Simple Arrabbiata Sauce

Simple Arrabbiata Sauce (from Allrecipes, Total Time: 45 minutes, Servings: 4)

Ingredients

·         2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes

·         2 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.       In a large saucepan, combine tomatoes, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

2.       Stir in garlic, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in basil, salt and pepper.

I served this sauce with spaghetti squash.  It had a good heat, not too much, though, so my husband could eat it.  The sauce is very thick and chunky.  I like that it’s easy to make and has a robust flavor – you can really taste the garlic and red pepper flakes.  I used minimal salt and pepper, but I did use dried basil, maybe about 1 Tbsp.  The fresh basil in our garden is definitely done for the season.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14

Pie Ingredients

·         3 cups All Purpose Flour

·         1 Tbsp. cinnamon

·         1 tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. baking powder

·         1 tsp. ground ginger

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         ½ tsp. ground nutmeg

·         ¼ tsp. ground cloves (or allspice)

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 cup canola oil

·         1 - 15 oz. can of pumpkin

·         2 large eggs

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

3.      Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter.

4.      Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

·         1 - 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

·         1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

·         1 - 16 oz. package of powdered sugar

·         about a capful of vanilla extract

·         1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (to taste)

Directions

1.      Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.

2.      Enjoy right away or chill overnight.

My husband sent me this recipe and asked me to make them. I am not sure of the source.  The only adjustment that I made was using canola instead of vegetable oil and upping the cinnamon in the cream cheese filling (my husband loves cinnamon).  I am not a fan of whoopie pies or cinnamon, but they were for him and his family for Thanksgiving.  I didn’t have a pastry bag and I’ve found that Ziploc bags can get messy with this type of work, so I just used a spoon to dollop the pumpkin mixture on the baking sheets.  That may have been a mistake - These were huge!  I’m talking bigger than my hand huge.  Oh well.  Everyone that had them enjoyed them and I even tasted one.  It was pretty good, even with my aversion to cinnamon.  I recommend going for it!

Cajun Pasta Fresca

Cajun Pasta Fresca (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 4)

Ingredients

·         1 spaghetti squash, cut in half with seeds and inner membrane scooped out

·         2 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 tsp. dried parsley

·         1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

·         ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place spaghetti squash on baking sheet, cut side down.  Bake for 45 minutes.

2.      Remove squash from oven and allow to cool slightly.  Using fork, scoop out inside (should look like spaghetti strands).

3.      While squash is cooling, briefly sauté garlic in oil. Stir in tomatoes and remainder of juice. When tomatoes are bubbly, mash slightly with a fork. Stir in parsley, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes more.  Add Cajun seasoning and Parmesan and cook 2 minutes.

4.      Toss squash with tomato sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella if desired.

The biggest change that I made to the original recipe is that I didn’t use pasta, I used spaghetti squash.  I am currently in a love affair with this variety of squash – I love the taste and texture and it serves as a healthy alternative to pasta.  I also used canned diced tomatoes instead of buying 13 plum tomatoes!  Looking back, I should probably have upped to 1.5 or 2 cans of 28 oz. size, but hindsight is 20-20. 

This dish is really easy and quick to make, even the spaghetti squash is pretty easy – just be careful when forking out the innards, no burns allowed!  The sauce was very thick and chunky, which is why I think more tomatoes would have been a good idea (or petite diced).  I liked the soft texture of the tomatoes against the firmer squash.  My sauce was slightly spicy, just a hint of heat, and full of flavor.  I feel that each element stood on its own, the garlic and parsley were not overpowered by the tomatoes or the Cajun.  I also only used the Parmesan and not the additional mozzarella called for in the original recipe – even the Parmesan felt a bit overwhelming with only the 1 large can of tomatoes.  The cheese and Cajun seasoning work nicely together with a bit of a flavor explosion!  If I used more tomatoes, I’d probably keep the other seasonings the same, or increase just a tad, and add the mozzarella.  I hope that you make this dish because my mouth is watering just writing about it!