Savory Pumpkin Dishes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

First and foremost, let me come out and say pumpkin is a winter squash.

It has come to my attention that many people don’t realize this, and they think pumpkin is just for pies and lattes. But actually, pumpkin is one of my favorite ingredients for savory dishes this time of year.

The smooth texture is great for sauces and soups, not to mention, it's packed full of nutrients like potassium, Vitamin C, and fiber.

It pairs very well with sage, smoked paprika, ginger, and cayenne, among other spices.

Spicy Sausage Pumpkin Gnocchi
Ingredients

• 2 pounds gnocchi
• 16 ounces spicy sausage
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add gnocchi, stirring gently so they don’t all stick together. Cook gnocchi for about 2 minutes, or until they start to rise to the surface.
2. Drain gnocchi. Drizzle with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking together and set aside.
3. Brown sausage in skillet; drain fat and set aside.
4. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of saucepan and heat at medium heat. Sauté garlic and sage in saucepan for about 1 minute.
5. Add cream cheese and heat until melted.
6. Add pumpkin puree, half-and-half, parmesan cheese, smoked paprika and chili powder. Stir until thoroughly combined and simmer on low for several minutes.
7. Gently fold gnocchi and sausage into sauce until combined.
8. Serve warm and garnish with toasted walnuts and more parmesan cheese if desired.

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Pulse lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and salt together in a food processor or blender until smooth. 
2. Add garbanzo beans and olive oil and pulse until smooth. 
3. Add pumpkin, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper; pulse until well blended. Transfer hummus to bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. When ready to serve, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle additional smoked paprika on top.

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Spring lasagna using seasonal vegetables

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I cannot stress enough the importance of eating seasonally and eating locally. First of all, fruits and vegetables are most flavorful when they’re in season. That’s because the produce is growing close to where you love, so it can be harvested at its peak when it is most flavorful. It’s not being harvested early and sitting in a shipping container awaiting a trip across the continent before reaching your table. Produce loses a substantial amount of taste when it ripens after it’s picked from the vine. Also, because the produce is being grown closer to where you live, you’re supporting local farmers by buying their products.

When talking about eating seasonally, I can’t neglect to point out the obvious — it’s significantly cheaper! I remember back in December I saw asparagus listed at $3.99 per pound. No wonder people think it’s expensive! But that’s just because it wasn’t in season. Asparagus is known as a spring vegetable, so of course it’s being shipped from somewhere far away in order for it to be available in December. But as asparagus season gets closer, this week I saw it as low aa $1.39 per pound. That’s a huge difference!

Speaking of asparagus, did you know that it’s actually one of the earliest crops available in Indiana. It’s season is from April to June. Spinach is also one of the earliest crops to pop up in the state. So in the spirit of eating seasonally, I decided to create a “Spring Lasagna” using both of those vegetables. It’s much lighter than a traditional red meat sauce lasagna. I think the lemon zest really brings out the flavor of the cheeses. I did not add meat to this lasagna because I haven’t shared any meatless recipes in a while, and I thought it was rich enough without meat. But if you are really dying to get that extra protein, I think pancetta sprinkled in between the layers would be delightful. Or also, you could add shredded chicken.

One last thing that’s important for me to note: I used oven-ready lasagna noodles. Why? Well, first of all, it’s easier, and you all know I opt for the route with less steps. And secondly, oven-ready lasagna noodles are generally thinner which contribute to this dish being lighter than most lasagna recipes.

Spring Lasagna
Yield: Serves about 9 people, depending how big you cut your slices
Ingredients

• 12 ounces asparagus
• 1/3 cup Challenge butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/4 cup basil
• 2 1/2 cups ricotta
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella
• 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Prepare asparagus by cutting off about the last inch of the stalk; proceed to cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces
2. Microwave asparagus pieces in microwave-safe bowl for 3 minutes to make pieces more tender
3. Separate asparagus tips from rest of asparagus pieces and set aside; this is because the tips are the “prettiest” part of the asparagus and they will be sprinkled on top in the final step
4. Start making sauce by melting butter in large saucepan
5. Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk for 1 minute to make a roux
6. Add milk and whisk for about 10 minutes until sauce starts to thicken; do not let sauce boil
7. Add cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and nutmeg
8. Stir in basil and set aside
9. Make filling by mixing together ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, salt, and Italian seasoning; set aside
10. Spray 9x13 pan and put a little sauce at bottom of pan before adding noodles
11. Add 3 lasagna noodles over top of the sauce; followed by 1 cup of sauce. Spread sauce across noodles to coat evenly
12. Add half of ricotta cheese mixture on top of sauce, and then add half of your asparagus pieces 
13. Repeat the steps of this assembly one more time
14. Finish by adding 3 lasagna noodles; 1 cup of sauce; parmesan; and asparagus tips
15. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes

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Spaghetti and Meatball Bites

Cooking pasta is one of the most basic tasks for anyone who is new in the kitchen. How difficult can it be — all you do is add noodles to boiling water, right? Well, actually there’s a little more to it than that in order to ensure you get the tastiest pasta possible.
Here are a few of the tips I follow:

1. Heavily salt the pasta water once it starts boiling. Emphasis on the word “heavily.” Like 2 Tablespoons per pound of pasta. Why? The pasta is absorbing the water while it cooks. So if the water is heavily seasoned, the pasta will absorb it and taste better. Add the salt after the water starts boiling so it doesn’t evaporate ahead of time.
2. Bring your water to a rolling boil, not a simmer. The force of the boiling water will ensure that your noodles don’t stick together. Previous generations believed adding olive oil to the pasta was the answer to this “impastable” problem. But actually, the olive oil creates an oily film on your noodles, and as a result, the sauce doesn’t stick to the pasta as well. You should already be cooking your pasta in a big enough pot to generate a rolling boil without the water spilling over. Bit if you don’t have a big enough pot, just cook the noodles in smaller batches.
3. Do not walk away from your pasta while it’s cooking! Stir the pasta every minute or so to prevent the pasts from sticking together. Or if you want a workout, go ahead and gently stir the noodles the entire time.
4. Drain your pasta, but dot not rinse it with cold water. Your pasta comes out of the pot coated with a starchy film. This film helps sauces adhere to the pasta. The film will rinse off if you rinse the pasta in cold water. The only time you should ever rinse your pasta is if your are making a cold pasta salad. 

That being said, I absolutely did not rinse the spaghetti for this recipe. It’s very important that all of the ingredients stick well to the pasta to help keep it in a nest shape.

Spaghetti and Meatball Bites

Yield: Makes about 24 pasta bites

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound spaghetti noodles

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 2 cups marinara sauce, divided

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 24 meatballs

• Basil, if desired

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti to al dente, about 7 minutes; drain and let cool
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Combine cooled spaghetti with beaten eggs, 1 cup marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and garlic powder
4. Spray muffin cups with nonstick spray
5. Twist spaghetti on fork and set in cavity in cupcake pan
6. Spoon 1 tablespoon marinara sauce over each spaghetti “nest” and place meatball on top
7. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese over the top of each meatball
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are heated through and cheese is melted 
9. Sprinkle basil on top and serve with more marinara sauce if desired

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Easy One-Pot Chicken Alfredo

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

It’s that time of year again when everyone is busy busy busy with fall activities!

Between work, school, soccer practice, football games, homework, etc. making dinner may seem nearly impossible!

But as well all know, eating out constantly isn’t very good for your health.

So what’s the solution?

This recipe is the solution. Easy One-Pot Chicken Alfredo comes together in minutes. And just like the name states, there is only one pot so that means little cleanup.

I only use premium ingredients in this recipe, like Challenge cream cheese. Challenge doesn't have any preservatives and it's made with real milk and cream for a taste that's unmatched.

And even though alfredos have a bad reputation for being fattening, this version is actually pretty heatlhy, especially if you use low fat milk, low fat cream cheese, and whole-wheat pasta!

Easy One-Pot Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 cups milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups penne pasta
• 4 ounces Challenge cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cups rotisserie chicken​

 Directions

1. In a large saucepan, add olive oil and garlic and sauté over medium heat for one minute.
2. Add chicken broth, milk, salt, pepper, and uncooked pasta to saucepan.
3. Bring to boil, then cover saucepan and reduce heat to medium.
4. Simmer on medium heat for 12 minutes.
5. Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese and mix until combined.
6. Stir in rotisserie chicken.
7. Remove from heat and serve topped with fresh parsley if desired.

Recipe loosely adapted from No. 2 Pencil.

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