Great Harvest Pumpkin Bread

2 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
16 oz cooked or canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2/3 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two (9x5 inch) loaf pans or three (8x4 inch) loaf pans.

Mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.

Mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, and 2/3 cup water together and stir into dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Place batter in prepared pans.

Bake 60 or 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Skinny Sloppy Joes

Skinny Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Rachel Ray
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 7 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup or 1/4 lb • Points: 2 pts
Calories: 121.8 • Fat: 3.7 g • Protein: 13.7 g • Carb: 9.9 g • Fiber: 2.1 g 

• 1.25 lbs 93% lean ground beef sirloin
• 1 tbsp steak seasoning or seasoned salt
• 1 carrot, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
• 4 oz mushrooms, minced
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• red pepper flakes
• chili powder

Chop all the vegetables really fine, using a chopper or food processor.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pan and break it up as it cooks. Season with steak seasoning and cook the meat until it browns, then add onion, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes. Using a measuring cup, pile 1/2 cup of sloppy meat onto toasted buns.

Tortellini with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1  (9-ounce) package fresh three-cheese tortellini
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1/2  to 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2  cups  cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh basil
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Preparation

Cook tortellini according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
While tortellini cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and red pepper; sauté 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, broth, basil, salt, and baby spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until baby spinach wilts. Stir in tortellini; cook 1 minute.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

254 (26% from fat)

Fat:

7.4g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

11.6g

Carbohydrate:

34.8g

Fiber:

2.8g

Cholesterol:

24mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

395mg

Calcium:

207mg

Roasted Buttercup Squash

Roasted Buttercup Squash

Halve and clean the squash.

Slice, and brush the insides with olive oil. 

Sprinkle with course salt, cracked pepper, and a little bit of dried sage. 

Place on a lined baking sheet and roast in a preheated 425° oven, 30-45 minutes, until fork tender. 

We drizzled it with a little bit of the local honey we bought the same night and it was soooooo good.

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto [Pesto Trapenese]
Adapted from Gourmet
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
1 to 2 large garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound linguine
In a large skillet, sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend them in a food processor or blender until they are in coarse pieces. (“The size of orzo,” the original recipe suggests.) Scoop them out of the processor and set them aside.
Put the basil, garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the food processor (keeping them separate will keep them from getting too finely chopped as you get the basil and garlic to the right texture) with the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season it with freshly ground black pepper.
Cook your linguine until it is al dente and could use another minute of cooking time. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit. Add more pasta water if needed. Serve this lukewarm, or at room temperature, with a glass of wine, after you get the baby to bed.

BLACK BEAN QUINOA

BLACK BEAN QUINOA - quinoa is the SUPER GRAIN. If you don't know about it, read this

approx. 4-5 servings. You can increase the proportion as needed. I eyeball all of the measurements:For 4 cups of quinoa:boil 8 cups of water and add the quinoa. Put lid on to cook and let simmer for 12 - 15 minutes until the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 3-5 minutes to get fluffy.

While the quinoa is standing. Mix together:

1/2 can black beans

diced red roma tomatoes

1/2 can of corn

1/2 cup of chopped red onion

1/3 of a red pepper chopped

1 clove of garlic

a little parlsey and basil (if i have it)

I add this mixture to the quinoa and then add about a tablespoon of olive oil to smooth it over and a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar. s&p to taste.

This is great as a side or to make it a main dish, I double the recipe and add chicken breasts for my husband to enjoy.

WHITE BEAN SALAD

WHITE BEAN SALAD - a perfect side

approx.6 servings

1 can white beans

quartered grape tomatoes

shredded zucchini or diced cucumbers

diced bell peppers (yellow or orange add nice color)

cut up fresh mozzerella

sliced spinach

I add all of these veges and cheese in whatever proportion seems right depending on the veges I have available (just eyeball it)

then add:

2 tablespoons of sesame oil

2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

a few red pepper flakes

s&p

a dash or two of coriander

mix it up and let is sit for 10 minutes. it's a great, healthy side!