I'm Sneaky - Pumpkin & Black Bean Lasagna

I've said before that I am starting to get a reputation for someone who manages to hide vegetables in various foods - both savory and sweet. Once I started testing recipes out, I just couldn't stop. It was downright fun finding ways to get my boys to eat more veggies.

In an effort to stretch the meals a bit as well as hide some squash, I started mixing thawed, drained winter squash into my spaghetti and lasagna. It adds body to the flavor, nutrients to the meal, and another serving to the quantity. But I've since tweaked my lasagna even further.

Lasagna with Pumpkin and Black Beans

After I fry up the meat (beef, ground turkey, whichever you prefer) and drain it, I rinse my beef with scalding water to get rid of excess fat. This picture shows my Halloween pumpkins (pie pumpkins, not the tough Jack-o-lantern kind) - before they sat on the porch too long, I roasted them and scraped the flesh, freezing it in 1 cup quantities. Add the pumpkin to the beef and mix in well, keeping the heat on - you want to cook off as much moisture as possible. Add garlic, onions, salt, pepper, and basil to this as it cooks down. Keep in mind the pumpkin doesn't have the seasoning, and neither do the black beans, so adding flavor on every layer is important for depth. (Or, for a vegetarian take on the meal, leave out the meat and simply cook off excess moisture with the seasonings added in. It is just as delicious - Yes, I've tried it.)

I've got a coffee grinder I use solely for flax seed. Flax is a very tough seed and most cooking times won't steam the outer layer enough to release the healthy oils. For anything that steams or boils, I toss the seeds in whole. For anything else, I grind the seeds before I toss them into the food.

Here is the finished mixture - pumpkin and beef cooked down with ground flax seed.

Begin your layers - organic spaghetti sauce (or, even better, this lovely concoction that uses 10 veggies!), Oven-ready noodles (not pre-cooked), ricotta cheese, meat mixture, shredded cheese, and repeat. when you finish with your last layer, take rinsed and drained plain black beans and layer across the top. This adds another element of fiber as well as protein. I will probably add these to every layer next time I make it.

Top with a last layer of sauce and cheese, and bake for at least an hour on 350*. When I am truly productive, I make this at least a day in advance. There is just something about chili and lasagna that makes the flavor better if it is cooked, sits, then is warmed up slowly.

If you choose to make this in advance, you can freeze and reheat it, too. I would recommend that you tent tin foil over the top to make sure the cheese doesn't stick and that excess steam has an opportunity to escape..

I hope you try this! Let me know your thoughts if you do. Considering the winter blast we're supposed to get tomorrow, I am thrilled that we have leftovers in the fridge. There is no better way to warm up after playing in the snow!

Pumpkin Pie Surprise - Waste Not, Want Not

I have a 4 year old. The result of having a small child is that there are often temperamental changes of mind on anything - clothing, activities, and most especially, food. Sydney accompanied me on our most recent grocery trip. He saw a box of chocolate graham crackers and promised promised promised he would love them and eat them and be a good boy.

He didn't like them.

Confession: I didn't like them when I tried them, exasperated that he wouldn't eat them.

But I refuse to let decent food go to waste.

So, I made miniature Pumpkin Pies out of them. I used a muffin tin so I could freeze them and eat them more slowly.

Pumpkin Pie Surprise

1. The first thing I did was crush up all 3 sleeves of grahams in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Sydney had a lot of fun helping Mommy punch the baggie to break up the crackers. I added a few teaspoons of cinnamon after the pieces were fairly small, just for fun and a little kick.
2. Spray a 6 & 12 tin muffin tin with olive oil. You could probably use just the 12 but the cups would be very full.
3. I melted a stick of butter, poured it into the baggie, and smooshed everything until it was fairly well-mixed.
4. Add a spoonful of the crumbs to each tin and tamp it down.

5. I beat 2 eggs really well and added 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, about 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg (the selling point! Smells so delectable!)

6. Beat in about 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Beat in a 30 oz can of pumpkin pie filling (I usually buy just canned pumpkin, but had grabbed this one by mistake).

7. Fill each cup to about 3/4 full and bake on 350* for about 20 minutes, or until the cups are firm in the center.Allow them to cool in the cups, then remove. 

8. Store in a container in the fridge, or freeze individually.

These were delicious! I know there are many variations of pie out there, but the chocolate crumb crust added a nice touch. Please let me know if you try this or something like it! I hope you enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Low and slow, baby.  Low and slow.

That's the only way to succeed with one of my seasonal favorites.

I love pumpkin. I am a fiend for pumpkin. Anything and everything pumpkin. I am thankful that pumpkin is canned and I stock up during the fall. Most of my baking surrounds itself, it seems, around pumpkin - year round.

But one seasonal staple that remains seasonal is my roasted pumpkin seeds. They are healthy, delicious, and so easy to just chomp on, husk and all.

I even offer to roast any seeds my students bring in, then share them with the entire class.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
First, it is important to note that you need a lot of time at home to do this properly. If you've only got two hours before you have to leave for work or to go to a meeting, follow step one then stop until you have more time. Make sure you store them in the fridge, covered.

1. After you cut the top off the pumpkin, use your fingers as a sieve to scoop out the seeds. This will help tremendously in separating the 'guts' (pith?) from the seeds. I usually drop my seeds into a bowl of heavily salted water to soak and wash off the pumpkin. 
2. Preheat the oven to around 250*. I sometimes go lower, but never - NEVER go higher.
3. Using either your hand or a strainer of some sort, scoop the seeds out of the salted water onto a large rag or towel. If there are clumps of pumpkin still stuck to the seeds, separate. It certainly won't hurt to roast that as well, but the flesh turns rather dark and tough and can be a turn-off to first time seed tasters.
4. I tend to fold the towel over and do a quick rub, just to soak up any excess moisture.
5. Folding the towel in half, I create a 'spout' and pour the seeds onto a lipped sheet pan. You may have to scrape some that stick to the towel.
6. Liberally pour olive oil onto the seeds. Toss gently to coat. 
7. Sprinkle sea salt onto the seeds. 
8. Sprinkle garlic powder onto the seeds (no need for garlic salt. We're not going for a heart attack, here)
9. Toss the seeds gently, then sprinkle again.
10. Pop the pan into the oven.

I let them bake for an hour before I toss them again. Subsequently, toss them every 30 minutes. As the seeds begin to dry, they will stick to each other. Re-sprinkle with salt and garlic each time you toss them while they're still damp.

When the seeds sound like coins (they tend to clatter a bit after they've dried fully), toss them one more time and turn the oven off. Leave them in the oven overnight.

By the next morning, you have a healthy snack! My students ask if they're supposed to eat them whole or crack them like sunflower seeds. Eat them whole. They're so yummy!!

I've also tried this with cinnamon and sugar - these are just as yummy but the sugar can sometimes caramelize a bit, causing an almost 'bark-like' consistency. I would merely suggest that you toss them more frequently than every 30 minutes if you're going for a sweet treat.

Pumpkin Scones Update

Ah... pumpkin. It is good any time of year. I refuse to designate pumpkin as a 'seasonal' item. Case in point, I had the baking itch again today and decided to try the recipe for Pumpkin Scones I'd been guarding for - I hesitate to admit this - years without trying. 

I'll repeat the recipe so you don't have to go to my other page:

Pumpkin Scones - Makes about 12
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 1/3 tsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp nutmeg
(Already I can see I would add the same measurement in cloves.)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (That's it?)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixer w/ a paddle and blend well. Add pumpkin and mix until combined. Add the cream and do the same.
2. The dough will be sticky, so roll it in about 1/2 cup flour. Line a half-sheet pan w/ parchment paper and roll out the dough into a 1" thick rectangle. 

3. Cut it into 4x4" squares (you should get 5 or 6) and place them on a fresh parchment-lined sheet pan. Place the entire pan in the freezer until the scones have frozen thoroughly.

3. Cut each square into two triangles. (Any scones you do not want to immediately bake may now be wrapped up and remain frozen until later use.)

4. Bake, about 4 at a time, on a parchment-lined sheet pan at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

5. Cool the scones on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Drizzle w/ cream cheese icing and enjoy.
This was printed in a newspaper and states this is courtesy of Robert Carkin. 

Confession time: I misjudged how much heavy cream I had. I only had 1 cup left in my carton. I did, however, have full-fat buttermilk from our weekly batch of pancakes that I make for Syd. I figured the important part was the fat, since there is no oil or butter in these, and used that. 

It was delicious! I am quite bitter that I hadn't tried them before. They will, however, become a regular part of my baking repertoire. 

The best part? I had just enough pumpkin left over to make my famous pumpkin bread!! One loaf will automatically go into the freezer for sometime this summer when it is much too hot to bake. The other will be devoured immediately. Yay for pumpkin!