Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo

My 25th birthday is coming up in a few weeks and my big treat is a new KitchenAid mixer. It's currently sitting in it's box in the living room, taunting me with it's cool aqua color and shiny stainless steel. But alas, I'm not allowed to use it until it is officially my birthday, and homemade pastas are just going to have to wait until then.

What do you do when you can't make something from scratch? You cheat. One of the very rare times it's acceptable.

In this case, I cheated with frozen ravioli. I can't wait to be able to make my own but these are a perfectly good substitute. Any brand will do, round or square, pick your favorite.

I had at least half of a large can of pumpkin puree left after the donuts from last week that I hated to see go to waste so I trolled Pinterest for a savory dish to make with the leftovers. When I stumbled upon this recipe for cheese ravioli with pumpkin alfredo, I could just feel my mouth start to water.

It's the easiest thing to make and I guarantee you're going to want to eat it all fall and winter.

The recipe can be found here: www.tasteandtellblog.com/ravioli-pumpkin-alfredo-recipe/

Side note: To toast pine nuts and walnuts, preheat the oven to 375, spread them out evenly on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast for 5-10 until golden brown.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this dish. The herbs and the nutmeg come together with the pumpkin and parmesan to make a creamy, fragrant sauce that smells like fall, and the nuts add crunchy texture. It also made plenty to feed the entire family. This dish was a standout and can be tweaked easily depending on what you prefer. It's very easy but looks fancy!

Baked Buttermilk Pumpkin Donuts with Brown-Butter Maple Glaze

The blog has been on a pretty significant hiatus for the last two months or so while I studied for a major exam (which I passed Wednesday! Yay!) and I'm so excited to be back and have the time to cook again! Not to mention it's my favorite time of year and I plan to make as many pumpkin, apple, and fall-themed dishes as possible.

One of my weaknesses is donuts. I love them in all forms: glazed, cake, creme-filled etc. But who doesn't love a pumpkin donut??

I've never made donuts before but figured it couldn't possibly be too difficult. I made a trip to my local Bed, Bath, and Beyond and picked up Wilton donut pans for about $10, plus if you have one of their awesome coupons you can knock off another 20%. These are also easily found on Amazon.

The recipe I used can be found here: http://thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/11/baked-buttermilk-pumpkin-donuts/

The part I had the most trouble with is browning the butter in the microwave. On my first attempt, there was a lot of popping and scary noises so I stopped it only to find butter all over everything. My second try didn't fare much better but I managed to keep more of the butter contained. I couldn't get it to brown though and ended up just using melted butter. The glaze tasted great but I wonder if it would have had an even better color and flavor had it successfully browned. Anyone have any tips?

These donuts tasted great for several days after I made them, it took a while for them to start tasting stale. They came out very cake-like but moist and were devoured pretty quickly by everyone who came in contact with them. I've already been asked to make them again!

Tortellini Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage

It's the dead of summer and it's difficult to muster up the desire to eat a hot soup, but when your AC is cranking and the house feels like the Arctic (here's looking at you Mom), it's easy to switch gears and eat something reminiscent of winter time.

Enter Tortellini Tomato Soup with Italian Sausage. Easily one of the quickest and most delicious meals you will ever make. Seriously. You'll believe me when you get text messages at work from your family asking who's allowed to have the leftovers. Obviously Mom won that battle too.

To make this pot full of delight you will need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 32oz box vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 package cheese tortellini
1 cup fresh packed spinach

Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat in your favorite Dutch oven or large soup/stock pot. Once hot add in the onions and saute until soft. Adjust your heat accordingly.

Crumble in the Italian sausage along with the garlic and cook until you can't see any more pink.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add in the tortellini and spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes until the pasta becomes tender.

Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

This soup makes enough to last for about three days with a family of three and it can easily be doubled and even frozen. I've already gotten multiple requests to make it again from my dad, followed by a soon please. I'm happy it was such a hit!

Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Each week I'm getting better and better with running (today I hit a personal best!) and to keep the streak going I've been trying to focus on eating fairly clean. We're not going to talk about the pizza and pancake bites I had at the end of last week but a little 90/10 never hurt anyone.

Today was my first attempt at making zucchini noodles to swap for spaghetti. I was already using whole grain noodles but I love zucchini and thought if zucchini pizza crust is delicious then zucchini noodles were probably just as good. To make them you need a spiralizer, easily found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or similar stores. Add in one of their 20% off coupons and mine only cost me $12. You can't beat that.

To use the tool simply cut off the ends of your zucchini, place one end in the tool, and twist. It takes a little bit of practice to get really long strands but short ones are just as good. I used three zucchini to make about four servings, you can use more if you need to.

In place of red sauce, which can be sugary, I made a roasted red pepper sauce. You can roast your peppers in the oven but I decided to really do it up and cook them on the charcoal grill outside. Once the grill is hot you cook them for about 15 minutes, rotating them until each side gets somewhat blackened. I also tossed on a few shrimp for some extra protein, marinated in McCormick's Island Woodfire Grill Marinade, found at any grocery store.

To make your sauce, start by peeling your peppers once they've cooled; you only need two. The skin should come right off. Then clean the seeds out and cut the pepper into strips. Toss into your food processor or blender along with one tablespoon of EVOO, two ounces of goat cheese, and one teaspoon of sea salt. Blend until smooth.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add in 1/4 cup of EVOO and saute half of a minced yellow onion and two minced cloves of garlic. Once the onion has softened add in your noodles and another teaspoon of sea salt and cook until tender. Coat in the sauce and cook until sauce is heated through, then remove to a serving bowl and top with black pepper, grated Parmesan, parsley, and extra goat cheese. Yum!

Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa

I love the taste of anything grilled but it really gives a certain something special to seafood. One of my favorite grilled fish is swordfish, so earlier in the week I snagged three swordfish steaks from the seafood counter at my local grocery store to pair with a delicious and crisp mango salsa.

While your grill is firing up make your salsa.

You will need:

2 ripe mangos, peeled, cored, and diced
3 tablespoons diced red onion
Zest and juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Mix all of these ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and chill. As a side note, I had never cut up a mango before and had no idea what I was in for. I didn't realize that mangos have cores like a pineapple and almost mangled the first one. However, there are a plethora of YouTube videos that I highly encourage you to watch before you attempt this if you've never done it before. It definitely saved me from having to go back out to the store.

Once your grill is hot (ours is charcoal) season your swordfish steaks with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper and a little bit of olive oil.

Place on the grill and cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side. You may need to cook it longer depending on how hot your grill is. Because we have a charcoal grill I was a little nervous about the fish falling through the grate so we purchased an inexpensive grill basket from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It's adjustable so you can get your fish and meat as close to the grill as you want without worrying about losing it. It's also extremely easy to flip. If you have a gas grill you may not need one of these since the spaces on the grate are usually closer together.

Top your grilled fish with the mango salsa and serve! No need to heat it up, microwaved mango really does not taste that great. Trust me, I know, that was a mistake I made at work on my lunch break.

Shrimp Avocado Salad

This morning I'm continuing the clean eating trend with a shrimp avocado salad. It's the perfect light summertime meal and great to bring with me over the weekend while I work the next three nights in a row. Not to mention it's a breeze to throw together.

Start by cooking two pounds of peeled, deveined shrimp on the stove top with a little bit of olive oil. Set aside to cool.

Cut two avocados into large cubes and dice one half of a small red onion. Place the avocados and onions in a large serving bowl with the shrimp.

Now for the dressing. Mix 1/4 cup EVOO, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, one 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper in a 2 cup measuring cup.

Pour the dressing over the salad and serve! Tastes great at room temperature or cold. Shrimp pack about 24g of protein in one 3 ounce serving. Avocados provide fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid just to name a few, and EVOO provides the healthy fat. This dish is well-rounded, filling, and guilt-free! I took it to my mom for a taste test and the two of us couldn't stop dipping our forks in it.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls

It's always hard to wake myself up to reset myself for work, but it's especially difficult on a dreary, rainy Saturday when all I want to do is lay in my bed and watch movies or read a book. Since I don't have that option today I decided that I would make a healthy snack/dessert to bring with me to work for the weekend.

I've made a variation of these before with more ingredients but this time I wanted something simple. You can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter (unless you have a nut allergy in which case I'm truly sorry for you). Peanut butter oatmeal balls pack enough protein and sweetness to give you energy and carry you through until your next meal. 

You will need:

1 cup oats

1/4 cup flaxseed meal 

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or more or less depending on how chocolaty you want them to be)

Simply dump all of the above ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and roll into balls. I was able to get 12 out of this mixture, you may be able to make a few more depending on how large you make them.

Put them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and place in the fridge until they become more solid. You can also freeze these to eat later.