Pumpkin Gnocchi with Butter Thyme Sauce

Recipe from the Colorado Colore A Palate of Tastes by the Junior League of Denver:

Pumpkin Gnocchi:
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
2 T. butter
1 1/4 cups flour
1 egg lightly beaten
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

For the gnocchi, combine the pumpkin and butter in a saucepan.  Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from the heat.  Add the flour, egg, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt and pepper gradually, stirring constantly until a soft dough forms.  (note- I had to add more flour to get a true dough consistency)

Roll small batches of dough into long snake shapes (see picture) and then cut into individual gnocchi pieces.  Cut all the dough.  Bring the broth to a boil in a large stockpot.  Drop the gnocchi 12 at a time into the boiling broth.  Boil until they rise to the surface.  Remove the gnocchi to a bowl using a slotted spoon.  Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Butter Thyme Sauce
1/3 cup butter
2 T. chopped fresh thyme
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

For the sauce, combine the butter and chopped thyme in a small saucepan.  Simmer over low heat for 2 min, stirring frequently.

To serve, spoon the sauce over the gnocchi in a serving bowl.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with a sprig of thyme.

Caramel Apple Dip

A quick and easy dip for those crisp fall apples!

8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. caramel extract - I use Watkins  (link)
1 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. 

Bacon Ravioli with Mushrooms

For those of you who know me, I crave time in my kitchen when life gets crazy.  I can think clearer when I am cooking/baking.  I knew this recipe would be a bit of challenge and take some serious time.  In all honesty - this recipe took FOREVER! Now if only I could snap my fingers and all of the dirty dishes would disappear.... 

Just to let you know, I have kitchen disasters too - the first time I made the pasta for this recipe it was the consistency of a hockey puck.  It would not even go through a pasta roller, so I had to start all over!

When it was all said and done, the raviolis were amazing and I felt better after spending several in the kitchen. 

If you crave serious time in the kitchen and are up for the challenge...
Here is a link to the recipe - click here

Pumpkin White Chocolate Bars

I love pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cream cheese, even roasted pumpkin seeds.  It is October, the leaves are changing and that means pumpkin candles burning in my house and LOTS of cooking with pumpkin!  These pumpkin bars are simply scrumptious! 

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs - mixandmatchmama - click here for her post

Recipe:

1 box white cake mix

4 eggs, divided

16 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups white chocolate chips, divided

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 8 tablespoons butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. This will be your "crust". Sprinkle one cup of white chocolate chips over the crust.

 

To make the topping: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the remaining 3 eggs, vanilla, and the other 8 tablespoons butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice and mix well. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of white chocolate chips. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake "crust" and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Apple BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I love walking into my house at the end of a long work day and smelling the delicious aroma of something wonderful in my slow cooker! 

This was super easy and tasted wonderful!  Just apple juice, BBQ sauce and chicken in the slow cooker.  I sauteed some onions and used whole wheat dinner rolls for slider size sandwiches.  Here is a link to the full recipe click here

Pizzettes

I decided to use some leftover pizza dough for pizzettes.  Based on the ingredients I found in my fridge I made two different pizzettes:

1. Caramelized onion, goat cheese and prosciutto (left in picture)
Here is a link to the recipe click here.  I already had caramelized onions so I just stacked the onions, goat cheese and prosciutto on top.

2. Buffalo chicken (right in picture)
I had some leftover buffalo chicken dip and YUM it made a great pizzette.  Here is a recipe for buffalo chicken dip click here.  I drizzled a little blue cheese dressing on top.

I cut my pizzettes about 3 inches round by using a water glass to cut the rolled dough.  Pizzettes can be a great way to use leftovers!

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Quiche

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon shallot, finely chopped
1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled and seeded, cut into ¼ inch strips
4 ounces aged goat cheese or feta, crumbled
1 cup half and half
4 large eggs
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

1 pie crust 

Melt the butter in a medium pan. Add the shallot and sauté until translucent. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and half and half together with the salt and pepper (the cheese will be salty, so you won’t need much salt). Stir in the crumbled cheese, bell pepper strips and shallot.

Preheat oven to 350F. On a floured work surface, roll the pie pastry into a large circle, about ¼ inch thick. Drape the pie pastry over a 9-inch tart pan with the pie crust, making sure it is evenly distributed. Line the inside of the crust with crumbled wax paper or parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Place in oven and bake about 10-12 minutes or until partially done. (It won’t be brown at this point). Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Pour the filling into the crust. Bake for about 45 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the quiche will be firm to the touch. Remove and allow to stand until set, about 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

 

I found the original recipe on a different blog and decided that I didn't have time to make the homemade pie crust.  Here is the link to where I found the recipe click here

Figs with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

 

This is my take on a recipe I found online and it is super easy!  4 ingredients - figs, goat cheese, prosciutto and honey

Cut the figs in half and place on a lined cookie sheet
Put a small dab of goat cheese on each one
The slice prosciutto and top each one
Finish off with a drizzle of honey and then bake at 400 for 8-10 min.

Here is a link to the original recipe I started with click here - Please note I intentionally omitted the pumpkin spice from my version.