The Great Pumpkin Gnocchi Recipe

Random Thought: 

What if ...we ate through our bellybuttons. I have been pondering this all day.

In other news, it's my parents' 24th anniversary. Yay!, I am so honored to be a a product of their love. Congrats Mom and Dad! In celebration and as a "thank-you" for life, I am making them dinner: pumpkin gnocchi. Gnocchi is a funny word, it sounds like it's spelled Y-o-n-k-y. Thank god, it was never given to me during a spelling bee.


Pumpkin is so underrated and the poor thing is only really utilized during Halloween and Thanksgiving, when in reality it's deserved year-round recognition. Team Pumpkin! It's my first-time attempting to make this veggie pasta, but the recipe looks easy enough so lets go!

What you'll need:

• 1 (15 oz.) Can Pumpkin 
• Nutmeg & All-spice (to taste)
• Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon or to taste)
• 2 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Whole Wheat Flour
• Minced Garlic
• Salt and Pepper 
• Sauce of choice

Directions:

1.) Mix flour, canned pumpkin and seasonings together to form a pumpkin-y dough.  You may need to keep adding flour until it becomes a doughy consistency.

                                         

2.) You may need to add additional flour if the dough is sticky or falls apart; keep adding small amounts until it's no longer a sticky mess. FYI... taking pictures + rolling dough = a phone covered in flour

3.) Create a lightly floured surface, and divide dough into 6 parts. Pretend you work as an Auntie Annies' pretzel maker and roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter. This recipe made me realized that Annie would have fired me.

4.) Begin boiling a pot of water...add salt to the water, too!

5.) Take the first rope and cut into 1 inch pieces, roll each in the floured surface so it has a light, floured layer. When cutting, I found that small pieces worked best but do you. Place each rolled "gnocchi" on a floured baking sheet. 

6.) Repeat until all of the ropes have been cut and rolled into lovely gnocchi shapes.

7.) Once the water is boiled, add salt and drop in the gnocchi a handful at a time. Gnocchi are finished when they float to the top (like little buoys). Retrieve each veggie noodle with a slotted spoon as they come afloat.

8.) Gently rinse the gnocchi off with warm water, then plate and top off with hot, tomato sauce!

I was pleasantly surprised that the pumpkin gnocchi had the same consistency as regular, pasta gnocchi; so good! Another success were the green beans (above) which were mixed and marinated in pesto sauce.

 Bon Appetite! 

GO FISH

The days I work out, my appetite is through the roof. I can't stop eating. Plus, I'm trying to keep my meals well rounded and nutritious. I'll admit that I can be a victim of convenience (and being a college student). Sometimes that frozen dinner looks a heck of-a-lot more appealing than whipping up a whole meal while dirtying dishes. But, I think that's why I'm always hungry because the easy, I'm-a-lazy-college-student-on-a-budget, throw-in the mic meals are not always the most filling (or nutritious because many of them include ingredients that I can't pronounce = gross). For the sake of my stomach, I need to de-lazify my cooking habits...sigh, I guess college does that to ya.

So today, I say no to the microwave and hello to cooking ahead.

My Game Plan: I'm gonna cook for two! I shall make a big meal, divide it in two and then voila!, I have lunch/dinner for tomorrow. So simple.

I love haddock and I love asparagus, so that is what I'm going to make (and a lot of it).
Lemon Peppered Wild Haddock with Steamed Asparagus


One thing I love about this fish, is that it's wild. Well, duh you're thinking; the fish was wild, but I mean that it was "wild-caught"....meaning a nice fisherman in Iceland caught this fish with a big ol' net. I'm not a huge fan of fish farms because it's like mass producing food (similar to what I talk about in my post: Happy Food comes from Happy Animals). I like my fish happy, and I think they're happier when caught in the wild than in a cramped fish farm.

I'm thawing out two (count 'em, two!) haddock fillets. Plan ahead because thawing these babies takes some time. I once thawed my fish in the microwave and instead of thawing out they came out cooked! Learn from my mistakes, people, and plan ahead!

Pretty fillets

I preheated the oven at 300. I placed the fillets in aluminum foil and seasoned with pepper and fresh squeezed lemon. Yum! While the haddock cooks, I'm going to steam the asparagus in the microwave. I sprayed the foil with butter spray to avoid stick and give the fillets a little extra flavor.

Before

After

I wrapped the fillets up like a present; this will help them cook more thoroughly. I'm gonna stick them in the oven for about 20 minutes, but keep checking them periodically because our oven was made by the devil and gets unusually hot.

Dinner is served for the next 2 nights. I like it.

Happy Monday!

Super Simple Summer Squash Spaghetti Recipe

Just when I thought I've exhausted all possible uses for squash, I had a foodie epiphany. Spaghetti! I love spaghetti and I love squash, so why not! It makes me wonder why I didn't think of this sooner. I wasn't a veggie lover as a kid, but if my mom disguised squash as pasta then I would have dived in face first.

What you'll need:
1 Medium yellow squash
Potato peeler or grater
Jar of tomato sauce


Flavor Booster Add- ins
Onion (check)
Zucchini (double check)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Basil


Initially my roommate and I were going to use a potato peeler, but that utensil isn't high on the college priority list. So, we used a cheese grater. Genius. Below, Emily is doing a wonderful grating the yellow summer squash (compliments of our landlord). We thought her bright pink nail polish was a nice contrast against the yellow of the squash...really brought out that yellow hue.

Emily grated long squash strands until she reached the core of the squash. We're like Indians with buffalo in the sense we don't like to waste the leftover parts of our food, but we couldn't find a use for the squash core. We couldn't wear it or burn it for fuel, so we tossed it. Sigh. We also grated in a zucchini and onion for flavor and color.

We sauteed the "noodles" on low heat while sprinkling in some spices. Yes, it looks like a giant pan of mush, but it's going to taste fantastic.

Once cooked, plate and finally top off with some tomato sauce! Nom. Nom. Nom.

Ps. It tastes awesome and it's really easy to whip up.
Pss. Try this out before the summer squash get frost bitten!

  

Monday Yumday: Marinated Veggies

In attempts to mimic our role models on Food Network, my roommate and I are starting to get crafty in the kitchen. We're attempting to plan our meals ahead of time in hopes to eat healthier when we come back from class ravenous. 

One easy food tip I learned in college: dressing makes a great and cheap marinade. I also learned that you can basically marinade anything. Hence, our craftiness. Italian dressing + Vegetables = Greatness

We marinated onions, squash, and a giant zucchini in Italian dressing overnight. Simple. I sauteed mine along with a few green beans and batta bing batta boom, dinner. It's not rocket science, but it's simple which makes its a quick and delicious meal. Pair it with chicken, whole wheat pasta or savory by itself. Yum. Gosh, I love vegetables. 

Our next planned meal is yellow squash spaghetti from scratch. Stay tuned, y'all.