Thursday Recipes

It's Thursday, almost the end of the week. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Scotto Cheese Lasagna and Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies. Enjoy!

PEACH AND BLUEBERRY TART WITH PECAN CRUST

This recipe, as well as the next one (Blueberry-Pomegranate Smoothie), was found in an article on Prevention, titled “11 Recipes with Fresh Blueberries.” Click here to see the article and all twelve recipes.

SERVINGS: 8

Crust

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg white, beaten

2 Tbsp canola oil

1/2 Tbsp cold water

Filling

3/4 cup all-fruit peach preserves

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/4 pounds ripe but firm peaches, sliced

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Topping

1 cup fat-free Greek-style yogurt

3 Tbsp wildflower honey

To Prepare the Crust: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 10" fluted removable bottom tart pan or springform pan with cooking spray.

Set aside 8 pecan halves. Place the remaining pecans in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade or a blender. Process until finely ground. Add the flour, lemon zest, and salt. Process briefly to blend. Combine the egg white, oil, and water in a measuring cup. With the machine running, drizzle the liquid mixture into the bowl. Add up to 1 tablespoon water if needed. Turn off the machine as soon as the ingredients start to bind together.

Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat into a disk (the mixture will be soft). Transfer to the bottom of the prepared pan. Press into the bottom and 1/2" up the side. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

To Prepare the Filling: Combine the preserves and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add the peaches and blueberries and toss gently to mix. Spoon into the prepared crust. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until the juices are bubbling. Place pan on a rack to cool completely.

To Prepare the Topping: Whisk the yogurt with the honey in a bowl. Spoon on top of each serving and top with a reserved pecan half.

NUTRITION (per serving) 322 calories, 6 g protein, 44 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 52 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

BLUEBERRY-POMEGRANATE SMOOTHIE

SERVINGS: 1

2/3 cup frozen blueberries (unthawed)

1/2 cup fat-free French vanilla yogurt (we used Stonyfield)

1/3 cup vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup pomegranate juice

Put 2/3 cup frozen blueberries (unthawed, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup soy milk, and 1/4 cup pomegranate juice into a blender.

Blend on high speed until smooth.

NUTRITION (per serving) 226.8 cal, 9.2 g pro, 44.9 g carb, 3 g fiber, 2 g fat, 0.3 g sat fat, 123.4 mg sodium

FAVORITE PUMPKIN GRANOLA

This is from Lindsay on her food blog, Pinch of Yum. I absolutely love Pinch of Yum, and highly recommend it. Go ahead and check it out, and sign up for her emails. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

This recipe begins, “Pumpkin Granola that is both salty and sweet! Made with REAL PUMPKIN along with oats, coconut, almonds, pistachios, maple syrup, cinnamon, and olive oil. My favorite fall granola! ♡ Adapted from the Last Granola Recipe by my friend The Faux Martha.”

You can find this online at http://pinchofyum.com/pumpkin-granola/. author: lindsay prep time: 10 mins cook time: 30 mins total time: 40 minutes yield: 9 cups (about 18 half-cup servings)

Ingredients

6 cups rolled oats

1 heaping cup sliced almonds

1 heaping cup pistachios (or other nuts)

1 heaping cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup olive oil

1 cup maple syrup

2-3 teaspoons salt (see notes)

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

Prep the Pumpkin Granola: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together (oats, almonds, pistachios, coconut). Whisk the wet ingredients and spices together (pumpkin, olive oil, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon). Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Bake the Pumpkin Granola: Spread the granola into a large nonstick jelly roll pan or cake pan – I do this on two separate pans or in two batches. Bake for 15 minutes; stir; bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest – it should start to crisp up.

Eat and love: Store in a plastic zip-top bag for a week or so. Serve with granola, fruit, or just with good ol’ milk.

Notes

Salt: Yup. 2-3 teaspoons salt is not a typo. This recipe, as written, is meant to be salty! I love it that way. I make mine with 2 1/2 or 3 teaspoons salt, and it gives it an awesome salty-sweet bite, but if you’re not into the salty-sweet thing, you can definitely reduce that amount. Either way, be aware that the unbaked granola “batter” will taste very salty, and fear not – that saltiness mellows out beautifully after you bake it.

Bake times: There is a fine line between perfectly toasted / caramelized and straight up burned pumpkin granola. I found that the 30 to 40 minute mark was my cut-off in our smaller studio oven, whereas in my larger oven at home I got away with about 45 minutes. I had several batches that I popped back in the oven for an extra five minutes and they went from browned to burned really quickly, so beware. That being said, even if you get a little extra browning (not burning, just browning) around the edges, I think that actually tastes really nice once mixed with the rest of the granola. Was that overall just super helpful?

Pro Tip: Sprinking raw or brown sugar and a tiny bit of extra salt over the top of the granola as it cools is never a bad idea.

Other add-ins that work well: pecans, walnuts, chia seeds. But be advised that the pecans and walnuts both burn pretty easily so I would suggest adding them towards the end of the baking time. The pistachios seem to be able to handle the heat a bit more, so I found that it worked just fine to add them with all the other ingredients.

SCOTTO CHEESE LASAGNA

This recipe is from Family Time, and begins, “This delectable lasagna makes great use of convenience products so that you've can put the dish together in just 15 minutes! While it bakes you can throw together a salad, and you've got a fabulous dinner for very little work.”

Serves: 8 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each); Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 70 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 container (32 ounces) ricotta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

Prego® Tomato Basil & Garlic Italian Sauce or 5 cups Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce

12 lasagna noodle, cooked and drained

1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

2 cups grated parmesan cheese

1 package (10 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Mozzarella and Garlic Loaf

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the ricotta and the eggs in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 1/3 cups ricotta mixture, 1/4 of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Repeat to make 2 more layers. Top with the remaining noodles, sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 350°F. for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until the lasagna is hot and bubbling and the cheese is melted. Remove the lasagna from the oven. Let the lasagna stand for 1 hour.

Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. for the bread. Bake the bread according to the package directions.

Cut the bread into 2-inch diagonal slices. Serve the bread with the lasagna.

OLD-FASHIONED SOFT PUMPKIN COOKIES

This one is from Very Best Baking Kitchen. To view this online, click here.

Prep: 10 min; Cooking: 18 min; Cooling time: 2 min cooling; Yields: 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

FOR GLAZE:

Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Remember to follow baking instructions before consuming.

Tips from Very Best Baking Kitchen

Note: For a variation add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts to the recipe.

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving 36 cookies, Serving Size 1/36 of recipe, Calories 120, Total Fat 3g, Dietary Fiber .5g

PUMPKIN APPLE MUFFINS

Not sure exactly where this came from. Maybe that infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list...

1 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbls pumpkin pie spice

1 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 granny smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

3 Tbls sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs, and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple, and spooon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen