Cheesy Pumpkin Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Who loves pumpkin? I do, I do!!

I absolutely LOVE pumpkin and am always excited when I find a recipe where I can use it. I came across a version of this recipe yesterday on www.skinnytaste.com and knew I had to try it. The original recipe uses whole wheat pasta, but I'm always looking for ways to make recipes healthier so I decided to use spaghetti squash instead. I also tweaked a few other things to make it my own.

Also, if you're not the biggest pumpkin fan, you could always substitute other things for it. Next time, I may try cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup because I'm sure that would be just as yummy!!

First you want to put your spaghetti squash in the microwave for about 10 minutes to soften it. Otherwise it will be too hard to cut. Next, cut it open and scoop out the seeds and yucky stuff. Then, bake it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it is cooked enough to easily separate with a fork. You then want to use a fork to shred it like pasta and place all the spaghetti squash in a bowl.

Now you're ready to start cooking!

Ingredients

1 whole spaghetti squash

6 slices turkey bacon (cooked and crumbled)

15 oz canned pumpkin puree

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

salt and fresh pepper to taste

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

2 cups shredded cheese (I used a pizza blend that included Romano, mozzarella, Parmesan, and provolone) 

pinch of garlic powder

Directions

1. Cook the spaghetti squash and separate with a fork. Place in a separate bowl.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the canned pumpkin, chicken broth, rosemary, and turkey bacon. Stir until it is well combined and heated. 

3. Add in the spaghetti squash and stir until it is coated well with the pumpkin mixture. 

4. Add 1 cup of the cheese and continue stirring until it is melted.

5. Place the mixture in a large bakeware dish (mine was 2 quarts). Cover with the remaining cup of cheese.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

7. Enjoy it with a little garlic powder if you like!!

Calories for 1 cup: 180

I used a lot of cheese since I was saving on calories by using the spaghetti squash. However, if you cut out some of the cheese, you can make it even healthier! 

Low Calorie Paula Deen Tomato Pie

A few weeks ago while in Atlanta, my aunt made this amazing Tomato Pie. It was seriously delicious!! So, I found Paula Deen's recipe for it but decided to make a lower calorie version of it. I also substituted a white onion for her green onion because I'm not much of a green onion fan.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• a couple of basil leaves (I don't use as many as Paula)
• 1/2 white onion (chopped)
• 1 Pillsbury pie crust
• 3/4 cup grated reduced fat mozzarella
• 3/4 cup reduced fat grated cheddar
• 1 cup Miracle Whip light
• Salt and pepper

Directions

 1. Cut a cross slit in the tomatoes.

 2. Drop them in boiling water for about 30-45 seconds.

 3. Immediately put them in ice water so they will stop cooking.

 4. Peel away the outer skin of the tomato.

5. Slice them and put them in a colander so some of the juice will drain. Then pat them really, really dry with a paper towel. This is a really important step!!! If you don't get the tomatoes dry enough, your tomato layer will be very juicy and your crust will be soggy.

6.  Place the tomatoes on top of the pie crust and add some salt and pepper. (I didn't pre-bake my crust like Paula suggests and it turned out just fine.)

7. Blend together 1/2 white onion and a few Basil leaves.

8. Place onion/basil mixture over the tomatoes.

9. Mix together your cheeses and miracle whip.

10. Top the tomatoes with your miracle whip and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is brown.

 11. Enjoy your pie!!!

**Nutrition Note: The entire pie has about 1,700 calories. I sliced my pie into about 6 slices so that averages about 280 calories per slice. Not too bad for a meal!

As American as Apple Pie

Happy July 4th everybody!! 

Last night, my sister-in-law Karen hosted a cookout for our group of friends at my in-laws house. I was in charge of dessert so I decided to get a little creative and make my favorite apple pie recipe but with a few changes. I've made the same Paula Deen recipe several times, so this time I decided to start taking some creative liberties in the kitchen and it really paid off. I think this is the best one yet! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Crunch Topping Lattice Apple Pie

Ingredients

• Dough for a double crust 9-inch pie (I use Pillsbury)
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash salt
• 3 1/2 apples (peeled and chopped)
• 10 oz. applesauce 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with one roll of dough. Combine the sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Stir in apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie. For crunch topping, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown. 

I also decided to make some yummy cake balls for all the chocolate lovers at the cookout! I have a few pictures of this super, simple recipe.
Cake Balls

Ingredients

• box of cake of your choice
• can of icing
• baker's chocolate

Directions
1. Make the cake according to recipe on the box. For this recipe, I used Funfetti cake.

2. Crumble the cake and put in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the can of frosting to the crumbled cake. I used Rainbow Chip icing.

4. Form the mixture into balls. Place on wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

5. Melt several bars of baking chocolate or chocolate chips and dip the balls into the chocolate. Allow them to sit at room temperature until the chocolate hardens. Then place back into the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them.

**A few hints**
1. I used both white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate to cover these cake balls. The white chocolate was much better b/c the semi-sweet was not quite sweet enough. I personally would use milk chocolate or white chocolate in the future (unless you really like semi-sweet).
2. I didn't use toothpicks or sticks to dip the balls and they got really messy. I would definitely put some kind of stick in them to make them easier to dip.
3. Make them really small. I made mine too big and they were super rich.

Melt In Your Mouth Butter Cookies

The other day I was craving something sweet so I started scouring my cookbooks for something simple and delicious. I found a recipe that didn't require me to go to the store (always a plus) and looked wonderfully scrumptious.
I made about 40-50 of these little cookies (and it is important to make them little because they are super sweet). Kevin's response was, "Oh man, that's like the best thing you've made since we've been married." After less than 24 hours, there were only 3 cookies left so obviously they were pretty good. Ok, confession.....Kevin didn't eat them all. I probably had about 15-20 of them. I will definitely be making these again very soon.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of confectioner's sugar
• 1 cup (or more if you'd like) of chocolate chips

Directions

1. Melt butter in a microwave or double boiler; stir in vanilla. Cool completely. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; stir in butter mixture and chocolate chips (mixture will be crumbly).
2. Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. 
3. Enjoy!!

Just a Little Loaf of Bread

Ok, so anyone who knows me well knows that Martha Stewart I am not. I'm a huge advocate of microwave meals and PB&J sandwiches, but somehow being a wife has brought out the cook in me. (Or at least the attempted cook). I think it's the fact that now I have someone to cook and bake for. Before I thought, "Why in the world would I go through all that trouble just for me." But now, there is someone who can appreciate what I am trying to do in the kitchen.
With that said, last week I attempted my first loaf of freshly baked bread. All was going well until I misread the recipe and put in an extra 2/3 cup of sugar. Oops! I got frustrated and almost threw away the whole thing but then I thought, "Well I've made it this far. I should at least keep going and see how it turns out." So I did and suprisingly, it turned out really yummy. It didn't taste weird at all and it was so good that I gave two loafs away to other people.
Sister Schubert can keep her rolls. I'm making my own bread from now on. (Well, maybe not all the time. Sister Schubert does make some pretty amazing rolls!)

Fabulous Homemade Bread (www.allrecipes.com)

By J. Drury

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/2 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 cup bread flour, and yeast. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.
2. Measure oats, 4 1/2 cups warm water, whole wheat flour, salt, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 2/3 cup oil into the mixing bowl. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from the edge of the bowl. It is normal for the dough to be sticky.
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Shape loaves, and place in greased 8 x 4 inch pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rim of pans, usually 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.