Pumpkin Cups

 

I made these sugar free, because my dad’s diabetic and I’m fighting my weight again right now, and they turned out MARVELOUSLY. Feel free to use regular instant pudding (2 3.4oz packages of pudding mix and 3C milk) and Cool Whip instead of sugar free, though, it wouldn’t make any difference!

I had also considered the thought of tossing this in a pie crust and calling it a ‘no-bake pumpkin pie,’ so that might be something to think about trying, too —

PUMPKIN PUDDING CUPS

Ingredients

1 1.5oz sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix

1 15oz can plain pumpkin purée 

2 1/2 cups milk 

2t pumpkin pie spice, plus more for garnish

Sugar free Cool Whip

In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix, pumpkin puree, milk, and the 2t pumpkin pie spice. (I had to start this out with a spatula and then get the whisk to smooth it out.)  Let sit 5-10 minutes to thicken slightly.

Spoon into pudding cups or small bowls. Let chill at least one hour. Mine chilled overnight.

Serve topped with Cool Whip and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice, for garnish.

Servings: well, my recipe said six. I got maybe twice that? I guess it depends on how big your bowls or pudding cups are.

Appetizers: Roasted Shrimp

 SUPER-duper easy. And a make-ahead recipe, because they have to be chilled! Wonderful for a party or guests.

 

ROASTED SHRIMP

Raw shrimp, whatever size and quantity you want

Olive oil, about 2-3T per pound of shrimp

A bit of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350.

If your shrimp are not peeled and deveined, go ahead and do that. Toss in a bowl with the olive oil until all are lightly coated. 

Place in a single layer on a sheet pan or baking dish. Sprinkle LIGHTLY with sea salt. 

Bake for 5-7 minutes or until just pink.

Serve chilled.

 The main difference between the Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo and my own Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Alfredo is the garlic: a ‘true’ Alfredo traditionally only has the three ingredients, cream, butter, and cheese. The Olive Garden adds a good bit of garlic to theirs, as anyone who has eaten there knows! It’s awfully good, so when I found this recipe I definitely wanted to give it a try.

If you make it plain, the way the Olive Garden serves it, you will only get 4-5 servings out of 14 or 16 oz of pasta, and it will have about 850-900 calories a serving if you top it with extra cheese.

My diet does not allow that, I don’t know about yours!

So I made the ‘additions’ of some sautéed shrimp and some steamed broccoli florets. Quite a few broccoli florets, as a matter of fact! Enough of these healthy kind of additions (sautéed or wilted spinach and grilled chicken would be good too!) will spread out the servings from a pound of pasta from 4-5 to 7-8, and that’ll cut that massive load of calories in half. 

You see how many extra servings I got out of this? It reheats much better than a ‘traditional’ Alfredo, too!!

A NOTE ON THE CHEESE: You will want to use a block of fresh Parmesan and grate it yourself, for this recipe! It needs to be that finely grated to melt into the sauce properly.

Copycat Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo

• Ingredients 
• 1 lb. 

  fettuccine (I used 14oz, because that’s how Tinkyada packages their fettuccine)

• 3 

  cloves garlic, grated or minced

• 1 tsp. 

  freshly ground black pepper, plus more for taste

• 8 Tbsp. (1stick) 

  butter, divided and cut into tablespoons 

• 1 c. 

  heavy cream or half and half

• 1/2 c. 

  Parmesan, grated plus more for serving

• Freshly chopped parsley, for ganish

Directions

1. Follow instructions to cook fettuccine, subtracting about 2 minutes from the cook time to start testing it, to ensure the pasta is al dente. You REALLY do not want mushy pasta for this one! Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
2. 
   After you’ve drained your pasta, melt 1T of the butter in the hot pasta pot. I turned the heat back on about medium-low. Add garlic and black pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant. Don’t let anything burn!
3. 
   Whisk in heavy cream and the rest of the butter. Bring the cream mixture to a simmer and let it simmer about 2-3 minutes. The recipe said it was going to thicken slightly. Mine didn’t.
4. 
   Add the 1/2C Parmesan and cooked fettucine to the pasta pot and toss until the cheese is melted and the pasta is fully coated. (I added my shrimp and broccoli at this step.) Add 1/2C or so of the pasta water and simmer for an additional minute tossing until the sauce is glossy and cohesive. The starch in the pasta water should thicken the sauce. Add more pasta water if needed to get the sauce the right consistency.

Move pasta to a serving bowl and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan and parsley for serving.

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Garlic-Butter Roasted Cauliflower

 Do you ever try a recipe, and get about halfway through it, and think, ‘These people never tried this thing!’?!

This was one of those…

Nothing worked.

So!

I have trialed-and-errored it for us, and it sure TASTES great.

Garlic, butter, olive oil, and Parmesan - on roasted cauliflower - marvelous!

GARLIC-BUTTER ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower

3T butter 

1T olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced 

1/3C Parmesan

Parsley (I didn’t measure the parsley)

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut your cauliflower into bite sized pieces in a large bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave, I used a small glass measuring cup so I could pour it easily, and stir in the olive oil. Toss the cauliflower with the butter and olive oil until it is coated evenly. Add the minced garlic, and toss it all again until mixed well.

Spread the cauliflower out on a sheet pan. [Do NOT use parchment paper for this recipe! It will get soggy and tear apart on you!] Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes, stirring two or three times, until done. Add the Parmesan and parsley when it comes out of the oven.

 

Sour Cream Quiche with Hash Brown Crust

 

SOUR CREAM QUICHE WITH HASH BROWN CRUST

Ingredients: Crust

Cooking spray

20oz hash browns

1/2C (2oz) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2T butter, melted

1/2t garlic powder (I didn't measure)

Salt and pepper (again, I didn't measure)

Ingredients: Filling

1T corntarch (Argo brand is marked GF)

6 eggs, divided

2C sour cream (I used light)

1C milk (I used 2%)

2T Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper (again, didn't measure)

8oz bacon - I used Canadian bacon, or you can cook and crumble regular bacon

Dried chives

1C (about 4oz) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Crust Assembly:

You do the crust first in this recipe. 

Preheat your oven to 425. Spray a casserole dish or 9" springform pan with pan spray.

Place frozen hashbrowns in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until soft and until all moisture has evaporated. I did this two minutes at a time.

Add the other crust ingredients to the bowl with the hashbrowns. Stir well. Spread evenly into the pan and up the sides. Bake until the edges are starting to brown, about 40 minutes.

Quiche Assembly:

Turn your oven off for a bit while you prepare the quiche filling. You're going to bake your quiche at 375, so it can have a few minutes to cool down a bit.

In a large bowl, mix cornstarch with one egg until no lumps remain. Add the remaining 5 eggs; beat until smooth. Add sour cream, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper. I needed to get out a whisk to get mixed smooth.

Spread half of the cheese across the bottom of the crust. Top with bacon (whichever kind you're using) and sprinkle liberally with dried chives. Pour egg mixture over this. Top with remaining cheese. 

Bake quiche at 375 until edges are set and there is just a slight jiggle in the middle when shaken, about 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool 30 minutes before sliding a knife around the edges and serving.

Can be served hot or at room temperature. 

Serves: 8-9

Appetizers: Spinach and Artichoke Dip

 A crock pot recipe for spinach and artichoke dip! This one is super-easy, and a real favorite for my family.

INGREDIENTS

12oz bag frozen chopped spinach

1 14oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

8oz cream cheese (low fat works great)

3/4C shredded Mozzarella 

1/2C grated Parmesan 

1/4C milk

Place all ingredients in the crock pot in this order, roughly cutting the cream cheese into chunks as you add it. Place the lid on the crock pot and set to high.

After an hour, mix the ingredients together. Cook for another hour, and it should be ready to serve!