Pumpkin Cream Pasta

You guessed it: another Pumpkin recipe. I promise this will all be over at least by Thanksgiving. I still have a few more things I want to try, but I won't get too crazy on you. As I mentioned in the last post, this idea came from my Dad talking about some Pumpkin pasta he had at some restaurant. I googled recipes, found one, and kind of went from there. Pumpkin is a great addition to any basic alfredo, it makes it a little thicker, creamier, and gives it a kind of sweet taste. I thought it turned out REALLY well... and I will definitely be making it again in the future!!!

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta of your choice (I used whole wheat fettuccine)
Olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb boneless skinless chicken (breasts/tenderloins)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
Salt/Pepper to taste
Shredded Parmesean Cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package. Meanwhile, melt butter and coat chopped pecans. Spread on baking sheet and broil for only a few minutes. Keep a close eye on them so they do not burn! After a minute or two take them out and toss them, then put back in.


Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and heat on medium-high heat until it gets a little bubbly, then add garlic and cook for another two minutes. Cut chicken into bite size chunks and add to garlic/oil. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through (around 8-10 minutes).


In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, chicken broth, whipping cream, sage, and about a teaspoon of salt. Pour into the pan with the chicken. Continue to cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes until heated through, then add the pasta to the mixture.


Before service, sprinkle with pecans and parmesean cheese if desired.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

I saw a recipe the other day on the How Sweet It Is blog for pumpkin waffles, and I originally wanted to try those. However, I wanted to cook for my roommate and another friend, and when cooking for more than one person waffles can take a bit... so I switched to pancakes!

The original recipe was taken from PinchMySalt.com, but the one here has a few little tweaks I made to it. I think they turned out wonderful! Whole wheat pancakes also tend to be a little thicker and in turn hold shape really nicely.

Ingredients

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (Half of small can)
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
1 tablespoon Vanilla
4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the first eight dry ingredients. In a separate (can be smaller) bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

2. Stir wet ingredients into dry mixture, and blend until combined with large lumps broken up. If batter is too thick, you can stir in a little more milk.



3. Melt a tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat on a skillet/griddle, and then drop pancakes by 1/3 cup into skillet. Cook until pancakes start to get a little bubbly and then flip. Repeat buttering before doing a second round.



4. Serve and enjoy! I drizzled a tiny bit of Caramel on top of the pancakes before adding syrup, and they were absolutely delicious!

Next up I'm hoping to have a pumpkin pasta inspired by my dad, who informed me he had some amazing Pumpkin-cream filled pasta at a restaurant tonight. I would have never thought of that, but I looked up a couple of recipes, and I think it may turn out pretty well. Tune in this weekend for results!!! ;-)

APPLE JACKS!

"Recipe" courtesy of the Wanhainen clan. This is the perfect (alcoholic) fall drink. If you don't have a crock pot, you can always just heat the cider up in the microwave like you would for hot chocolate or tea, and then add the ingredients!

Ingredients
Cider
Cinnamon (Sprinkled for one cup, about a tablespoon or more for a crock pot)
Nutmeg (Just a dash for a cup, or a little more for a crock pot)
Jack Daniels

Heat cider and spices in a crock pot until warm/hot. Laddle into mugs and add Jack Daniels to your preferences. (Another friend also really likes this with Southern Comfort, and that's a little bit sweeter and also really good!)

ENJOY (Responsibly)!