Fall Flavors: Pumpkin, Squash and Sweet Potatoes

I have to backtrack a little bit. Thursday night I made a Tortilla Pie inspired by Annie Eats. I just found her blog and I love it! I wanted to follow her recipe, but when I got home I realized I didn't have black beans so I substituted kidney beans instead. I also added ground turkey. Here is my recipe:

Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 (15-oz.) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups of veggie broth
1 (10-oz.) package frozen corn 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese, 1lb of ground turkey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-7 minutes. Add beans and broth to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; layer with ¼ of the beans and sprinkle evenly with some of the cheese. Repeat three times, using all of the remaining cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Unmold pie; garnish with scallions.

*I saved the leftover turkey mixture for another dish that I made today.


Also on Thursday, I made Pumpkin Blondies with Coconut and Chocolate Chips! These are insanely addicting and sooo good!
This was another recipe inspired by Annie Eats.

Pumpkin Blondies
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup cups granulated sugar

1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch chips ½ cup coconut

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips and coconut with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.

Then today, I used the rest of the can of pumpkin puree to make Pumpkin Chili! This was inspired by Love and Olive Oil and this whole foods recipe.
Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground white or dark meat turkey
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low then add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more.

I added some mexican blend cheese on top with some crusty bread. So that was our lunch today. In addition, I also made Pumpkin Muffins!
Pumpkin Muffins with Simple Glaze
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 T of baking powder
1/4 t of salt
1 T of pumpkin pie spice
1 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 t of vanilla
3/4 cup of unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/8 cup of skim milk
1/8 cup of cream
coconut, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips
Instructions: Beat butter at medium speed until soft, add both the sugars and beat until light and smooth. Then one by one, add in the eggs then add the vanilla. Then lower the speed and mix in pumpkin and milk/cream, then add in the dry ingredients in a steady stream until it is mixed well. Add in coconut, and the chips then fill muffin pan with paper liners and back at 375 for 20-25 minutes. The Glaze was made with 1/2 cup powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and cream.
Next up, I made Sweet Potato and Butternut Gratin inspired by Cooking Light.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 ounce prosciutto
  
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.38 ounces all-purpose flour, divided (about 5 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 cups of fat free milk
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 pound baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 8 ounces sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 8 ounces butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded mexican blend cheese
• 1/3 cup of baby spinach and swiss chard
  

Preheat oven to 375°. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add proscuitto; cook 1 minute. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Weigh or lightly spoon 1.1 ounces (about 1/4 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in thyme. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 3 minutes), stirring constantly. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in salt and peppers and greens. Remove from heat. Cook baking potato in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook sweet potato in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; remove with a slotted spoon. Cook butternut squash in boiling water 4 minutes or until almost tender; drain. Sprinkle vegetables evenly with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Arrange potatoes and squash in alternating layers in a broiler-safe 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; spoon sauce over potato mixture. Top with cheese and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Next, I made Butternut Squash Ravoli. I stole this idea from Gretchen's blog and it was tons of fun! I skipped the sage and the hazelnuts and my sauce was made from butter and veggie broth, but other than that, I followed her recipe. It was really fun and unique to make my own ravoli!
Oh and I made Argula Salad with Sweet Potato fries and Feta.



It was a pretty tasty almost vegetarian meal (prosciutto). Now I'm trying to keep my eyes open for the Pats game.

Oh, remember when I used to blog about running? Yea, I miss writing about it too, but by December, I am confident, I will be back in action! I ran 1.5 yesterday along with all my leg excersices and felt pretty good.

Workouts Week of 11/16
Monday- PT, run 2 miles
Tuesday- Boot Camp
Wed- PT, run 2.5 miles
Thursday- Muscle Conditing
Friday- run 3 miles

Dinners:
Monday- Sushi
Tuesday- Squash/Kale/Bread Pudding
Wed- Chicken Butternut Tagine with Saute of Winter Greens
Thurs- Pork and Acorn Squash