Comments Off on Pumpkin Foodie: Pumpkin & Pasta

Pumpkin Foodie: Pumpkin & Pasta

Category : Healthy Eating

Ingredients
1/2 small sugar pumpkin
4 T extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
1/2 t salt
2 T honey
1/2 lb. whole grain pasta
2 t minced garlic
2 minced anchovies (optional…we skipped these)
1/2 C  finely chopped walnuts
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1) Peel half of a small sugar pumpkin and cut into 1-inch chunks.  (about 4 cups) Toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt & honey. Roast on a baking sheet at 425 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. When done cooking, drain but reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.
3) When pumpkin is done is cooking, heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add minced garlic, cook about 1 minutes (until garlic is softening) then add walnuts and pumpkin. Stir to combine without smashing pumpkin chunks.
4) Combine pasta with 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with more olive oil.
5) Transfer to bowl and toss with pumpkin mixture. Serve!

Nutritional info(serves 4):
521 calories
5 g saturated fate
21 g unsaturated fat
61 carb
16 g protein (that would be with the anchovies, mind you)
7 g fiber  

Comments Off on Friday Foodie: 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Friday Foodie: 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Category : Healthy Eating

Two things attracted us to this recipe:

  1. 15 minutes…we love any dinner item that takes only 15 minutes!
  2. Avocado…we love avocado (although it’s really hard to spell!)

We want to give credit where credit is due, so the source of this recipe is  www.ohsheglows.com

Bowtie pasta with creamy avocado sauce

Bowtie pasta with creamy avocado sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish (use caution, it is easy to make this too tart)
  • 1-3 garlic cloves, to taste (we used 3 b/c we love garlic, but if you’re not a big fan use less)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
  • ~1/4 cup Fresh Basil
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta (We like Barilla brand pasta in the yellow box)
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice (be careful with the lemon juice…you can always add more, but you can’t take it out…the first time we made this it was WAY TOO TART), and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. Ryan says next time he would omit the olive oil and just blend up the other sauce ingredients.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.