Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I made this friday night for our company and they were delicious. Found it in my most recent country living magazine. A must try for the fall!

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Makes 8 servings

24 jumbo pasta shells
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
22 ounces ricotta cheese
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 large egg white
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) purchased tomato sauce

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer to a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup Romano and all remaining ingredients except tomato sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread sauce in bottom of 13-by-9-inch pan. Fill each pasta shell with pumpkin-ricotta mixture. Arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil. Sprinkle shells with remaining Romano. Bake 15 minutes longer

Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese icing

Ok so this is AMAZING.........
made it friday night and we are hoping it never runs out, I will definitely be making this all fall season, forget that whole diet thing that I was thinking about starting......

Found on pinterest and copied the recipe from this blogpost:
http://bakeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-bars.html

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg *
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)


Directions:


Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & soda) and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well.


Spread batter in a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.


Frosting:


1 8oz. package of cream cheese *
1/3 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk


Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix on high speed until smooth creamy.

* i added nutmeg to the recipe because i think pumpkin + nutmeg belong together

* the original frosting recipe only calls for 3 oz of cream cheese. i like a good frosting to bar ratio, so i made a large batch of frosting + included it in this recipe

Crispy Popcorn Chicken

(photo from Real Simple.com)


Crispy Popcorn Chicken

Ingredients
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup canola oil
4 ears corn, shucked
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the buttermilk in a shallow bowl. Place the flour in a second shallow bowl. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk (shaking off any excess), then in the flour (tapping off any excess).
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chicken until golden and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
Meanwhile, add the corn to the boiling water and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with the chicken and barbecue sauce.
(By Charlyne Mattox, August 2011)