Pumpkin Penne

It's almost time to pick Danny up at school. Tonight, we have a parent/teacher interview with his teacher just before dinner, so I am preparing what I can now so when we get back, it will be a short wait to get to the table. I have the salad made, the table set and all my ingredients out and ready to go.

You may recall in the last post that I made pumpkin puree out of our Jack-o-lanterns. Tonight we are including that in dinner. I had 3 carved pumpkins this year, (two were quite small) which gave me about 3 1/2 cups of puree. What I don't use tonight, I will place in freezer bags and freeze them for a later purpose. Lay them flat in the freezer so they will thaw faster later.


My shortcut tip for today is about bacon - and who doesn't love bacon. I started doing this at Christmas time, because our tradition is that everyone comes to our house for brunch on Christmas Morning. I would precook the bacon a few days before and place in the fridge. I reheat it in the microwave for brunch. Now, I can take it a little bit further and put it in the freezer. I placed pieces of wax paper between each layer (about 6 pieces) of bacon. This is along the same lines as the precooked bacon you can buy in the store, but at a fraction of the price. With my container of cooked bacon in the freezer, I can take out what I need for a recipe or a quick breakfast. Just reheat it in the microwave for about 1 minutes. (Depends on the microwave)

So, what's for dinner?



Tonight's dinner is brought to us by Rachael Ray can be found in her Yum-O Cookbook and foodnetwork.com

Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/penne-wise-pumpkin-pasta-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound whole-wheat penne
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, grated
2 cups chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
2 pinches ground cinnamon
Salt and black pepper
7 to 8 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced plus more, for garnish
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions
Heat water for pasta, salt it and cook penne to al dente.
Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic to the pan, saute 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock and combine with pumpkin, stir in cream then season sauce with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 to 6 minutes more to thicken. Stir in sage, toss with pasta with grated cheese, to taste.

As a note, when using the fresh pumpkin puree, you may require less chicken stock. The fresh stuff has a lot more liquid in it.

This is the first time I'm attempting this, but expect great things. But what will make it so great? Why not sprinkle some of that chopped bacon on the top? Now that's YUM-O.

Pumpkin Pasta: It's easy, delicious and inexpensive. It's a dinner trifecta!

Waste Not Want Not

Yesterday was Halloween and as a mother of 2 youngsters prepared to walk the neighbourhood streets to collect candy from strangers. Quite an odd tradition if you ask me. Nonetheless, we survived the October prairie evening which was unseasonably warm. A far cry from the snow and sleet we usually get on Halloween.

For dinner, I planned something I could make earlier in the day (or could be night before, for those working folks). I made something I call "Taco Pie". Which is a baked crescent roll crust with seasoned ground chicken and cheese, baked and topped with lettuce, tomatoes and hot sauce. A favourite in our house.

Now, if you're like me, you hate to waste things. So what to do with that Jack-o-lantern? If it hasn't been carved for too long, it is perfectly edible! Don't waste it. Use it for your pies, cakes and breads. Ther is lots of fibre and antioxidants in pumpkin.

Pumpkin Puree

1. Cut the pumkpin into big chunks. Trim any part that was exposed to air for a long period of time. (like where the scary face was)

2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place pumkpin on the baking sheet and place another sheet of foil on top.

3. Bake at 325 for 45 - 60 minutes, until fresh of the pumpkin in soft.

4. Remove the fresh from the skin of the pumpkin and mash with a fork, or place in a food processor.

5. Drain excess liquid. Keep in the fridge (in a resealable container) or in the freezer.

I've tried a few different ways in the past, but this was the easiest and least messy.

Of course, you can roast the pumpkin seeds as well. Rinse them first and let them dry for at least 24 hours. Drizzle with a little oil and whatever seasoning you like. (We like chipotle) Bake at 350F until done (maybe 20 minutes or so)

The lesson in this week's mealplan is about cost. This is the next consideration when making a mealplan, at least for me. Look at the store flyers to check out any sales and match with any coupons I may have. I go to the freezer to see what I already have.

So this week, we have Halloween, football practice, football games and swimming lessons. I have the turkey meatballs in the freezer I made last week, and I have a fresh batch of pumpkin puree.

So, what's for dinner tonight?

Slow Cooker turkey meatballs

This is like Thanksgiving dinner with out the fuss, and the good china. I made the meatballs last week when the ground turkey was on sale and place them in the slow cooker with carrots, onion, and potatoes. Add a packet of turkey gravy and some chicken broth and let it go. Half an hour before serving add some green peas. That's it.