Fall Treats: Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Have you ever heard something really weird and thought, "Oh my. That would be my new favorite thing."
This happens to me a lot. Like steamed broccoli and mustard (which was my aunt's idea, but she was pregnant so it made way more sense.)
Sometimes I really, really hope I have the most insane pregnancy cravings just so I can have the most absurd foods for 9 months straight.

I almost always love trying new things. Especially when it comes to food. (I added the almost always as a disclaimer, in case any of you weirdos try to get me to try something gross).
One time I made blueberry chicken just for the heck of it. Because honestly, all we had in the freezer was chicken, and blueberries. And so I figured, heya. Let's make this work.
I still really want to try mint blueberry chicken, but the weird look that my husband gave me when I first said "blueberry chicken" intensifies x10 when I add the "mint". So maybe that experiment will have to be when he's gone for a weekend or something.

What this all boils down to is that I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Mac and Cheese, and my mouth started to water. It's like I can taste the possibilities, despite the flavor gamble.
We just went over for a double date with some friends, and she had made pumpkin turkey chili, which was also incredibly delicious. The truth is, pumpkin is not just for pumpkin pie. It has so much potential.

The original recipe is here, on Spook Fork Bacon's blog.
As far as I can tell, it's a blog that I need to get better acquainted with.

If that picture doesn't help you to "taste the possibilities" I don't know what will.

My pictures are not so fancy -- I'm definitely not a food blogger. I don't even know what kind of blogger I am!

Pumpkin, Thyme Mac and Cheese
Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1 lb dry fusilli pasta (can substitute elbow macaroni)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons minced thyme **I only used 1 tablespoon and it was plenty
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice **I used lime
2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 ounces smoked gouda, shredded
1 ounce white extra sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
garnish:
lightly toasted/buttered panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Place milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium saucepan and stir together. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil add a generous amount of salt (2½ – 3 tablespoons) and then the pasta.

3. Boil pasta for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta and set aside.

4. Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk together. Allow mixture to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in thyme.

5. Whisk pumpkin-milk mixture into flour mixture and continue to whisk until fully incorporated. Allow mixture to simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Place shredded cheese into a mixing bowl and toss together with lemon (lime) juice.

7. Stir cheese into the béchamel sauce and stir until cheese just melts. Season with salt and pepper. 

Reduce heat to low and gently stir pasta into the sauce, ½ cup at a time until all of the pasta has been added and is fully coasted in sauce. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately.

I topped ours with the buttered bread crumbs, and extra grated cheese for good measure!

My two cents:

1. Do not use all the thyme. The flavor was plentiful as it was. I would add 3/4 to 1 tablespoon, and then sprinkle more on top if you feel like it needs a bit more. It's always better to have too little than too much! It's an easier fix.

2. Grate all of your cheese ahead of time, before you start cooking the sauce. If you're like me, you get to the cheese portion, and frantically start grating as everything begins to boil over. To make cooking a breeze, grate first the cheese. New motto.

3. Serve it with a side salad or vegetables or something. It's very, very rich and filling, so I would start with a small bowl and a side and save the rest for leftovers!

I hope you try this, because it's a new favorite of both of us. We decided last night that it would be a Fall tradition!
And we have 3 lunches worth of leftovers! So I think I'll go have mine now, because my mouth is watering.

In love,
Cait

Top Recipes of January

Due to the continued onslaught of great recipes that can be found for FREE online, (not to mention the fabulous online resource, Pinterest), I have hardly touched my cookbooks. Which is probably a bad thing -- I need to go old school, and get familiar with some real paper recipes!
But, today is not that day. Today is a recap of all of the online recipe experimentations that took place in our home throughout January!

This first one is a recipe I gathered on Pinterest! If you'd like, you can hop on over to my Pinterest boards by clicking here.
I have recently taken to "surprising" my husband with dinner, because oftentimes, his response to my experimental suggestions is "uhhhh...are you sure about that?" or maybe just a very hesitant, disapproving look. When I offered to make a quiche dish for dinner, I can tell you, he did everything in his power to dissuade me!
But as always, I simply respond, "Have I ever failed you yet?"

Quich a la Parm

(Parmesan Quiche)

Find the original recipe here, at the naptimechef.com!
My version will include a couple of my own ingredients.

For the Crust:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened.
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 cup ice water
A-lotta salt (as much as you desire!)

For the Filling

3 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 medium-sized potato, chopped.
1 c. (as much as you want) of corn (I used frozen)
1 carrot, chopped
1 handful of freshly chopped basil

A-lotta salt & pepper!
 
DIRECTIONS:

1. For the crust, add all the ingredients to a food processor
(I don't have a food processor, so naturally, I just mixed it all up until it became a crumbly mess and squashed it together into the pie pan, forcing it to do my bidding) until a dough forms. Roll it out to 9" in diameter and press (smash/squash/force) into a pie plate.

1. For the Quiche: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese in a bowl, then set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, add the onion, potatoes, corn, carrots, and basil. Cook until the onion is soft. Add to egg mixture.

3. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste, then pour the egg mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and the quiche is totally set.

YUM!

Another successful parmesan cheese-centered recipe.

The great thing about this, is that you can pretty much make it whatever you'd like to. Adding different veggies and seasonings based on what you already have lying around makes for a unique experience every meal! (And not having to have a pre-made, store-bought crust is a bonus! Cause who has those lying around??)

The next recipe was mainly created because I had a pre-made, store-bought crust lying around. :)

Mozarella Pie

(Yummy Pizza Pockets)

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust

Marinara/Pasta Sauce

Leftover Meatbals and/or Sausage

Mozarella Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Roll out your pie crust (it's best to leave it out on the counter for a little while, so it will be easy to handle and not cold enough to break).

Cut your crust into four pieces, then smother with red sauce and add your fixin's (sausage and/or veggies, etc.), and sprinkle with copious amounts of shredded cheese.

 

Then, take your little pockets of sunshine and fold them together, using a fork (if you'd like) to press the sides together so they look nice and cute.

Bake them at about 375ºF, keeping an eye on them until they get a nice and toasty golden brown.

This was a perfect little meal, served with veggies and/or salad on the side. We were both a little shocked how delicious a pie crust could be, in this context. While it's not dessert, it still worked like a charm!

Pear and Ricotta on da Grill

Grilled Cheese gone Fruity

I'm going to preface this recipe with the fact that it wasn't my favorite meal ever.

BUT -- what I liked a lot about it was the mind-blowing realization that grilled cheese doesn't have to be wheat/white bread with cheddar/Kraft singles.

I saw this pin on Pinterest, and it was like a mental bomb went off. Must. Try. New. Grilled. CHEESES!

Luckily for me, I happened to have Ricotta cheese, honey, and pears in my refrigerator. While some of the other options sound much more tasty to me (namely the Jalapeno), I opted to use what I already had. 

Here was my step-by-step experience:



Thinly sliced



Asian Pear





Put on da bread



Spread with Ricotta



Doused with honey



Grilled and Eaten

I made Dusty a regular, old-fashioned grilled cheese, and we both had a bowl of tomato soup on the side.

Needless to say, my little sandwich was much healthier than his! It was light and pretty good, although I'm convinced I could come up with something else to add that might zing it up a little.

And last but NOT least, I made the most incredibly stellar chicken last night.

Of course, I didn't take any pictures and don't remember anything about how I made it.

No but really -- here's the gyst of it, and I'm begging you all to try it.

Brosugamozarellarlic Chicken

Chicken made with Brown Sugar, Garlic, and Mozarella

Ingredients:

1 Frozen Chicken Breast, thawed

1 half yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, or a copious amount of garlic powder/salt

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. brown sugar

Mozarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (I know, that's a lot!)

2. Take thawed chicken breast and chop into thick chunks, big enough to stuff with mozarella cheese!

3. Slice small openings into your chicken slices, and cut up pieces of mozarella cheese to stuff them with.

4. For the sauce: in a small skillet, heat up the olive oil and add your garlic (whether cloves or powder/salt), and your onion, letting it heat up for a while until the onions begin to sizzle and soften. Then add your brown sugar, to create your glaze!

5. Line up your mozarella-stuffed chicken pieces in a casserole dish (since I only did one chicken breast for the two of us, I used my glass pie pan...), then cover with the glaze!

6. Bake the concoction for 15-30 minutes, keeping an eye on it until it gets nice and bubbly, and the glazed chicken begins to brown.

This truly is my absolute favorite Chicken that I've ever made. I couldn't believe how good it was. It may even top the jalapeno cream cheese stuffed chicken. It's a toss up!

The flavors were incredible, and it was so easy to make.

I hope you've enjoyed looking through some of our kitchen experiences from January.

I'm getting better at the whole cooking thing, and I'm finding that it's way more fun than I ever thought possible. The eating out has really diminished, and we've both gotten good at really disciplining ourselves to utilize our leftovers and not go grocery shopping every other day!

Happy February, all :)

In love,

Cait

italiano! (bring on the meatballs!)

Mmm, mmm, good. Vegetarians, look away!

Since getting back from Christmas break, we've been slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things. We didn't have very long to do that, though!
I had to bounce right back into work upon arrival, and Dusty started his one-week intensive session the following Monday.


One of the best parts of being back has been recipe searching, and meal planning. And the first week we were back, it was time for meatballs!

I found a great recipe. Given that I had just seen that my sister-in-law had made some homemade meatballs, this recipe came along just at the right time! I was craving a pasta night. :)
HEALTH ALERT:
These meatballs contain flaxseed, which has high levels of dietary fiber and is great for all-around health!
While some flaxseed recipes are no good, we both really enjoyed these little guys!

I found the original recipe online, at momlogic.com :)

Beefaball a la Parm
(parmesan meatballs!)

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey (we used BEEF!)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

2 egg whites

1/2 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried parsley (we used fresh)

½ tsp. dried basil

A pinch of salt

1 tbsp. olive or canola oil

Directions:
(easy peasy!)

1. Mix all ingredients together with your hands.

2. Roll into 1 1/2inch balls.

3. Heat 1T oil in large skillet. Add meatballs and brown on all sides.

 

 

4. Add desired sauce to pan, homemade or otherwise!



5. Cook about 20 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink on the inside.

6. Serve over cooked pasta! (we used bowtie, which is my favorite!)



Little known fact: I used to eat uncooked pasta all the time! Yum.

 7. Enjoy!

The flavors of this really come together nicely, especially the parmesan within the meatballs. We cut the meatballs in half, and melty parmesan was there to greet us. It was delish!

EFFICIENCY ALERT:

Realizing we had many leftover meatballs, we decided to make some pita pizzas!

Pita Pita Pumpkin Eata

(Pita Meatball Pizzas!)

Ingredients:

-Pita Bread
-Desired sauce (marinara, yum!)
-Parmesan cheese
-Mozarella cheese (shredded)
-Leftover meatballs (chopped up!)
-Fresh parsley
-Fresh ground pepper

-Whatever-you-want, and lots of it!

Directions:

Take pita bread, (ours came pre-sliced in halves), and smother with sauce, cheese, veggies, meatballs, cheese, pepper, cheese, and so on and so forth.
Have a pizza-topping-riot.

Put mini pizzas on a baking sheet, and stick in the oven for as long as you want. :)
We threw 'em in there at around 375 or so.

Since none of our ingredients were raw, we just kept an eye on them until they were bubbly and delicious!

I have SUCH a great helper! :)



YUM!

Be creative with your leftovers.

And now that we have all this cheese, be looking forward to many more parmesan/mozarella themed dinners :)



In love,

Cait

birthday month.

Hi ya'll!

Ooooh, it's birthday month. Yes, yes! Be prepared for a hefty blog post.

I have always loved birthdays. Especially my own. I am so thrilled that I married such a fun man, who loves to hype up my birthday as much as I do!

My mom flew out last week, and then my in-laws flew out a few days later! It has been the most amazing week. To begin the week, mom and I traveled to North Carolina to meet up with some Georgian friends of ours on Sunday, which was a blast. We ate at a Cajun restaurant called Razoo's, stayed in a comfy hotel, and had such a wonderful time catching up and seeing Sarah's brand new bundle of joy, Brooklyn. Such precious memories. One of the blessings of being on the east coast for once!





The next few days were SO fun. My mom bought me a sewing machine for my birthday, and we ran around town buying fabric scraps, thread, and Fall decorations for my apartment. So far I have cut and re-hemmed a tablecloth that was too big for our table, and used the excess for a bench pillow, (our "bench" is actually a little shelf/side table that mom found at DAV Thrift, that holds my sewing supplies in it) and made an apron from some adorable remnant material! All with mom's help, of course. Our apartment now smells like Pumpkin and looks like it, too!



We have the best wreath in our entire apartment complex, and the best little pumpkin to greet us as we come home. I can't tell you enough how thrilling it has been to see the leaves turn. Each day it seems there are more trees joining in the red, yellow and orange parade.

The only regret I have for the week is that I had to work. But mom spoiled me, and the two of us had pumpkin spice lattes every day of her visit. It was so delightful. She brought Dusty and I lunch Monday and Tuesday, and we ate together outside in the beautiful weather! It was a nice break for Dusty, studying hard for midterms that week. The three of us went to Dickey's on Monday night, and Red Lobster on Tuesday night with the O'Callaghans, which was such a treat!

The day of my birthday dawned sunny and beautiful, although poor Dusty had his midterms to dread throughout the day. However, our celebration that evening shot us to brilliant, stress-free and obesitous happiness.



We had made reservations to The Crown for that evening. It has been quite a while since I have dined so finely. It is a local treasure of Lynchburg, we now know firsthand. Tasty and pricey, the food is exquisite.

Our appetizers included the salad bar, a delectable crab cake, buttery crab bisque served in a bread bowl, and the most delicious brie, served in a puffy pastry and drizzled in honey.



We were already in heaven, and our ribeye and filet mignon entrees hadn't even arrived yet. Mom and I's baked sweet potatoes were like a slice of pie, with the cinnamon honey butter they include on the side.



We were all so stuffed, the fullest we've ever been. Since it was my birthday, they brought a small platter of delicious treats. Some amazing macaroons, and the most awesome chocolate truffle things. They had GLITTER on them! It was the best!



They also gave me a free wine sauce parfait for dessert, complete with a single birthday candle. Mom got a lemon cake, and Dusty (of course) got the chocolate volcano dessert. The wine sauce parfait was SO delicious. I don't like wine, but this ice cream covered with sweet red wine sauce...I was so into it.

Even when mom knocked my spoon into my lap, dripping with the red sauce, I was still so into it. Then later, when she knocked the entire parfait into my lap, covering my dress in red wine sauce, I picked up the rest and was still, SO into it. Hahaha! I still can't stop laughing every time I think about it! It was just about the funniest thing that's ever happened to both of us, I'm sure of it. I thought they were going to come over and tell us giggling idiots that we were unfit for this nice of a restaurant. I was all but squealing in laughter. It must have been the wine sauce.



As his birthday gift to me, Dusty has prepared a whole trip for us -- which will be taking place in November! I cannot WAIT. We will be going to Connecticut for a couple nights, to see our friend Lauren, and to go into New York to see the Broadway show "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Starring Daniel Radcliffe!! We are both so excited, and it's going to be so fun to have something so awesome to look forward to for the first few days of Thanksgiving week!

Dusty's parents arrived the next day, and I made dinner for us all! I prepared my famous (or so I'd like to think) jalapeno cream cheese chicken. Dusty has been bragging on me, so his parents really wanted to try it. Unfortunately for us all, (especially my mom), the amount of jalapenos MIGHT have been a little overboard :) but it was still delicious, and we had a great time eating together. My first experience preparing a meal for more than just Dusty and I here in lynchburg, and with our new table bench, we could all sit around our little table together! It was a great night.



Mom was all set to leave the next evening, but as she spent the afternoon with me at work before Dusty came to pick us up for the airport, she got a call that her flight had been canceled! Needless to say, I was a pretty happy camper. We had another amazing night together, the five of us eating at the Hibachi grill (a huge buffet, basically a Golden Corral with an asian twist) and mom and I spending some sewing time together, which produced my first homemade apron! (Coming to a Posies by Cait shop near you). I'm so glad she got to stay.



We woke up bright and early Saturday morning to take mom to the airport, and said our farewells. I wish she was still here! The rest of us had a loooong day of history and touristy adventures :)

We went to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was a really cool experience. He was such an amazing man! Rhonda bought Dusty and I a magnet of Jefferson's 10 rules. :) it has already begun to reformulate my lifestyle! He was a brilliant man, and it was incredible to see his home, his gadgets, and the evidence of his life and contribution to our history.



We then went to Appomattox, to see where Lee and Grant came to terms for the end of the war. It's amazing to walk on the same ground as some of these historical figures. Despite the many hours of driving ( a few too many, even though Dusty said he was going a faster route... :) ) it was a wonderful day, and we saw some really amazing things! We were pooped by the end of it all. We ate that night at Shaker's, which was lovely, and got in our pj's at home and watched three episodes of Boy Meets World. :)



Sunday we went to the early service at our church, and were really excited to get to show Paul and Rhonda our church home. They really enjoyed it. Our church was hosting the Children of the World, from World Help. Children from Uganda, Nepal, and the Philippines who are apart of their sponsorship program, and tour the world by dancing and singing about Jesus. It was amazing.

http://www.worldhelp.net/cotw.aspx

We made tacos for lunch, and Rhonda helped me learn a little bit about my new pressure cooker, a birthday present from my dad! We made chicken for lunches this week. I can't believe how easy and amazing it is! I can't wait to start using it. I never thought I'd love cooking this much. And my sewing machine? Pretty much the most incredible machine I've ever owned. I think I'm going to be addicted. Oh, the possibilities!

And ALSO -- big news -- Rhonda and I went shopping at the mall here in Lynchburg. It was my FIRST TIME. That's right!! My FIRST shopping trip since moving to Virginia. It was wonderful. The mall is small, (only one story) but clean and charming, I suppose -- and has all the necessary stores. We hit up New York & Company and got some awesome deals on new work clothes for me, I was in dire need of some black slacks! I'm so excited about my new clothes :) I got the most killer black boots at a shoe outlet they have there...I'm in love. After the mall we also went down to Old Navy, where I got a few more amazing steals...including a dress for $4.18. That kinda bargain would make my mom proud! All in all, it was an afternoon that I had been craving. I hadn't realized how badly! It was some great girl time for Rhonda and I.

Dinner that night was a return to Dickey's. A favorite of ours -- always a great meal! We got back into our pj's at home, and watched Something Borrowed...a birthday gift from my friend Lauren :)

It's been such a wonderful week. Even though this next stretch will be even more difficult then the last, spanning the next 10 weeks, and including Thanksgiving, I know that it will be all the more wonderful to return home in December and enjoy our family -- and truly, our experiences here continue to be more and more precious. Virginia is for lovers, after all. Why? I'm not sure. But I think it's true.

In love,

Cait

P.S. Happy Fall to all :)