Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but I made it on Sunday night and it was the perfect autumn comfort food! I had never tried pumpkin in a savory dish, but it turned out very well.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound package of Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (removed from its casing)
2/3 cup to 2 cups pumpkin puree (depending on your personal taste)
1 can chicken broth
¼ cup half & half
½ cup sour cream (low-fat or fat free)
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sage
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
¼ cup Romano Cheese, shredded
1 pound penne or rotini pasta

In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat up with your spoon as you cook it. Remove turkey sausage and garlic from the skillet. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and deglaze the pan using a wire whisk, to bring up all of the flavors stuck to the pan. Whisk in the half and half, sour cream, pumpkin, and seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and stir into the pumpkin mixture along with the turkey sausage, simmering for another three minutes or until the sauce thickens and hugs the pasta. Stir in parsley and garnish with Romano and more parsley.

Side Note- If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little addition of chicken broth until you get it to the right consistency.

Rosemary Chicken

Two posts in one day?! Shocking, I know. My mom sent me some fresh rosemary and basil a while ago, and I've had a hard time figuring out what to use the rosemary for because I don't cook with it frequently. Tonight I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and whip up some chicken seasoned with rosemary. I'm pleased to report that the result was positively divine! It was pretty similar to your standard parmesan chicken, but it was a lovely variation. Here's roughly how I made it:

2 breasts chicken
Bread crumbs (a few tablespoons)
Parmesan cheese (2 tablespoons...about half as much cheese as bread crumbs)
Onion soup mix (about 2 teaspoons)
Rosemary leaves

Mix bread crumbs, parmesan, onion soup mix, and half the rosemary leaves in a bowl. Dip the chicken in an egg + water mixture. Cover chicken with bread crumb mixture. Place on a baking sheet (covered in foil for easy clean up), and top with remaining rosemary. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 30-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. (My chicken was frozen, so adjust bake time if you're using thawed chicken).

I'm Back! (Ode to Cereal)

I'm still alive and cooking...even though my posting habits suggest otherwise. My life has been insane as of late, so posting on this lovely blog has been put to the back burner. Plus I haven't had much to write about. Starting college kind of takes a toll on cooking habits, surprisingly enough. My diet has consisted of excessive amounts of cereal, smoothies, and quesadillas.

In honor of my cereal obsession, I'd like to share a few of my favorites:

Honey Bunches of Oats. Not with almonds. Not with yucky dehydrated fruit. Just the straight up goodness of oat clusters and flakes. Fresh raspberries and sliced bananas make it extra delectable.

Honey Bunches of Oats - Cinnamon Cluster style. A delightful variation of the traditional honey bunches.

Honey Bunches of Oats with Cinnamon Clusters + Cinnamon Life. Cinnamon-y and delightful. It tastes like fall and makes me excited to greet the crisp autumn air when I walk out of my apartment in the morning.

Cap'n Crunch. Best sugar-y cereal of all time. Yes, I know it tears up the roof of your mouth, but it's worth the pain.

Cheerios. A classic. But I hate the aftertaste of honeynut. Gag me.

Raisin Bran + Muesli + sliced bananas. I survived on this over the summer. Tasty with milk (like regular cereal) or yogurt. I occasionally throw in some Honey Bunches of Oats just for good measure. (are you noticing a trend? I should be getting paid to advertise for Honey Bunches).

I think this week I'll try Rice Krispies, Cheerios, and Honey Bunches with bananas.

What are your favorite kinds of cereal/cereal combinations?

Pita Bread

I have this goal to make all of my own bread this semester (in an effort to save a bit of money...place homemade bread is super tasty). Last night I made some pita bread that didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would. I think it'll be good if I tinker with the recipe a bit.

Has anyone had success with pita bread...or do you have any other good bread recipes you'd like to share??

It's All Greek to Me!

This week I was in hot pursuit of a delicious way to use up the massive block of feta cheese we have sitting in our fridge. I stumbled upon this recipe for Greek Chicken Pasta while searching the web. It turned out amazing! I can't decide which I liked better - the initial eating of it while it was still hot, or having cold leftovers the next day for breakfast.

I also threw in some chopped spinach to add more color and flavor. I think next time I make it I'll add some olives as well. I would also add more tomatoes than it calls for - perhaps a combination of sun dried tomatoes and regular diced would be delish. I'll have to play around with it and see what I come up with.

Anyway, it was super tasty and you'll absolutely adore it if you like feta and artichokes hearts.

Watermelon

I mostly hate summer because it is so insanely hot. The one redeeming quality of this otherwise uncomfortable time of year is the fact that my all-time favorite fruit is in season! I have a hard time controlling myself when there is an entire juicy watermelon in front of my face. There is nothing better than to sit down at a hot, sweaty summer barbecue with a huge bowl of tasty watermelon in front of you and consume the entire thing yourself.

In honor of my pure love of watermelon, I thought I'd enlighten you all with a few interesting facts about this delectable summer fruit.

Many believe that the first watermelons were cultivated in Africa, and gradually spread throughout the world via explorers and merchant ships. Today, China is the world's largest watermelon producer.

In Japan, farmers figured out how to grow square watermelons by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed. My question is - where in the world can I buy one of these around here?!

There is only .15 g of fat per 100 g of watermelon you consume. I love delicious food that you don't have to feel guilty about eating.

Meatball Subs

This week I made meatball subs and fruit salad for staff lunch at Mill Hollow. (Sidenote: twice a week we have 'staff lunch' at work where we prepare food other than the set weekly menu for staff. Eating the same thing every single week can be kind of a drag, so it's nice to mix things up a bit). The meal turned out wonderfully, so I thought I'd share a couple recipes that I used.

The Buns
We don't have a grocery store just down the road, so I had to make the buns from scratch. I was pretty nervous about it because I'd never made bread on my own before...and also every attempt to make bread at Mill Hollow this year had failed prior to this. I just used a basic french bread recipe, but separated the dough into smaller buns for individual sandwiches.

I can't remember the exact recipe I used, but most french bread recipes are pretty similar, so you can't really go wrong. I recommend checking out cooks.com and searching for a recipe that looks appealing. Or you can go the easy route and grab some rolls from the bakery at the grocery store.

Oh! I almost forgot...one trick when cooking french bread (and pretty much any other bread or cake) is to put a pan with about an inch of water on the bottom rack of the oven while baking. It helps keep moisture locked in as the bread bakes in a humid oven.

Meatballs

I used Rachael Ray's meatball recipe with a couple changes based on which ingredients I had/didn't have. They meatballs were divine! I'd definitely make them again.The actual recipe won't make this many meatballs...I multiplied the recipe by 7 for the amount of people I was cooking for.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 large egg, beaten
3 handfuls (about 1 cup) of Italian bread crumbs *I made my own bread crumbs by throwing some slices of bread in the oven on a cookie sheet and sprinkled some Italian seasoning and garlic salt over them. After they were toasty, I crumbled them up (you can do this by hand or in a blender/food processor). I ended up adding like 1.5 cups or so because the bread crumbs smelled so good.
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (I absolutely love the word Worcestershire. Is that weird?)
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano *I only had the sprinkle can of Parmesan, but it was still delish. I actually put in about 1/2 cup or more. You can never go wrong with lots of cheese.
A bit more Italian seasoning, just for good measure
A couple sprinkles of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl and punch a well into the center of the meat (so it makes a beef nest). Fill well with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix up meatball ingredients until well combined, yet not over-mixed. Roll mix into one-inch balls and space evenly on a nonstick baking sheet. Cook at 450 for about 12 minutes. Break open a meatball and make sure the meat is cooked through before removing from the oven. Serves 4.

Rachael Ray's Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
about 2 tablespoons parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1-14 oz can cunky style crushed tomatoes
Salt a pepper, to taste

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic. When garlic starts sizzling, add herbs and crushed pepper. Allow oil to infuse for half a minute, then stir in the tomatoes and the season sauce with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a bubble. Reduce heat, and simmer until meatballs are removed from oven.

Combine meatballs and sauce and pile into sub rolls. Top with shredded cheese (I used mozarella, but provolone or an Italian 4-cheese blend would be good, too). Enjoy!


I also made the infamous 'Angie Salad' (a fruit salad my mom has made for YEARS) as a side dish. It's pretty much my favorite thing in the entire world. I don't think family parties and other group gatherings would be the same without it. I'll post the recipe some other time. Trust me, once you try it, you'll be hooked.

Merrit Ventures into the Culinary World

I like food. Okay, I LOVE food. I could read a recipe book like a novel (but cooking strictly from a recipe is nearly impossible for me). Since I'm spending my entire summer in a kitchen, food is pretty much always on my mind...it often invades my dreams, too. I like to pretend I'm a chef extraordinaire, but in reality I still have a long ways to go before I can consider myself a domestic goddess.

I'll take you along with me as I journey through the land of measuring cups (the use of which is highly overrated), wire whisks, and cookie sheets. This blog will be devoted to all things food - things I make, recipes I want to try, links to wicked awesome food-y things, and brilliant discoveries I make along the way.

Bon Appetit!