Counting down the days 'til Santa is the obsession...

Mac has been super into Halloween, which is fun for the most part. We talk about “scary pumpkins” an average of 47.2 times a day. We talk about “scary witches an average of 56.8 times a day. We talk about “scary vampires” an average of 63.6 times a day. And my favorite is when he talks about “Stop Steins”- meaning “Frankenstein.”

Last weekend we went to a Pumpkin Night at a nature preserve one suburb over. The trail was lined with 1000 carved pumpkins and there were spooky decorations all around.

Some of the pumpkins were crazy-impressive.

Others were…this.

It’s pretty cute when your 2 year old shrieks “This one’s my favorite!”

In order to fully pumpkin-fy our weekend, I capped off Sunday night with some pumpkin soup.

Savory Pumpkin Kale Soup

-2 tablespoons butter

-1 small yellow onion, diced

-2 cups pureed pumpkin (I had leftover cooked pumpkin- feel free to use canned)

-1 tablespoon “Better than bouillion” + 6 cups water, or else 6 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth

-3 fresh sage leaves, minced

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1/8 teaspoon pepper

-1 cup heavy cream

-1 bunch fresh kale (~2 cups), washed and torn into small-ish pieces

-1/4 teaspoon grated Gruyere cheese (optional)

Use a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat- melt butter and add onion. Turn to medium-low heat and saute, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes. Onions should be golden brown and carmelized. Add pumpkin, bouillion or broth, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Cover and let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree. Add cream and kale right before serving. Top with a tablespoon of Gruyere if desired.

Makes 4 2-cup servings. Per serving: 375 calories.

Nothing says autumn like a steaming bowl of...tofu.

Oh hi.

It’s kind of sort of absolutely definitely beautiful outside.

I work in a ridiculously charming neighborhood and at least a few times a week I go for a walk during my lunch break.

So…who likes tofu??

...

...

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

And so should YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

It’s cheap. It’s easy. It’s a great source of lean protein. And I promise IT DOES NOT TASTE WEIRD. If you’ve ever felt so inclined as to try it, here’s the dish to try it in.

Tofu bowl with coconut rice and peanut sauce

-1 lb extra firm tofu, with excess moisture patted out (I use a kitchen towel and gently squish it)

-2 tablespoons sesame oil

-1/2 bag shredded carrots (about 2 cups worth)

-1 bag shredded cole slaw mix (about 3 cups worth- can add more or less if you’d like)

-1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

-1/2 cup chopped green onions/scallions

-1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

-1.5 cups jasmine rice

-1 can light coconut milk

-2 basil leaves

-peanut sauce (either pre made or see recipe below)

For rice:

-Combine rice, basil leaves, and coconut milk in a rice cooker and cook according to directions. If you don’t have a rice cooker, cook in a medium pot on the stove.

For tofu:

-In a large shallow pan, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Cut tofu in 1” chunks and add to pan to fry. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it gets lightly browned. Add carrots and green onions and cook for five minutes. Add cole slaw mix and seasonings. Stir and cook for ~2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve a scoop over rice.

Peanut Sauce

-1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

-1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek (chili garlic paste)

-1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

-2 teaspoons lime juice (can be omitted)

-1 teaspoon brown sugar

-Water to thin to desired consistency

*If you don’t have Sambal Oelek, add ¼ teaspoon minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes

Makes four servings. Per serving: 485 calories

If you're not already sick of pumpkin everything...

I have been one busy bee in the kitchen lately. I did something this year that I’ve never ever ever done.

Baaaaaaaked a piiiiiiiiiiiiie from scraaaaaaaatch!

So it all started out with my mom taking Mac to the pumpkin patch/orchard- or porchard, if you will, and he got to pick out a little pumpkin.

I figured, well sure- why not bake up this little guy and see how it tastes. THE PUMPKIN I MEAN GUYS! Not the kid.

Scooped out the guts, and then that lead to “Why not roast these things?” I had never made pumpkin seeds either.

I had both the pumpkin and the seeds in the oven at 350. The pumpkin took about an hour until the insides were tender. The seeds (covered in olive oil, chili powder, salt, and pepper) took about 10 minutes.

Cooked pumpkin led to “Why not make a pie?”

So yeah. Once that pumpkin train got rolling I just couldn’t stop it.

Here’s the recipe I used for the pie.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie/

It turned out really really good, and I am so not a pie person. But I dug this anyway.

We call this pie "rustic." 

Annnnnnnnd NOW you are excused to officially be sick of pumpkin everything. 

In week-old news...

I am so behind the times with things it’s ridiculous. If I were an entertainment journalist, my headline for today would have been “Britney shaves head and attacks car in complete breakdown!”

I can say that because SHE’S DOING SO MUCH BETTER NOW GUYS.

So last weekend I flew to Detroit and met my cousin Megan to do an international half marathon. Oh yes. Borders were crossed. And then uncrossed. Even with politics being fifty shades of MEH, I still wanted back in. Not that going 13.1 miles is ever a super happy easy time, but we had fun doing it.

Megan lives in Ann Arbor, just outside the city, so we walked around downtown and I got a tour of the University of Michigan campus.

You know what almost kind of totally blows my mind? Here in Minnesota, we call it the “U of M.” They do that in Michigan too- of course referring to their own school. If there are six states that begin with the letter “M” and they all have universities, are there alllllll these people calling it “U of M?”

Moving on. We ate lunch at Afternoon Delight and then headed over to Kilwin's for pre and post race treats. Gotta…carb up.

If you’re ever wanting a fun challenge, I highly recommend this race. And if you’re looking for someone to keep you motivated and chat it up while you do the race, Megan’s your girl.

Soup soup soup soup soup

Confession? I normally don’t really care for soup. It’s too…soupy. I like solid-knife-and-fork-chew-ya-food kind of stuff.

But with the weather getting cooler and the leaves falling and me being the ultimate basic girl, I do like the idea of a warm soup. This one floats my boat just fine because of the meatball factor. OH YES. We’re doing more meatballs.

Meatball Florentine Soup

-2 boxes low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

-1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

-1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

-1 batch chicken meatballs (can substitute frozen pre-made meatballs)

-1 ½ cups uncooked pasta

-3 cups baby spinach

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/2 teaspoon onion powder

-1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-1 teaspoon dried parsley

-1/4 teaspoon black pepper

-shredded Parmesan cheese for topping, if desired

I tend to cook meatballs in bulk and freeze them- so easy to whip this up quickly on a weeknight, plus it requires minimal fresh ingredients (you could even swap out frozen spinach for the fresh).

In a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat, combine broth, beans, can of diced tomatoes (with liquid), and seasonings. Once broth starts simmering, add pasta and meatballs. Cook until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach- it will wilt almost immediately. Serve.

Don't worry- my kitchen is just as messy as yours. 

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 375 calories, 41 g carbs, 9 g fat, 31 g protein.

Italian Chicken Meatballs

-1 lb ground chicken

-1/3 cup whole grain breadcrumbs

-1 egg

-2 teaspoons dried or fresh chopped parsley

-1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Form into 1” balls and bake at 350 for ~30 minutes or until internal temperature registers at least 165 degrees.

I'm the opposite of perky-and-personable-and-on-TV

I am starting to think I should buy Rachael Ray’s “30 Minute Meals.” 

We try to be pretty tight about the time we eat dinner- aiming for 6. By the time I get home it’s usually closer to 5:30. Factor in successfully getting the toddler and baby out of the car and into the house without instigating a meltdown (“I neeeeeed to play outsiiiiiiiide”), changing out of my work clothes, and getting all the ingredients laid out on the counter, my barely-adequate prep time has shrunk even more.

Now I’m starting to think I should…buy Rachael Ray.

This lasagna recipe is something I’ve seen for awhile now and I finally tried it out. Besides the cuteness factor of having lasagna in cup-form, it took me less than 15 minutes to prep the night prior, and then throwing it together and baking took 20 minutes. Not bad at all.

Lasagna Cups

-1 lb extra lean ground beef

-1 20oz jar of marinara sauce (pick your fave)

-Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

-1/4 teaspoon onion powder

-1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-1/8 teaspoon pepper

-1/8 teaspoon salt

-1 ½ cups part skim ricotta

-1 egg

-1 package frozen chopped spinach, microwaved, with excess moisture squeezed out

-30 wonton wrappers (find these in the refrigerated section, usually close to the packaged tofu)

-1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps you can do to prep:

-Saute the beef and absorb any excess liquid fat with a paper towel. Pour in sauce and seasonings, stir well. You could cover and put in the fridge for later.

-Stir together the ricotta, egg, and spinach. Cover, and set in the fridge for later.

When assembling the lasagna cups:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Reheat your meat sauce, if it was refrigerated (do not heat ricotta/egg mixture though!)

-Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with olive oil or canola oil nonstick spray

-Arrange two wonton wrappers so that they overlap at an angle (one square, one diamond). I found this is what best fits in the muffin tin cup.

-Spoon about a tablespoon ricotta mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Follow with about a tablespoon of meat sauce. Repeat with ricotta mixture, and finish with meat mixture.

You’ll have enough meat/ricotta to make 15 cups, but honestly I never bothered to make more than 12.

-Top with a sprinkle of cheese on each cup and bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool for ~5 minutes. This will help the lasagna cup “set” so it doesn’t flop apart when you take it out of the muffin pan. Serve with a vegetable or salad. 

Per lasagna cup: 170 calories, 23 grams protein