wonderful performance meal.

Chicken Broccoli Pasta

12 ounces of whole wheat pasta

1 broccoli crown cut into florets

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 tbsp pesto (recipe in July 20th post)

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound boneless chicken breast chopped into bite sized pieces

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot with salted, boiling water, cook pasta until al dente

2. Meanwhile, saute chicken and garlic in olive oil for several minutes in a large skillet

3. Add broccoli and saute until all is cooked through.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and pesto

5. Toss cooked pasta into chicken mixture

6. Season with salt and pepper and toss with Parmesan cheese

This is great served warm or leftover cold.

Dress your salad!

I was in the grocery store the other day and took a look at the salad dressings. The ingredient lists on some of these scared me a little. There were as many as 25 ingredients; many I could not even pronounce!

Not knowing what these ingredients are frighten me:

xanthan gum

disodium inosinate

disodium guanylate

maltodextrin

mono and diglycerides

sorbic acid

phosphoric acid

calcium disodium EDTA

proplene glycol alginate

sodium benzoate

titanium dioxide

What is this stuff? I don't want to eat anything that sounds like a science experiment.

I want to share my family's favorite two dressings for salad. I promise you will be able to pronounce every ingredient and buy them at your local grocery store.

Italian Dressing:

1 cup of canola oil or olive oil (I like a mixture of both.)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp dries basil leaves

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

2 cloves of garlic, crushed ( or 1/4 tsp dried garlic)

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar ( or whatever vinegar you like)

Shake all ingredients in a tightly covered jar.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar (red wine vinegar works here in a pinch)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves

Shake all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. My family loves this dressing in a salad of fresh greens and fruit.

10 minute pasta

Roma tomatoes are very happy at my house right now. We are picking tomatoes and making pizza sauce every few days. While tomatoes are in abundance, my family loves to make this pasta. It is simple and delicious. You can make this in the time it takes for you to drive to a restaurant for take-out. I hope you enjoy it.

Fresh Tomato Pasta

To serve four, you will need:

1. 12 -15 Roma tomatoes or 4-6 regular tomatoes chopped
2. 8 ounces of angel hair pasta
3. olive oil
4. 1/2 small onion chopped
5. 2 cloves garlic minced
6. handful of basil leaves chopped
7. 1/4 cup of dry red wine
8. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
9. salt and pepper to taste

Put salted pasta water on to boil. While waiting: chop tomatoes, onion, basil and garlic. Put a large skillet on medium heat. You will make the sauce in this. When the pasta water is at a heavy boil, add the angel hair. Be sure to time the pasta. It cooks very quickly (in about 4 minutes) and will be mushy if overcooked. By now the skillet should be hot. Add olive oil, onion and garlic to the skillet at this time. As soon as the onion and garlic become transparent, add the tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper and wine. By now your pasta should be ready to eat. Drain well and add to the tomato sauce. Divide pasta between four bowls. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Aunt Becky's Guacamole

My Aunt Becky was an amazing lady and cook. She was passionate about good food. Sadly, she passed away a couple of years ago. I think of her often especially when I make guacamole. The first time I ever had it was at her home. I've never had guacamole I like as well as hers. Husband and I had this tonight with our veggie fajitas. I hope you enjoy her recipe as much as we do.

Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 avocados mashed

1 tomato chopped

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1 onion chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

handful of chopped cilantro

olive oil - just a swirl around the bowl

salt and pepper to taste

Simply mix all ingredients and eat! I could make a meal on this with a good tortilla chip.

A variation to this is to add chopped basil instead of the cilantro, different, but equally great.

Since you went to all the trouble to make fresh guacamole you might as well make a great Margarita to go with it. I am so against the neon green mixtures you find in grocery stores full of high-fructose corn syrup. This recipe is for a Margarita the way it was intended, tart and refreshing.

Classic Margarita

2 oz silver agave tequila

1 oz triple sec

Juice of 1 large lime

1 tsp agave syrup ( you will find this in the baking aisle near sugar)

Coarse salt for garnish

Rub the rim of a glass with lime and rub it in the coarse salt. Add ice to the glass. Combine tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and agave syrup in a cocktail shaker or jar and shake for 30 seconds. Pour into salted glass and enjoy.