Kale & Mushroom Pumpkin Pasta

I love to stock up with tons of pumpkin during the fall.  Its not something thats easily available all throughout the year and so I make up for it when October and November roll around.  I probably have about 20 cans right now in my cupboard, uh a little too much?  nah what am I thinking you can never have too much of a good thing, and it dosen't hurt that it's healthy for you.  I usually use pumpkin in sweet dishes but being infected with the sickness and all (common cold) and not having much of a sweet tooth tonight...shocker I know.  I wanted too use up some of those 20 cans of pumpkin and I thought why not make a yummy creamy pumpkin sauce for pasta.  It was really easy and fast to make and you can use it for not only pasta but it would be great over ravioli or perhaps even rice.

Kale & Mushroom Pumpkin Pasta
Oishii Treat Original

Ingredients

10-13 ounce box of penne pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup red onion diced small
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups kale (ribs removed, washed and tear apart into bite sized pieces)
3/4 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
pepper
salt
1 cup white cheddar cheese shredded

Directions

- In a large sauté pan on medium high heat add you butter and let it melt
- Add your diced onion and garlic cooking for 2 minutes
- Add in the sliced mushrooms, stir around and cook for another 2 minutes
- Add in your kale stirring for about 2 minutes until in starts to wilt
- In a large pot of boiling water cook your pasta according to package directions
- In the large pan mix in the pumpkin, broth, half and half, basil and parsley. stir until completely combined
- Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the sauce while the pasta is cooking, about 10 minutes.
- Drain your past and add it back to the pot, add in your sauce and 1/2 cup of your shredded cheese and mix well.
- serve it up and if you like top with a little more cheese

I also linked up to a few new link parties over at Seven Alive, Mom on Time Out, Practically Functional, Two Yellow Birds Decor, Live Laugh

Vegetarian Tostadas (+ gluten free)

Wow totally got my mind blown today.  It was my first day at the legal office and wow is all I can say.  Its a completely different world in that career field then on the flight line where I've spent the last 9 years working.  Everyone is so cheerful and happy, officers and enlisted are super nice to each other and they work together on cases and legal documents.  Its a completely different atmosphere from where I use to work to where I'm going to start working, its so opposite.

I think I'm going to enjoy my new career, tho I'm going to have to be on top of my A game when it comes to doing research and drafting memos and sentence structure and grammer and spelling and phewww I need a English class stat!

On a different topic, me and the hubby have decided to start implementing a more gluten free diet to our routine. The hubby came across a book called Wheat Belly and it discusses how eliminating gluten and wheat from your diet can help you physically and mentally. Everything from losing weight to exhaustion and more.  So we decided to give it a try, it might even help me with my skin problems.   But now I can't use my morning star products as often as I use to :(
at least I read that corn is gluten free, so you can never go wrong with mexican/tex mex food like corn tortillas =) thank goodness

Vegetarian Tostadas (+ gluten free) 
By Oishii Treats

Yields 4

Ingredients
4 White or Yellow Corn Tortillas
1 15oz can of Black Beans (drained)
1/4 Cup onions diced
1 clove Garlic minced
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1-3 Chiles in Adobo Sauce (diced)
1 1/2 Cup Spinach (sliced julienne style)
Spinkle of dried basil and garlic sea salt (for black beans)
8 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
Feta Cheese
Sour Cream
your favorite salsa


Directions
Heat a large saute pan on medium high heat. Saute your onions and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
Place your balck beans (BB) in a microwavble safe container and add the sauted onions and garilc to the BB.
Add the diced chiles in adobo sauce to the BB.  Sprinkle in some dried basil and garilc sea salt. Stir and microwave for 2 minutes, using a potato masher mash the warm BB to your desired consistency and return to the microwave for 1 minute.
Meanwhile take a paper towel and using the same saute pan wipe out any excess oil or browning from the onions. Spray with cooking oil and on high heat, toast your tortillas until crsipy anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
Assemble your tostadas by placing the beans on top, sprinkle with feta, top with spinach, sliced cherry tomatoes, dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with more feta and salsa

** Update, there is a fun linky event going on called Fabulous Friday where a bunch of great bloggers come together to share their recipe of the week. So I will be sharing my yummy vegetarian tostadas. Come check it out or join in. Also check on Freedom Fridays for another fun blog hop.

Spicy Fajita Quesadillas

I can never get enough cheese, beans and avocado add some onions and peppers wrapped in a delicious tortilla and I'm in heaven. Sadly I'm a little late on the Cinco De Mayo party this year but I gotta say I love Mexican food/ Tex Mex you name it. Its so quick and easy to make something delicious wrapped in a tortilla on those night (like last night) when you don't feel like cooking a big meal. Plus mexican food is so easy to make without meat, you don't notice the meat missing when you have a tortilla packed with fiber and protein rich beans and tons of sautéed veggies.

Spicy Fajita Quesadillas
By Oishii Treats

Ingredients
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained
2 large flour tortillas (your favorite brand)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Chipotle Pepper in adoba sauce
2 teaspoons adoba sauce (from the same can the peppers are in)
1/4 teaspoon Ancho chili powder or chili powder
1 Cup Chili garlic Tillamook cheddar cheese (Shredded)
1 Cup Shedder Cheese (Shredded)
1/4 Avocado

*Not shown Olive oil and Ancho Chili Powder

Thinly Slice your red onion, red pepper and green pepper

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large sauté pan on medium high heat and cook the veggies for 6-8 minutes. 

While the veggies are sautéing take you can of black beans (drained) and add to a microwavable safe bowl, chop 1 chipotle pepper in adoba sauce add to bb, add your garlic, ancho chili powder and extra adoba sauce to the black beans and mix well. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes

                         

Mash the black beans until you get the same consistency as refried beans, set aside till the veggies are done.

after veggies are done, assemble the quesadilla. only add to one side of the tortilla layer first with cheese, beans, veggies, more cheese and fold in half

Using the same pan you sauteed the veggies in, cook each side of your quesadilla for 3-4 minutes

Top it off with some sliced avocado and enjoy