Roasted Rosemary Butternut Squash Penne

So I LOVE Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli.

I really wanted to try to make it at home, but dough scares me. And I really don't see me making ravioli of any kind. Ok... once in a while I think I might want to try... but then it seems completely overwhelming and I forget about it.

So instead of ravioli, I decided to turn it inside out, make a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce for Penne. Maybe that would taste kinda like the ravioli?



Roasted Rosemary Butternut Squash Penne
1 pound penne, cooked according to direction on box
1 recipe Garlicky Rosemary Squash (click the link or recipe follows)
1 - 2 C chicken stock
1/2 C cream
8 oz snap peas
freshly grated nutmeg
handful of chopped walnuts

Toast walnuts in a dry pan and set aside.

Put about half of the Garlicky Rosemary Squash in a large sauce pan. Add about a cup of chicken stock and blend with stick blender, until smooth. Add cream and blend again. If sauce is too thick, add more chicken stock until you get the consistency you want.

Grate in a little nutmeg.

Add remaining Garlicky Rosemary Squash and snap peas to sauce and stir gently. I like really crunchy snap peas, so I just added them to the sauce raw and kept it warm while cooking the penne. If you like your snap peas a little less crunchy, you could steam them before adding them to the sauce.

When the penne is cooked, toss it with the sauce until well mixed.

Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and serve!

Garlicky Rosemary Squash
1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled & cubed
2 TBLS fresh rosemary, minced
2 TBLS olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add squash and toss to coat.

Move to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan and toss gently. Bake, uncovered, at 400 F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

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So while the Garlicky Rosemary Squash is in the oven, toast the walnuts and set them aside.


Put half of the Garlicky Rosemary Squash in a saucepan.




Add about a cup of the chicken stock and blend.




Blend in the cream


If you want it a little thinner, add more chicken stock and blend.

Stir in the remaining butternut squash


And the snap peas


Oh yeah... almost forgot the nutmeg...


Mix that up... and toss it with the cooked, drained penne.




Sprinkle with toasted walnuts...


I thought this had a nice fall feel to it and would go perfectly with Chicken Apple Sausage.

So I browned up a package of these.


Tada!


I thought this dinner totally rocked! My family however, was completely under-whelmed.

I didn't expect Jon or Bobby to like it at all. So I wasn't really surprised there. But I kinda thought Tawny and Lilly would like it. But they were totally nonplussed.

But... our friend Andrew happened to stop by after dinner and Jon offered up the leftovers. There were a lot and I knew I couldn't eat them all, so I was pretty happy when he accepted.

He brought them home to Erin and the kids, and they said they enjoyed it! Yay!

Even though I liked it, I probably wouldn't make it again. If I lived closer to my mom, I'd make a much smaller batch and invite her to lunch.

All in all... I was pleased with the outcome! If your family likes squash... this is a keeper!!

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Now on a totally separate note, I was lucky enough to receive this Over the Top award from Heather over at girlichef. Thanks Heather!!

I have to answer a few questions...with one word only... that's harder than you think!!



1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your hair? ugh
3. Your mother? awesome
4. Your father? wicked cool (but deceased) he needed more words =)
5. Your favorite food? Mexican
6. Your dream last night? forgotten
7. Your favorite drink? margarita
8. Your dream/goal? patience
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? cooking
11. Your fear? falling
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren't? sticky
15. Muffins? sure
16. Wish list items? long
17. Where did you grow up? Wakefield
18. Last thing you did? read
19. What are you wearing? boots
20. Your TV? dusty
21. Your pets? sleeping (probably)
22. Friends? few
23. Your life? cool
24. Your mood? pleasant
25. Missing someone? yup
26. Vehicle? New!!!
27. Something you're not wearing? mustache
28. Your favorite store? Penzey's

Now I'm passing this along to Cathy, Cheryl, Angel in the Kitchen, Denise and Gypsy Girl Gourmet.

Check out their blogs! They're Over the Top!

My new Sink & an Award!

Jon asked what I wanted for my birthday. I thought and thought about it, but nothing really came to mind.

There's no new (or old) kitchen gadget that I'm dying to have. (at least I can't think of one!)

Then it came to me. We often talk about home improvements... and often never get around to actually 'doing' them.

I want a new stove... but I just don't see that happening this year. Mine works fine. Even the clock that we had taped over with camouflage colored duct tape works! It's been covered for YEARS. The tape didn't look camo-y any more, so I peeled it off and was going to replace it with a nice fresh black piece of Gorilla Tape. I peeled it off... and the clock continued to flash... Jon pressed the button... it kinda looked like it was going to work. So I set the time. It's been working just fine for a week... the timer even works too!

See... 46 seconds left on something I was baking!


So there's even less reason to replace my 'working just fine' stove... even though I want a much bigger one, that doesn't require me to lay on the floor to broil.

Anyway... back to my birthday present. We had a crappy washing machine set-up. My washer is in the utility room (connected to the kitchen and the main entrance to our house) and drains into a big plastic, scratched, stained, old, crappy utility sink.

I was thinking that I'd like to replace it with a beautiful new stainless steel utility sink. Then I started shopping around... they cost OVER $1000!!! Yeah... I don't want one that bad.

Then I started thinking... can't we just drain the washer into an actual drain and eliminate the utility sink all together?

But even though it was old and ugly... I did use it for things other than draining the washer. I washed my huge pans in it. Jon cleans his carboys for beer brewing in it. It makes a super handy cooler for a party... just put the stopper in the drain, fill with ice and add beer.

I didn't want to lose all of that functionality.

Maybe I could change my kitchen sink? That's it. I had a 33 inch double bowl stainless steel sink. A pretty standard size I think. But I have a lot of pans that were extremely difficult to wash in the small basins.

I found a very affordable 33 inch, single basin, stainless steel sink. And it's almost 2 inches deeper than the double basin sink I had!

I told Jon that I wanted a new kitchen sink for my birthday... and that I wanted the washer to drain into a drain, so we could get rid of the eye-sore of a utility sink that greeted people as they entered our house.

He thought that I would rather have something for 'me'. But for as much time as I spend in the kitchen and utility room, this is for me!

I even told him that it didn't even need to be completed by my birthday (this coming Wednesday), as long as it was definitely a plan and definitely going to happen.

He said no problem!

He meant it! My new sink has been installed for over a week now! It's two inches deeper and I have a tall goose-neck faucet so there is more space to get big things under the faucet. It's a single bowl and it easily accommodates all of my biggest pans. My washer now drains into a drain. The utility sink is outside. I may make it into a planter. AND he got an under-sink filter to replace the PUR filter I had on my old faucet! (the water filter is being installed this weekend, so the PUR filter is still there)

My new sink!


It's HUGE!!

I put a pint sized mason jar in it for perspective.


Yay!! Happy Birthday to ME!

Thanks Baby!!

Jon isn't the only one I need to thank...

Heather over at girlichef honored me with this cool award!



FRIENDS... comes with the following description to be added & passed along: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.” It also says : "Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

And without further adieu... 8 bloggers that I am certain you will love as much as I do!

Michele at My Italian Grandmother

Nenita at Passion in the Kitchen

Debbie at mocha me

Bob at Cooking Stuff

Shane at Culinary Alchemy

Sarah at Mom on the Run

Melissa at Alosha's Kitchen

Dajana at Baker's Corner... somewhere in my kitchen

Stuffed French Toast & Awards & a Thank You

A couple weeks ago I was kinda wanting something sweet for breakfast. That's unusual for me. I'll almost ALWAYS choose a savory breakfast. I had Stuffed French Toast on the mind and decided I had to make some. I typically only 'cook' breakfast on Sundays. Weekdays are way too busy in the morning and I choose to sleep until the possible minute I can and still get the kids off to school and make it to work on time.

Saturdays can be busy too... and I usually reserve them for coffee with Ericka. We don't make it every week... but we try.

So anyway... a couple Sundays ago, I wanted Stuffed French Toast. It's was wicked easy and wicked good!

First I beat together 8oz of whipped cream cheese with about 1/4 C sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla.




Then I whisked up some eggs with milk, cinnamon & vanilla.




Spread a good layer of Cream Cheese Mixture on Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread.






Top with another piece of Cinnamon Bread.




Dip Cream Cheese Cinnamon Sandwiches into egg mixture.




Cook in a hot skillet until golden on both sides.




YUM! Does that look good?


While I was eating that I was thinking... "next time... I think I'll add raspberry jam"

Well... I couldn't stop thinking about the Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast with Raspberry Jam.

So yesterday... I made it again.

Jon and Bobby and Lilly just wanted plain cinnamon French toast. That was easy enough.

When I was digging in the fridge for the raspberry jam, I found a jar of caramel sauce for ice cream!



So I had Cream Cheese Raspberry Stuffed French Toast. (now I wish I had fresh raspberries for this, but it was a spur of the moment thing... Donna over at My Tasty Treasures often garnishes with raspberries and everything looks so pretty!!
Here's my mostly ungarnished, but totally tasty breakfast!


And as soon as I found the caramel, I knew Tawny would want hers stuffed with cream cheese and caramel. Also very yum!


This can be totally adapted to suit your tastes. Instead of vanilla in the cream cheese, add almond or lemon... or how about some lemon, lime or orange zest?
Add your favorite jams, marmalades, chutneys or spreads... or dare I say... Nutella??

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On to the Awards...

I've been totally slacking acknowledging two awards given to me by a couple of very cool bloggers!

Donna at My Tasty Treasures thank you so much!!! I'm totally flattered that you chose to pass this along to me! If you haven't checked out her blog yet, hurry over! She wicked funny and cooks great food. It's also really fun when she and her FireFighter Husband are blogging together. Plus she has 4 - 8 kids running around at any given time! How does she find the time to cook up all of her fabulous dishes? I don't know... but you should definitely check her out!



The rules for this award are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate blogs of people who you think show great attitude and/or gratitude
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person who has nominated you for the award.

I am passing the award of Sisterhood on to:
Tamilyn at Butter My Kitchen
Katie at Chaos in the Kitchen
Michele at My Italian Grandmother
Danielle at Cooking for my Peace of Mind
Maria at Two Peas and Their Pod


And Sarah over at Mom on the Run gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Thanks so much Sarah! I'm honored that you chose to pass this along to me! Sarah's is one of the first blogs I look for everyday. Check out all of the tasty food she's cooking up in her kitchen!



I'm passing this award along to:

Lola at Lola Lakely: Life, Love, & the Pursuit of Insanity
CheeseWench at Cheese Is Alive
Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen
Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies
Melissa at Made by Melissa.

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Thanks to Cathy at Noble Pig for helping me with my comments setting!



Thanks Cathy!!

If you tried to leave a comment before, and were unable to due to lack of an account or something, that should be corrected now!

The Strip & Awards!

So first thing this morning, I headed out to Pittsburgh's "Strip District".
It's a half a square mile filled with restaurants, coffee shops, ethnic markets, butcher shops, seafood and produce.

I usually go there for the ethnic markets and there's also a Penzey's there. I love Penzey's and that was the main reason for my trip this morning. I needed some Dutch Process Cocoa and Sweet Curry... I also picked up some Chili Powder. I never ever leave with only what I stopped in for! Today they also were offering a copy of their magazine, One. There are tons of great recipes in One!



Next stop... PennMac aka Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. I usually go here for an awesome selection of olive oils, prosciutto di Parma, an incredible cheese selection, pastas, bulk nuts... lots of stuff.. .but today, I needed Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso. So I picked that up, turned around and what did I see? Nutella!! Now I missed World Nutella Day, but decided so what if I'm 2 days late. I'm making something with Nutella today too! Then I picked up the big jar!



My last stop in The Strip today was Reyna Foods. The only Mexican market in Pittsburgh and let me tell ya, I was REALLY happy to find it! I didn't really need anything there today, but I always stop in when I'm in The Strip. Actually, I had forgotten we used the last of our chipotles for the SuperBowl, so I picked up some of those. They also have some prepared foods that you can buy. I decided to try the Jamaican Beef Patties. We haven't eaten them yet, but everything I've ever had there is great... and I'm sure these will be too! I was a little disappointed, because I always get a Jarritos Grapefruit Mineral Water.

But they were out of it today. =(

So it was just chipotles and Jamaican Beef Patties!




Guess what else happened this week!

Donna from My Tasty Treasures honored me with two awards! That's right... TWO!

She is such a sweetie.. and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her blog! If you haven't checked it out, you should!! You won't be disappointed!!





I'm very happy to pass on these awards!!

The rules for the recipients are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.

3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received this award.

I'm Passing along these 2 awards to:

Of Soup and Love

DDPie's Slice

Tangled Noodle

Schweet 'N Savory

Panini Happy

Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Elizabeth's Edible Experience

Recipe Shoebox

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Dragon's Kitchen

I hope you check out the blogs I've awarded... they ROCK!!

Donna... thanks again... so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

An Award!! *blush*

I am totally surprised!! Melissa from Of Soup and Love gave me a Lemonade Award for a refreshing blog!!



Thank you so much Melissa!!!

Here are the rules...
- Add the logo in your blog.
- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
- Nominate 10 other (refreshing...like lemonade) blogs of your choice.
- Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
- Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

I'm pretty new to this blog stuff... and I just hope one day my blog is half as cool as the blogs I'm nominating.

In no particular order....

run, play, cook..., Amber's Delectable Delights, Coconut & Lime, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice, musings of a barefoot foodie..., Test Kitchen Recipes, My Italian Grandmother, Culinary Alchemist and Cooking Stuff.

Ok... I came up one short... but these, including Of Soup and Love are the blogs I really look forward to every day. I hope you check them out!