How the BLEEP do you eat a pumpkin?

My CSA box came on Friday and inside was a sugar pumpkin. Thinking about my love for roasted pumpkin seeds, I was excited. The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that the rest of the pumpkin was either going to end up in the trash or as a jack-o-lantern, and that did not sit well with me. Off to the internet I went and  2 min into my research had a DUH moment. 

Basically equate the pumpkin with a butternut squash. A trick I learned a long time ago about the butternut squash is to cut off the top and bottom and then PEEL it with a potato peeler. That is exactly what I did. I decided to make pumpkin soup with it. 


Boil the pumpkin first and then puree it when soft to add to the other ingredients ...
2 tbspn of olive oil, 2 carrots, 1 granny smith apple, the pumpkin, sage leaves, 1 box of veggie broth, and some pepper. 

SAY YUM! 

Old Recipe New Twist

So a friend recently introduced me to Nutritional Yeast. It is a complete protein and also a great source of various vitamin B! It is low in fat and gluten free. It has a cheesy flavor, which makes it perfect to add to veggies - especially the kale chips that I discussed in an earlier post.

You can find nutritional yeast at Whole Foods. They sale a HUGE container of it, but they also sale it in the bulk section where you purchase it by the weight so you can get just a cup or two at a time.

Give it a try - I am sure you will love it!

Brussel Sprout Chips

Say What?.. Yes Brussel Sprout Chips!
Cut those little things into slim litle pieces, pull of as many loose leaves as possible, put just a little olive oil and salt on them and cook at 375 for about 10-15 min. Then enjoy the crunch!

Quinoa Chili

Replace your usual chili recipe meat with Quinoa instead or do this simple recipe... 

Cook 1 cup quinoa and then add 
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
jalapeno peppers to taste 
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cans organic diced tomatoes
1 can organic black bean 
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
black pepper to taste

Easy Pizza

So Wednesday for us is Pizza Wednesday. I have made dough myself but it never comes out quite right. I found Trader Joe's wheat pizza dough and started having the hubby pick it up on his way home.

Roll out your TJ pizza dough (costs 1.49 at my location) and make sure to put plenty of flour on the dough because it will stick.

Add Classico Organic Pasta Sauce (the only jarred sauce that I am willing to eat)

Add minced garlic, herbs and veggies from my garden (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, green bell peppers and spinach), and add broccoli.

Add your favorite cheese of course --we like ours in moderation

Bake for about 15 min at 400 degrees and BAM you just made a low cost and great tasting pizza at home.

It does come out better if you use a rolling pin and a pizza pan, but I have made it without those.

Tastes like a Garden

I hate jarred pasta sauces. The only one that comes close to edible in my opinion is the Organic Classico. I prefer to make my own. Super easy and super good for you! I get these ingredients from my garden so that it is particularly fresh.

2 zucchini
4 large tomatoes or 1 pint of little tomatoes or equivalent (I have used 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, pepper, and olive oil to taste ( I use about 20 leaves of oregano, 20 leaves of thyme, 20 leaves of rosemary, and 20 leaves of basil) 1 tbspn minced garlic, 1 tspn pepper, and 1/4 cup of olive oil).
I often add spinach and other veggies to this as well.

Put in blender or food processor and blend! I have a vitamix, so I blend on variable 10 for about 20 seconds.

I typically use this with the Barilla Plus Spaghetti (cooked), put in pan, mix in sauce, add cheese as desired and bake on 375 for about 15-20 min.

Stir Fried Quinoa

Nom... nom... nom. I love this one. It makes me happy in the inside and it is super healthy!
Quinoa is a protein packed seed that has the nutrition of a multi-vitamin and that is high in protein.
You can find it usually in the rice and beans section of your store.

The best part of quinoa is that you can cook it in a rice cooker! It is about 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. Since I cook for the entire week's lunch, I do 2 cups quinoa and 3.5 cups water (that is all my cooker can fit)  in my rice cooker. In about 45 min it is done.

You can use whatever veggies you want, but this is what was in my fridge this week.

Saute 5 carrots, garlic and pepper to taste, and a bunch of green onions (the white and green parts) for about 5 min.
Add 1/2 a cauliflower and a bunch of broccoli to the mix and saute about 5 more min.
Add 4 large handfuls of swiss chard and a bell pepper and cook about 5 min.
Add in the cooked quinoa, 5 tbspns of Low sodium Soy Sauce, and 5 tbspns of Sesame Seed Oil.
Add in 4 tbspn of butter (of Olive Oil to keep vegan)

You can obviously make less, but like I said I cook our lunch for the week so I make 10 servings of this stuff at a time. Hubby, Baby Joy, and I love this! It is also a crowd pleaser.

Say Yum !