Pasta with Pumpkin-Cream Sauce

HOWDY friends!  I was home alone and hungry one night, so I just opened the fridge and prayed for ideas.  LOL!  What I came up with just so happened to be delicious, so I had to post this, in case someone out there might like it as much as I did.  (I just love it when an clean-out-the-fridge-experiment turns out so good!)  

I had some leftover pureed pumpkin in the fridge, along with some dairy products that needed to be used, so I thought I'd see what I could come up with.  (Canned pumpkin would work fine, just be sure it is NOT pumpkin pie filling!)  I didn't measure anything, so I can't give you the exact recipe.  I just added stuff to the pumpkin I had left until it looked like the consistency I wanted.  Then I tossed it with some pasta and voilà...total deliciousness!

First, I put some pasta on to boil.  (I had some rigatoni in the pantry, so that's what I used.  It went really well with the sauce.)  While the pasta was cooking, I basically just dumped the pureed pumpkin in a saucepan and added some heavy whipping cream and fat free half & half until it was the consistency I wanted.  Then I heated it over medium heat until hot, and stirred in some shredded Parmesan, crumbled bacon, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a little pasta water.

Once the pasta was done, I just had to drain it and toss it with the sauce.  Oh yeah, this is important...I tossed a few diced roasted almonds on top for garnish too.  (You don't want to leave those out...sooooo good!!)

Last, but not least, I toasted bagel (that needed to be used) and spread with some pesto (also from the fridge) on it, and I had a yummy meal in just a matter of minutes!  The only bad thing was that I just made enough for one meal, so there weren't any leftovers.  Next time, I'll make a bigger batch!

Hope all is well with you my friends.  Get out there and enjoy this lovely fall weather if you can.

Blessings,
--Faithy

Faithy's Favorite Red, White & Blue Salad

Just thought I'd share this quick & easy salad recipe in case you're looking for something healthy and delicious for the 4th of July. 

Ingredients:
--salad greens (I used a mix of red leaf lettuce, spring mix and spinach - but just use whatever you like!)
--fresh blueberries & raspberries (you could also use strawberries or even watermelon)
--crumbled feta cheese
--sugared nuts (This time I used store-bought sweet & spicy pumpkin seeds with black pepper, but you could also use sugared pecans or walnuts or even almonds.  I like to just dump some in a pan with sugar and seasoned salt, and stir them over low to medium heat until the sugar is melted and coats the nuts.  The you just spread them on parchment paper to cool, and break them up before using.)

Just toss everything together and serve in a clear glass or plastic bowl.  I generally serve it with poppy seed dressing and/or raspberry vinaigrette on the side.  (It stays fresh much longer if you don't "dress" the salad before serving.)

"Dressed" Salad

Quick, easy & delicious!

Happy 4th y'all!!
Blessings,
--Faithy 

"Magic" Mint Chocolate Bark

HOWDY friends.  Just popping in for a sec to share one of my favorite holiday recipes.  It is SOOOOO easy that even your children can easily make it (with a little supervision of course).

I got the recipe years ago off a bag of  NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels , and I've been making regularly ever since.  I will warn you though...it's addictive once you start taste-testing, so be sure you make plenty!

You can find the original recipe on the Nestlé Very Best Baking website.  I've substituted a variety of flavored morsels and nuts, etc.:
  --dark chocolate & white chocolate morsels (or either one alone) with crushed peppermint candy in place of the nuts
  --dark chocolate/raspberry swirl morsels with the chopped almonds
  --semi-sweet morsels with crushed toffee chips in place of the nuts
  --white chocolate morsels with chopped dried cranberries
  --dark chocolate morsels with chopped dried cherries or blueberries

Just pick your favorite combination and go crazy.  It won't take you any time to make a yummy gift for someone special or a sweet treat to serve at a holiday party.

Be sure to try this one!  Easy-peasy, and oh so good!!
Blessings,
--Faithy

Saturday mornin’ scones…

Happy Saturday my friends!  I’m just loving this cooler weather, how ‘bout you?  I was in a baking mood this morning, so once again, I thought of scones.

Scones are SO quick and easy (especially with the help of a food processor), that they’re a perfect breakfast treat.  I have several tried and true recipes that I’ve been using for years, but I decided to “live on the edge” and try something new this morning.

I dug through some of my inherited cookbooks looking for something yummy, and I came across a little paperback cookbook (about 5” x 5” big) entitled:  ”Simply Scones” by Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright.  It’s published by St. Martin’s Press.  The title sounded promising, so I decided to give it a try.  As I paged through the book, I found a recipe for “Pistachio Fig Scones” on p. 59.  Hmmmm…

I didn’t have any pistachio’s in the house, but I L-O-V-E figs, and I’m always trying to find new uses for them (besides my usual fig preserves).  In fact, this past summer I froze some, just so I would have them around to experiment with.  How convenient!!

I decided to make a few minor changes to the recipe (surprise, surprise…) and I came up with this (see below).  They were good, but not quite sweet enough for my taste, so next time I may add a little more brown sugar.  I may also add a few more figs…just because I can!  J

At the last minute, I decided to add a powdered sugar glaze.  It turned out delicious, and was just the right touch to change these scones from “okay” to “AWESOME”!

Anyway…here’s the version I tried today.  If you have some figs, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Faithy’s Fig & Almond Scones

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. lightly packed brown sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons low-sodium baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup Smart Balance Butter Blend sticks (or butter/margarine), cut into 1/2” cubes & chilled

1/4 cup HEB Real Egg (or 1 regular egg)

2 Tablespoons skim milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped almonds (the original recipe used shelled pistachio nuts)

1/3 cup chopped, trimmed figs

Mix together flours, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in your food processor.  (You can do it by hand, but this way is much quicker and easier!)  Add the chilled butter and process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl (or measuring cup), whisk together the egg, milk, & vanilla.  Add the liquid to the food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate everything.  Add the figs and nuts and pulse a few more times just to get them evenly distributed.  (NOTE:  The mixture will be very sticky!)

Use a cookie scoop, ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup dry-measure to crop the dough onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray.  Be sure to leave several inches between each scone.  Bake at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes (or until they pass a toothpick test), then remove them to a wire rack to cool.  You can serve them just like this or with a flavored butter or glaze of your choice.

Here’s the glaze I tried (just something I made up):

--2/3 cup powdered sugar

--1 Tablespoon fig preserves

--orange juice (I prefer it with pulp for a little texture)

Just dump the powdered sugar into a small bowl or measuring cup and whisk in the fig preserves.  Then add enough orange juice to get the consistency you want.  I like a medium consistency…not too runny, but not too thick, so I can spread it easily.

Once you have it the way you like it, just brush it generously onto the hot scones and enjoy!

(The recipe said this should make six scones, but with my cookie scoop it made nine.)

Enjoy this beautiful weekend friends, and don’t forget to thank God for it!!

Blessings,

--Faithy