Do it yourself Pumpkin Puree

Nothing beats real homemade pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread.  Homemade down to the pumpkin puree!  Mmmmm good!  The best part?  It's not ridiculously hard either.  I will forewarn you, it is incredibly messy, and a bit time consuming.  

I like doing this because it is the second year we're doing it, and it is a great project for the whole family.  Bill and Eoin both helped this year.  It's become one of our fall traditions!  Word to the wise, this is a project best reserved for a free day.  I, however, decide to make my life unnecessarily hard and did this and the chicken stock in the same night!  

For the past two years we have gotten one large pumpkin when we've gone pumpkin picking and instead of carving it and letting it rot on our doorstep, we've decided to put it to good use.  Bill loves my pumpkin bread, as well as my pumpkin pie, and one large pumpkin renders enough pumpkin for us for 1 year.  Every now and then, I'll make a pumpkin bread or pie for the 3 of us, and during the fall and winter, I bring either when we are invited over to friends or families houses for dinner.  Last year, I would mix the pumpkin puree with plain yogurt and make a sort of custard for Eoin, which really didn't go over too well, but it is an idea for anyone else who may be interested.  

Now, how to make your very own puree:

Take your pumpkin and scrub the outside, pat dry. 

Cut your pumpkin in half, then into quarters, keep cutting it down into large chunks that can easily fit into baking dishes, baking pans, roasting pans, etc.  (Make sure to discard the stem, you're not roasting that)  Scrape the pieces clean of any and all seeds and gunk.  You can save the seeds and roast them.

You can add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pans.  Bake at 300º for about an hour.  I would check at 30-35 min.  Insert a knife or fork, to check for tenderness.  If it goes in and out easily, it's tender and ready!

Let the pumpkin pieces sit in the tray until cool.  

When the pumpkin is cool to the touch, cut the flesh of the pumpkin away from the shell.  Put the scraped pumpkin into a food processor and puree until smooth.  (This is a great part where your kids can help, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILD UNATTENDED!  When Eoin helps me, I am ALWAYS right there next to him!)

Or, you could use a hand masher, you will have SOME lumps in the mixture.

I then label baggies with either 1 cup or 2 cups Pumpkin Puree and the date it was made.  Freeze flat.  To thaw, place baggie in a bowl and put in the refrigerator overnight.  Stays good frozen up to 1 year.

Making your own chicken stock

Today is the perfect day for a nice bowl of soup!  To set up the scene, Fall in New York has finally come with a vengeance as October ends.  I am sitting here in my living room with the space heater going full blast, since we've had such nice weather, my landlords have not turned the heat on yet.  For lunch, I'm pretty sure I'll have a nice bowl of Progresso soup.  I am planning on making my famous Potato and Leek soup next week.  

Chicken stock is usually the base for any soup.  I have bought so many cans over the years with each grocery shopping trip.  Every time I roast a chicken I say, "I'll save the bones next time!"  Well next time has come and gone for some time now!  I finally did it!  The last time I made a roast chicken, I saved the bones!  It's really a simple, no-brainer recipe.  That being said, it is very tedious and time consuming. 

I'm not going to give you my usual lay-out for a recipe.  Mainly because this is a little bit of this, a little bit of that kind of recipe.  It is solely based on what you prefer, almost like chicken soup and rice.  I've looked up so many ways to make this, from stove top, to slow cooker.  You can use the bones, you can use the giblets (except for the liver), you can have some meat in there too.  I made mine using just the frame of the chicken with some back meat on it.  

So after you have your chicken dinner, pull the rest of the meat from the frame that you will be saving for leftovers.  If you are not making the stock right away (it takes 3-4 hours just for the cooking portion of it), place in a zip-lock bag, or even a shopping bag and knot.  Place in the refrigerator if you will be using within the next day or two, the freezer if it's going to be much longer than that.

When you are ready to cook, place the frame into a large stock pot.  I cut mine up a little using kitchen shears so it fit a little nicer. Cover the bones in cold water.  

You can wait to add your vegetables, but I added mine from the beginning and it came out fine.  I chopped up some carrot, pretty much 3/4 of a baby carrots bag.  I chopped up about 4 stalks of celery.  (I tried to keep a visual balance between the carrots and celery).  I only used 1 onion, but you can certainly add another.  

Spices are another thing that is left up to personal preference.  I used 2 bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper.  Use a little, you can always adjust the flavors at the end. 

So pretty much this is going to simmer about 3-4 hours.  Your liquid is going to reduce some and become more concentrated.  I actually split mine up into two pots because I had so much!  Every so often, you need to skim the fat from the top of the pot.  After it is done simmering, I strained the stock into storage bowls.  You want to strain out the veggies, meat and bones; only reserving the liquid.

Unless you plan on using the 2 quarts this is going to yield, I started pouring mine into empty ice cube trays.  After they freeze, transfer into a labeled zip-lock bag.  You want to put the contents and the date made on it. Each cube is about 1 ounce.

 

When you need to use some stock for a recipe?  Just pop out a few cubes and either defrost in the fridge, pop in the microwave, or throw into your pan or pot!  

Although it is time consuming, it really is just that easy!

Pasta 'e' Broccoli

This is another one inspired from "The Chew."  The recipe called for cauliflower and angel hair pasta, but I swapped it out for broccoli and spaghetti.  Let me just say, it was a fantastic hit in my house!  Eoin, Bill and I absolutely LOVED it!  Over the summer Eoin started trying broccoli, raw and cooked, and seemed to like it a lot.  Luckily, he still likes broccoli!  I welcome any changes from the plain old pasta and marinara!  The directions are going to be the same regardless if you use the broccoli or cauliflower, it's just left up to what you prefer.  Next time, I will make it with the cauliflower and I'll update my feedback at that time.  And don't think that you don't have time to make a dinner like this!  It seriously takes UNDER 10 minutes to make!  

Yields 4-6 Servings


Ingredients:

• 1 bunch cauliflower or broccoli
• 1 lb pasta (angel hair, spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, your choice)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 garlic cloves 
• 1 jar capers  (I didn't have capers on hand so I used green olives with a tablespoon or two of the juice for the desired "saltiness")
• Parsley, for garnish (Can use fresh or dried, whichever you have on hand)
• About 3 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese
• About 2 tsp red pepper flakes, depending on taste

Directions:

• Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add the pasta, cooking 1 minutes less than box instructions for al dente.

• While your pasta is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet.  Chop cauliflower or broccoli into bite-sized bits.  Chop up your garlic and, if using fresh parsley, your parsley.  When oil is heated, add your cauliflower or broccoli, followed by the garlic, the red pepper flakes, the olives with the splash of olive juice (or the jar of capers).  (The key is to NOT overcook your cauliflower or broccoli, you don't want it limp.  And you don't want the garlic on the heat too long, you don't want it to burn!  You want it to be cooked, but crisp!)  Stir to incorporate.

• When the pasta is done cooking, DO NOT DRAIN!  Use tongs to take the pasta from the pot and add to skillet.  Add a ladle or two full of the pasta sauce to the skillet to help create a sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley and mix thoroughly.  You can use more parsley and cheese for a garnish.

Cheesy, Creamy Mac-N-Cheese

So...I may get some flack for this post.  Don't get me wrong but I do ABSOLUTELY LOVE "All My Children", and it was heart-wrenching to see the show end it's run on ABC.  I know some people may have totally stopped watching ABC weekdays at 1 PM and went to another channel.  That being said, I do enjoy "The Chew".  In the short time that show has been on, I feel like I've picked up so many little tricks!  I plan on making DIY table runners for the holidays (of course when I do this, I will post about it!).  

Last week I was planning on making a different version of Mac-n-Cheese with whatever I had laying around.  I've done 3 versions:  The Velveeta box recipe, a slow-cooker version, and the Kraft version!  As luck would have it, "The Chew" did a version of Mac-n-Cheese on the show that day!  Alas, my side dish was born!  I did change/substitute parts of it because I used what I already had.  Like I've said before, any and all of my changes/suggestions will be italicized.

Yields about 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of elbow macaroni (I used cavatappi)
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup carmelized onions
• 1 cup white cheddar, grated*
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley to garnish (less if using dried parsley)
• 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used to sliced of deli ham, fried up and chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or whole, according to your preferences)
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated*
• 4 oz cream cheese (half of stick)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

*You may use whatever cheese you have readily available.  I used 1 cup of a Mexican blend, and then 1/2 cup of Swiss and 1/2 cup of Cheddar.  It's based on whatever your personal preferences are.  There is NO WRONG WAY!  

Directions:

1. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.  Drain. (I hear this over and over again, on this show included.  Whatever your package directions say, cook one minute less, if you plan on still cooking the pasta in the sauce.)
2. In a saucepan, cook bacon until crispy.  Remove bacon, reserve drippings in saucepan.  Add and melt 2 Tbsp butter in same saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Whisk in the milk, and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the cheese until smooth.  Stir in carmelized onions, bacon and pasta.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, combine all ingredients for breadcrumbs.  Allow to toast.
4. Serve into bowls.  Top with breadcrumbs and crumbled bacon.  Sprinkle with parsley.