Pasta Salad With Pumpkin Seeds

I found a recipe I wanted to try and lost it. I remembered it had pumpkin seeds, so I used those and made up the rest.
I'm not one on measurements because it all depends on how much you are making and what you want. That being said ...
Boil the noodles for your pasta salad. What type of noodle is up to you. After you have cooked them let them cool off. I poured some extra virgin olive oil over mine so they wouldn't stick together. Then I added the following ingredients:
roasted and salted pumpkin seeds (I threw in about 2 handfuls to start with.)
green pepper
red onion
roasted corn (from the grill - cut off of the cob after you have roasted them)
peppers (I picked from the garden and I'm not sure what kind they were exactly because I lost the tags. Does it matter anyway? I used 2 different kinds.)
fresh basil
fresh oregeno
sea salt
Italian salad dressing
(Consider more pumpkin seeds!)
You can serve this cold or heated. Feta cheese in it would be good also.

The Garden

I do not have a raised bed garden, but everything is in pots. So even if you do not have a yard you can still garden! My garden has: thyme, sweet basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, oregano, green peppers, banana peppers, black peppers, egg plant, and some other sort of pepper ... I'm not sure as I lost the label for that pot! I highly suggest you try growing at least your own herbs for cooking. I use the basil for salads as well as Italian cooking. If you use your herbs for a red sauce, you will need to use more than you think is necessary.

If you want to start small I would suggest the sweet basil and use it in your salads.

Tomato Basil Soup

This is a little different with the veggies, but it turned out nice. Thinly slice half an onion, 2 stalks of celery, lots of garlic. Sauté in olive oil. When the veggies start to turn translucent add fresh basil, oregano, salt and pepper. I cut off the thick stems of the basil, stacked the leaves, rolled them like a cigar, and then sliced it into thin strips. Maybe 5 more minutes.

In a pot hand crush a large can of Marzano tomatoes and then add your ingredients from the sauté pan. Add 1 cup of broth; I used chicken. Simmer for a few hours. When you believe it is ready add your cream. Now get this; I used fat free Land O’ Lakes half and half! I think I used a cup of this.

The husband had been roasting vegetables earlier so I also threw in the discarded stems of his asparagus. This was just to add to the stock, I took them out later.

I read a recipe that called for parmesan cheese, so I put that in. However, next time I’ll just add it to the bowl as a garnish. It really didn’t melt well. I also thickened mine. I added corn starch to some water and then thickened the soup: I like my soups thick. On my second day I actually ate this over some spaghetti noodles. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Broccoli With a Lemon Mustard Sauce

In a large mixing bowl mix: cauliflower and broccoli heads with salt, pepper, lots of garlic, and olive oil. Place the mixture on a large cookie sheet and roast the vegetables for about 25 minutes at 450 degrees. While that is cooking melt somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3rds of a stick of butter, the juice of 2 lemons, and 4 TBS of whole grain mustard ... and more garlic ... why not? When the vegetables are done put them back in the mixing bowl and pour the butter sauce over them. Transfer to a baking dish for serving. Do this 2 hours before you plan to eat as this needs to sit at room temperature for 2 hours. When you reheat to serve, do not use the microwave! Heat in the oven for about 10 minutes.
I also used some stuff I bought at Costco that is actually used for garlic bread. I used this before roasting; I mixed it in with the vegetables before roasting them. You don't have to use this stuff, but if you see it at Costco buy it; I use it for lots of things. I'll post a picture of it next week so you will know what to buy.

Butternut Squash With Cranberries and Spinach

Bake your squash for 50 minutes @ 350 degrees. I cut it in half length wise and then bake it with some water in the bottom of the pan. You can bake it cut side up or down. While your squash is baking, heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add spinach, garlic, sliced onions (I use a mandolin) and cranberries. It only takes about 5 minutes and this is done. When your squash is done cut it into cubes. Remember to take the shell off. Toss together in the skillet. Add about a TBS of butter and melt. Add sea salt. I happen to love sea salt and think I just may use it for everything. You could also add some brown sugar, but I didn't this time.

Chicken Enchiladas

I used 2 chicken breasts. Cut them in strips and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. When the chicken is done, dice it or shred it.

While the chicken is baking prepare the sauce. Use a food processor or a blender: 6 tomatias, ½ an onion, 4 cloves of garlic, a pepper or two (jalapeno or Serrano), sprinkle in some cumin. Fresh cilantro would have been good, too. Blend until it is liquid. This will be your verde (green) sauce. After it is blended, cook this on the stove with 1 cup of chicken broth mixed with about 4 TBS of corn starch. Cook until it is thickened. Set aside.

In a skillet heat vegetable oil to soften the corn tortillas. I used 10 and wrecked one so I had 9 enchiladas. When the oil is heated put one tortilla in the oil at a time. Cover both sides with oil, then take it out, and place on a paper towel to blot the oil. Do not leave the tortilla in the oil too long or you will have stiff tortillas; like a tostada shell. Also, do not leave it on the paper towel too long as it can stick to the paper towel. When you have all of your tortillas ready, roll them with the chicken in the middle - like a cigar. 

This is what it should look like before you put it in the oven:

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. This is just to warm them through and it makes the edges of the tortillas crispy. Do not bake them with the sauce; you will lose the crispy part of the tortillas. When they are done, put the amount you want on your plate and pour the sauce over them. You can also add a white cheese, but I forgot about that and I guess I saved some calories.

Acorn Squash

I had never eaten an acorn squash let alone cooked one! I was curious about them, so I gave it a try. Cut the squash in half and place it meat side up in a baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes. While it is baking, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. I used 4 cloves of garlic and half an onion sliced on a mandolin. I pretty much slice all of my onions on a mandolin; I just like the thinness. I will say however, for this dish it seemed a bit stringy. When the squash is done, scoop the meat out and add it to the onion and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. I used large sea salt. One recipe I looked at called for nutmeg. I didn’t have any nutmeg so I used cinnamon. How much cinnamon, I cannot tell you. The plan was to shake some into the pan but things went slightly awry. A large amount of cinnamon came pouring out! I mixed everything together pretty much like mashed potato. The cinnamon was a bit more than I will use the next time, but the dish was quite good.