Friday Recipes

It's the last Friday before Christmas. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the weekend, including Winter Vegetable Bean Soup with Pesto and Creamy Pumpkin Mac 'N' Cheese. Enjoy!

EASY PUMPKIN PUDDING CAKE

This is from Ashley, a high school teacher turned blogger, on her wonderful site, The Recipe Rebel. This recipe begins, “This Easy Pumpkin Pudding Cake takes just 10 minutes prep and makes it’s own caramel pudding sauce as it bakes! Perfect hot from the oven with a scoop of ice cream.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Makes 6 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour (I use whole wheat!)

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)

1/3 cup milk (I use 1%)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sauce

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 teaspoons corn starch

1 1/4 cup hot or boiling water

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9" pie plate or baking dish.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves with a spoon.

Add in pumpkin, milk, oil and vanilla and stir until a thick batter forms. Spread into prepared pie plate.

In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup brown sugar and corn starch until there are no clumps. Sprinkle over cake batter.

Add butter to hot water and stir until melted. Pour over brown sugar mixture in pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until top is completely set (keep in mind that there is a thick layer of caramel sauce in the bottom, so it may jiggle). Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and reheat perfectly!

PUMPKIN SOUP

I'm not sure where this is from; maybe that infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list? Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cooking Time: 20 minutes; Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons chopped onion

2 tablespoons flour

6 cups veggie broth

one 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin puree

one 8-ounce jar applesauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup heavy cream

freshly ground pepper, to taste

croutons, optional

Directions

Heat the butter in a large saucepan and saute the onions over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until mixed. Add the veggie broth and pumpkin and stir until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients except the cream, pepper, and croutons. Stir well, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until hot and the flavors have blended.

Stir in the cream and heat until hot. Garnish with freshly ground pepper and serve immediately with crisp croutons, if desired.

WINTER VEGETABLE BEAN SOUP WITH PESTO

This recipe, from FamilyTime, begins, “The easy-to-make basil pesto adds great flavor to this hearty soup, featuring carrots, potatoes, turnips and leeks. Best of all, it's ready in less than an hour.”

Serves: 10 servings (1 1/2 cups each); Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 medium carrots, diced (about 2/3 cup)

3 medium potato, peeled and diced (about 3 cups)

1 medium turnip, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)

2 large leeks, white part only, sliced (about 2 cups)

2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)

5 1/4 cups Swanson® Vegetable Broth (Regular or Certified Organic)

1 can (about 19 ounces) white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Easy Basil Pesto

Directions

Heat the carrots, potatoes, turnip, leeks, celery and 1 3/4 cups broth in a 6-quart saucepot over medium-high heat to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.

Reserve 1/2 cup of broth for the Easy Basil Pesto. Stir the remaining broth, beans, bay leaf and red pepper in the saucepot and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf. Serve topped with the Easy Basil Pesto.

Easy Basil Pesto: Place 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, 3 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup reserved broth in a food processor or blender. Cover and process until smooth.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with Italian bread sticks. For dessert serve lemon bars.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

This comes from GE Appliances, and begins, “Don't let risotto intimidate you! With a little bit of time and patience you can enjoy this delicious dish. The creamy risotto is combined with sweet butternut squash, fragrant sage and rosemary for a perfect dish to usher in the cool days of fall.”

Makes 6 servings in 40 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (see my note)

7-1/2 cups vegetable stock, heated (see my note)

5-6 fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauti pan. Add squash. Sauti for about 5 minutes, then cover; cook on medium heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add shallots; cook and stir for 5 minutes until the shallots begin to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking until the rice is glossy and begins to turn translucent on the edges, about 5 minutes. Mix in sage and rosemary. Cook for an additional minute.

Pour in the white wine; cook, stir until it is absorbed. Add a large ladleful of the hot chicken stock (about 1/2 cup) reduce heat to medium. Cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally. Continue adding the chicken stock to the rice 1/2 a cup at a time until the rice is creamy but is still slightly firm when tasted, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, remaining tablespoon of butter, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

CHEF'S NOTES:

You can cut up your own squash or use pre-cubed butternut squash from your favorite grocery store. Just make sure the squash is cut into 1/2" cubes so it gets tender enough in the risotto.

My note: If, like me, you don’t have alcohol around your house, feel free to use either non-alcohol white wine or just plain water.

Also, the recipe also called for chicken stock. I substituted vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

LIGHT LASAGNA

This is from a long-since-forgotten emailing list (possibly a Weight Watchers email), and starts off, “This is from my new cookbook "Fix it and Forget it Light" Lowfat Crockpot recipes.-Sams' Club.”

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

4 1/2 C fat free, low sodium meatless spaghetti sauce

1/2 C water

16-oz fat-free ricotta cheese

2 C shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

3/4 C parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz box no-cook lasagna noodles.

Directions

Mix spaghetti sauce and 1/2 c water in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 1/2c mozzarella cheese, 1/2 c parmesan cheese, egg, garlic and seasoning.

Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in bottom of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of the noodles. Breaking to fit if needed.

Spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, making sure noodles are covered.

Repeat layers twice more.

Spread with remaining sauce.

Cover. Cook on low 5 hours.

Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Cover. Let stand 10 min to allow cheese to melt.

Per serving: 360 celeries (90 calories from fat = 25% fat) 10 grams fat (4.5g saturated, 0 trans) 40 mg cholesterol, 870 mg sodium, 39g total carbohydrates (6g fiber, 10g sugar) 25g protein, 50% DV calcium, 10% DV iron.

CREAMY PUMPKIN MAC 'N' CHEESE

This is from Dana (and her husband, John) on their blog, Minimalist Baker. Dana wrote, “Amazing, creamy, flavorful pumpkin mac 'n' cheese made with 10 simple ingredients! The perfect dairy- and gluten-free entrée for fall and the holiday season!> This absolutely yummy mac and cheese is worth the effort.”

To view this online, click here. Prep time: 10 mins; Cook time: 1 hour 20 mins; Total time: 1 hour 30 mins. Author: Minimalist Baker. Serves: 2 as entrée, 4 as side.

Ingredients

Sauce

1 (2-3-lb) sugar or pie pumpkin (or sub 2 cups canned pumpkin puree*)

optional: 1 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil

2 cloves garlic (1 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp arrowroot starch

1-1 1/4 cup unsweetened plain almond or rice milk (start with 1 cup)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2-3 Tbsp chopped sage or thyme (I used half thyme, half sage)

4-5 Tbsp nutritional yeast

3-4 Tbsp vegan parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

optional: 1/4 tsp red pepper flake or cayenne pepper

Pasta

10 ounces gluten-free pasta (I love Bionaturae pastas and Trader Joe’s gluten-free fusilli)

Toppings, optional

Vegan parmesan cheese

Fresh sage sautéed in oil over medium heat for 1 minute or until just slightly browned

Pine nuts

Instructions

If baking your pumpkin, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Otherwise, if using canned pumpkin puree, skip to step 4.

Using a sharp knife, cut the tops of your pumpkin off and then cut pumpkin in half. Use a sharp spoon or ice cream scoop to scrape out all the seeds and strings. (Save the seeds for roasting!)

Optional: Brush the flesh with a neutral, high heat oil, such as avocado. And place flesh down on the baking sheet.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the skin. In the last 20 minutes of roasting, add the two cloves of garlic still in skin to the baking sheet to slightly brown and soften. Then remove pan from the oven and let the pumpkin cool. Also peel garlic cloves and set aside.

If serving with pasta, start boiling water and cooking pasta at this time. Once pasta is cooked, drain and set aside. Optional: I like to drizzle mine with a little olive or avocado oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and vegan parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

To make the sauce, add 2 cups baked pumpkin (or pumpkin puree) to a high-speed blender along with peeled roasted garlic, arrowroot starch, dairy-free milk (start with 1 cup or 240 ml), sea salt, sage or thyme (I used both), nutritional yeast, vegan parmesan cheese, pumpkin pie spice, and red pepper flake (optional).

Blend on high until creamy and smooth. Then taste and adjust flavor as needed. Add more salt for saltiness, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, sage or thyme for herbiness, vegan parmesan cheese for depth of flavor, pumpkin pie spice for pumpkin flavor and warmth, or red pepper flake for spice (optional).

To heat/thicken the sauce, pour into a rimmed skillet and heat over medium-low heat, whisking frequently until sauce is hot and slightly thickened - 3-5 minutes. If it gets too thick, thin with a bit more dairy-free milk.

To serve, add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Serve as is or (optional) sprinkle with 2 Tbsp vegan parmesan cheese and broil on medium for 1-3 minutes, watching very carefully until barely browned.

Enjoy hot and garnish with pine nuts or sautéed sage if desired. Cool leftovers and store in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days.

Notes

*If using canned pumpkin puree, add the garlic raw to the blender or sauté in 1 Tbsp oil for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat before blending.

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 of 4 servings without additional toppings.

Nutrition Information: Serving size: 1/4 of recipe; Calories: 297; Fat: 4.7 g; Saturated fat: 0.8 g; Carbohydrates: 54.2 g; Sugar: 3.9 g; Sodium: 306 mg; Fiber: 4.4 g; Protein: 11.3 g