Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Indulgent? You betcha!

Easy? Yes! You'll wonder why you waited so long to ditch the box of mac-n-cheese.

This is one of those base recipes to be customized to most any upgrade you can dream up... like this seasonal variation!

PUMPKIN Mac & Cheese

1-2 cups Dry Pasta, cooked (My fave is Cavatappi!)
2 tablespoons Butter or Olive Oil
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1-2 teaspoons Black Pepper
(optional: Ground Nutmeg)
Fresh Rosemary leaves, finely chopped 
2/3 to 1 cup Milk (evaporated, cow or nut)
1 cup-ish grated Gruyere Cheese, (I use a simple box grater. Cheese grates easier when cold.)
2/3 cup to 1 cup of 100% Pumpkin
Bread Crumbs or Panko

• Prepare dry pasta according to package -- to al dente! While pasta cooks...
• In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
• When melted, whisk in an equal amount of all purpose flour. 
• While whisking, add your black pepper and nutmeg (my preference). Don't walk away. This could scorch quickly.
• Add milk while whisking; reduce heat to allow sauce to thicken. It's ready when it coats the back of a spoon!
• At this point, add your grated cheese and rosemary and watch the melted magic happen! Taste it! Does it need more? 
• You've just created your cheesy sauce!
• Stir a little measurement of pumpkin into your sauce. Taste it. Does it need more? If so, add it!
• Toss in your cooked pasta.
• Now, you have a choice: Serve from the skillet --OR-- Pour into a casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and bake until bubbly. 

TIPS:
(1) Try Gouda Cheese instead of the Gruyere.
(2) I don't add extra salt to the pasta or the sauce, because cheese is pretty salty.
(3) Add spices, like black pepper and nutmeg, to the flour in the skillet. Spices tend to distribute better at this point.
(4) You can cook down your own pumpkin or use 100% pumpkin from a can.

LOOK AT YOU! You're a mac-n-cheese chef! Go play with your food!

2-on-Tuesday: Pesto Pasta with Asparagus

Let's say you have company coming OR host a girlfriend gathering OR your in-laws are in town. You want to serve something special to special people!

Below is a lovely offering posted by Chung-Ah on Pinterest ever so slightly edited to reflect my taste. She has a tasty website, too, using "simple, fresh ingredients, and transforming them into sophisticated and elegant meals for the everyday home cook."



Pesto Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Asparagus

8 ozs medium-size Shell Pasta, cooked
1 lb Asparagus, prepared for cooking (click here for a quick 32 second video)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
S&P, to taste
1/2 cup Basil Pesto (see recipe below)
1/3 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained & julienned
1/3 cup Mozzarella, shredded
**optional: shrimp or chicken breast

• Asparagus can be roasted on the grill --which I did-- or in the oven. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to combine. Cook 8-12 minutes. Let cool before cutting into 1" pieces.

TIP: If using the grill, simply shape heavy foil into a cookie sheet pan. Place asparagus on foil pan on the hot grill. When asparagus is tender, but not crisp and turns bright green, slide the foil "sheet pan" onto a real cookie sheet and transfer to kitchen. If using the oven, preheat to 450 degrees. Line sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Cook using the same instructions for the grilled version.

• If you want to add shrimp, drizzle with oil, salt & pepper and grill or oven-roast until pink (apprx 8-10 minutes) on a sheet pan similar to the asparagus. Be sure to remove tails before combining with pasta. If using chicken, plan to cook for 40 minutes or until inner temp registers 170 degrees on a meat thermometer. Then, dice or serve along with pasta.
• In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, cooked asparagus, pesto, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella (and shrimp or chicken, if using).
• Serve with an Italian bread!

Basil Pesto

3/4 to 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves

2 cloves Garlic

3 tablespoons Pine Nuts

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

S&P

1/3 cup Olive Oil

• Using a food processor, process all ingredients, at once, adding more olive oil, if needed. 

You're gonna receive rave reviews and an ovation after dinner! Smile and bow graciously! ;)

2-on-Tuesday: Roasted Tomato & Cannellini Bean Pasta

When I started my mostly-plant-based journey in December 2012, I leaned heavily on the Forks Over Knives cookbook to learn the proverbial ropes of the vegetarian culinary world. It introduced me to the realization there are basically no rules to plant-based nutrition! Today's recipe is one such...beans with pasta! My mom would never have considered the pair in the same dish. And, because she would never, nor would I...EVER...until Forks Over Knives and a multitude of great blogs I follow of vegetarian and vegan everyday cooks!

If you're attempting to cut back on animal protein and cholesterol, consider beans as one of many options to get phyto-protein (plant-based protein). Being budget-conscious, I made slight edits to the online recipe due to what I was already in my pantry.

Roasted Tomato & Cannellini Bean Pasta
by Heather McDougall

1/2 lb Whole Wheat Spaghetti (I mixed both whole wheat with semolina to equal the 1/2 lb)
2 tablespoons of vegetable stock or water (this is for the technique known as dry sauté)
6-8 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 15 oz can Cannellini Beans, rinsed
2 15 oz cans Diced Roasted Tomatoes (I used plain the first time, I made the recipe. Later, I found the can of roasted tomatoes!)
S&P, to taste
**optional: Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
**optional: Nutritional Yeast "nooch"

• Prepare pasta according to directions.
• In skillet, sauté garlic in veggie stock or water carefully watching so as not to scorch the garlic.
• Stir-in tomatoes and rinsed beans simmering for 20 minutes.
• Season to taste, sprinkle with nooch & serve!

Just about one of the easiest and fastest nutritious meals to pull-off!