I get in a rut with pasta. I usually have some kind of tomato sauce with meatballs or roasted veggies. Over and over and over. So I was excited when my friend Meghan offered me some leftovers of her Pampered Chef Harvest Pasta Skillet. It was delicious! Brett ordered pumpkin ravioli at a restaurant once and has been talking about it ever since, so I thought this would be an easy knock-off.
And dairy-free? No problem! It was easy to tweak for my new restrictions, and I simplified some ingredients from the original. Here’s my version of the recipe:

Penne with Pumpkin Sauce
1 onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can pumpkin
4 c. vegetable or chicken stock
1 c. water (or 3/4 c. white wine and 1/4 c. water)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 box (14 oz) penne pasta
salt and pepper

– in a 12-inch skillet, sauté onion and mushrooms 2-3 minutes
– in a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, stock and water
– add garlic to skillet and sauté for about 30 seconds
– pour liquid in skillet and heat to a simmer
– add pasta, cover and simmer for 9-11 minutes
– uncover and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring periodically until pasta absorbs almost all liquid
– add salt and pepper to taste

This is seriously good! It’s so rich and creamy that I didn’t miss the dairy at all. And it was a big hit with Hannah, though she picked out the mushrooms. I liked that it seemed like a fancy pasta dish without any fancy ingredients. This will be on our table again.

My ingredient upgrades: organic stock, whole wheat pasta

Here’s something for everyone stuck in the Midwest blizzard!
I’ve mentioned I love my slow cooker. I love to make chili in my slow cooker, and the recipe varies a bit each time depending on what I have on hand. All good, but this batch was so tasty, I knew I had to actually write the recipe down because I definitely want to replicate it.

Double Chile Chili

1 lb. ground beef, cooked
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups beans (or 2 cans)
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
Salt to taste

Everything in the slow cooker for 6-8 hrs on low.

This is a great “pantry meal” – if you have a well-stocked pantry, everything should be on hand. Handy when there’s a foot of snow outside. The beef was from the freezer from the huge meat delivery we just got. The beans were also from the freezer. I did buy the tomatoes this week for this meal, but when they go on sale I try to stock up, so I often have a stash in the pantry.
If you have some cold nights in the forecast, give this a shot. Actually, it’s good even when it’s 75 degrees like it is here. ;)
My ingredient upgrades: homemade beans, local grassfed beef, organic tomatoes

New menu idea – Monday night is bean night. Beans are a healthy and inexpensive protein, and since I do my grocery shopping on Tuesday, a consistently easy Monday meal will ensure I’ll have something to put on the table.
Black beans and rice are an easy go-to meal; add a little cheese and salsa and we’re happy. But with inspiration from another blog on Frugal, Real Food Meals, I gave beans and cornbread a shot. This took a further turn toward the Southern when I pulled out the Brussels sprout greens from our CSA basket.

Since I use beans frequently, I save money and avoid a little BPA by cooking batches of dried beans in my slow cooker and freezing portions. This time, I threw in a little bacon and onion when cooking the white beans.
The Brussels sprout greens were new to me, and I figured I’d sauté them like collard greens or spinach. Fail. They just browned and got crispy, kind of like kale chips. But they were really tasty, reminded us of those crunchy outer leaves when I roast Brussels sprouts.
Next on the plate was the cornbread. I used a recipe from the More-with-Less cookbook, and Brett pronounced it his favorite cornbread ever. I cut a large piece in two, then topped one half with the beans as garnished with crispy bacon. The other half I buttered then drizzled with maple syrup. Cornbread sweet and savory.
This was delicious. If you think beans are boring and bland, try something like this (bacon! happy!). And if you have any more ideas for my Beany Monday rotation, let me know!
My ingredient upgrades: homemade beans, organic greens, whole wheat flour, uncured bacon, pure maple syrup