Pumpkin Ravioli With Gorgonzola Sauce

This is a wonderful recipe that I learned about from Culinary In The Country. And they reference Cooking Light!
You can assemble the ravioli a day ahead, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. The ravioli will float when they are perfectly cooked. This freezes well also. I freeze the ravioli in one baggie, the sauce in another. And both in a "container" baggie.

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
30 round wonton wrappers
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Cooking spray
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Preparation
Spoon pumpkin onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels, and spread to 1/2-inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand 5 minutes. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Stir in breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, minced sage, pepper, and nutmeg.
Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon 2 teaspoons pumpkin mixture into the center of wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water and fold in half, pressing edges firmly with fingers to form a half-moon. Place on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch. Repeat procedure with remaining wonton wrappers and pumpkin mixture.

Fill a large Dutch oven with water; bring to a simmer. Add half of ravioli to pan (cover remaining ravioli with a damp towel to keep from drying). Cook 4 minutes or until done (do not boil), stirring gently. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon; lightly coat with cooking spray, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli.

Combine milk and flour in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Gently stir in Gorgonzola.

Place 5 ravioli in each of 6 shallow bowls, and drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons Gorgonzola mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons hazelnuts. Serve immediately.....or freeze :)

Easy Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate Muffins
(Change One site, I think)

Box of devils food cake mix
15 oz can of pumpkin (not seasoned) or 1-3/4 -2 cups fresh cooked pumpkin

Mix, place in muffin papers in muffin tin, bake at 350 degrees.

Makes 18 at approximately 130 calories each

These are chocolatey great!

Perfect Corn On The Cob

Perfect Corn On The Cob

Boil water in a dutch oven sized pot. Place corn in water and bring back to a boil. Place a lid on the pot. Set timer to 12 minutes. At the end of the 12 minutes remove the corn from water and place on serving plate. Perfect.

Grilled Pineapple

Grilled Pineapple
Penzey's One

1 whole pineapple, sliced and cored - 6-8 slices
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon water
1/2-1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Cut off both ends of the pineapple and slice. Trim the edges and then core the center. Brush with the honey/ginger mixture

Grill, watching carefully until lightly browned with the grill "marks" - about five minutes per side.

Limeade Pie

Limeade Pie

This is a different twist on the 15 minute summer treasure Lemonade Pie that is a favorite at our house. Using store bought crusts makes this a snap. (Thanks Peter for limeade idea!)

2 9-inch graham cracker pie crusts
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (does not have to be a high-end brand nor vanilla bean)
12 oz limeade concentrate, thawed


Make (cool) or open package of crusts. In a large bowl ix ice cream and lemonade concentrate until smooth. Pour half of the mixture into each of the pie crusts. Freeze.

Serve frozen. Slice into six or eight pieces to serve.

Tonight's Delight - More Summer Pizza Ideas

Another pizza night another prize.

Start with the Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. I used garlic olive oil in this batch.

Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons basil from a tube
1 - 2 teaspoons (start low) brown sugar
1-2 teaspoon rosemary olive oil
Water to thin sauce to spreading consistency

Mix and let flavors blend.

During the last few minutes or while after you have "punched" down the dough you can start prepping the vegetables.

Topping:
Smoked Mozzarella pieces with the tough outer layer removed
Halved (lengthwise) and sliced Zucchini
Chopped Green Pepper
Halved (vertically) Cherry Tomatoes (Set aside about 4-5 tomato halves for center garnish).
Sliced Mushrooms
Sliced Red Pepper
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Rosemary Olive Oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Roll out dough, place on baking stone and flute edges like a pie crust.

Lightly oil the inside surface to the edges, leaving no "puddles". Spread tomatoe sauce to inside edges. Dot with smoked mozzarella.

Line the edges of the pice crust with the half moons of zuchini with the round portion facing the edge. (Use pieces that will totally "outline" the crust.) Place tomatoes, cut side up, in between the zucchini arches. Place mushrooms, cut side up, across top of pizza. Follow with red pepper slices (so they look like confetti). Sprinkled chopped green pepper last. Place remaining cherry tomatoes, cut side up, in the center.

Sprinkle tiny pieces of sea salt over pizza, followed by grinding pepper over the top. Drizzle rosemary olive oil (sparingly) over the top of the pizza.

Bake 15-20 minutes (checking after 15) for melted cheese and lightly browned crust.

The simple topping is necessary because the smokiness of the cheese brings up the rest of the flavors.

I think the smoked mozzarella would be excellent with chicken and a BBQ sauce on this hearty dough too.