Roast Your Own Pumpkin Creme Brulee

I have been very busy with school and I am loving every minute of it.  This past week I started to teach triangle similarity and how to write proofs and it was fun to see the kids really getting it.  In fact, in honor of Halloween, I had a relay planned where students had to complete so many problems correctly in order to earn their halloween candy.  I think this is sort of ridiculous, but offering candy as a reward made those kids work harder than ever.  It was great to see them really working hard and really doing great work!  It was a fun halloween and a great way to celebrate the holiday with math!

Speaking of Halloween, I also roasted my own pumpkin for the first time!  I ended up with enough pumpkin puree from my pie pumpkin to make pumpkin creme brûlée and a pumpkin pie.  Then I also roasted the seeds to have as a snack!  Here is my recipe for pumpkin creme brûlée.  It was absolutely delicious.

Roast Your Own Pumpkin Creme Brulee
(adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients
1 pie pumpkin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a few pinches nutmeg
1 pinch cloves
1 pinch ginger
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup puree
extra sugar for the topping

Directions:
1. To roast the pumpkin: cut the thing in half, take the seeds out, and place both halves face down on a baking sheet, cover in foil and place in the oven at 350 for 90 minutes.  When done and cool, scoop out the pumpkin and puree in the food processor.  Place in container and place in fridge until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
3. In a medium saucepan, place the cream, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  Place over medium heat until just simmering.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with the sugar.  Slowly incorporate the cream mixture and then whisk in the pumpkin.  Pour into ramekins and place ramekins into a 13 by 9 inch pan.  Fill the pan with water until about halfway up the ramekins.  Place in oven and let cook for about 40 minutes.  Mixture should wobble, but be firm around the sides.  Wrap each ramekin in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours.
5.  When ready to serve, take out the ramekins, sprinkle sugar over the tops and toast with a small kitchen torch.

Enjoy :)

Oh, and hear are a few gems from my little halloween celebration :).  Lauren and I were cereal box characters, Caryn was rocking the guess who costume, and Brian went with an old favorite: Batman!

Happy Halloween! Gluten Free Spider-Web Pumpkin Pie

Gluten Free Spider Web Pumpkin Pie!


More coming soon...

Plated! Apricot Chicken with Almond Green Beans

I had a great opportunity recently.  I was able to try Plated for free! It is a fantastic organization where you can order meals online, they send you all the ingredients, and then you cook the dinner.  All the menus are created by different chefs and the menu options change weekly.  It is so fun to look through the yummy recipes! Plus, this was a great way for me to make a non-vegetarian meal.

Bri is a vegetarian and I love coming up with yummy dinner options, but sometimes I just really want a good piece of chicken or salmon.  Whenever we go out for dinner, I order something with meat because I know that it isn't something I get at home a lot. This has also helped me always have a variety of foods and I love that.  I ordered a great salmon dish and chicken dish from Plated.  Both were amazing, but my favorite was the chicken.  It was Apricot Chicken with Almond Green Beans.  This light and healthy meal came with enough food for two meals and so I was able to make myself dinner on a night where Bri was out with his mom and I had a ton of work to do and then I had another meal for lunch one day at school! It was such a great deal and I think you should all check out this fun site!

Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Oh hey there! It's only been three weeks since my last post.  I just can't find enough time to get everything that I want to do done!  Teaching is crazy since it is so hard and exhausting, but I am also loving it.  This is definitely the profession for me because while I feel tired and overwhelmed, I also feel happy.  However, it also means very little time for anything else!  I'm pretty sure Bri is starting to feel similarly since he just started law school.  I'm pretty sure we are in for a really tough year, but we are also doing what we have always wanted to and that makes it exciting!

I have been cooking (a girl's gotta eat) I just haven't had time to share it all!  I seriously have about 15 "drafts" with recipes that I made that are just waiting to become a post.  Well, here's one!  I am a huge fan of stuffed peppers because I think they are super yummy and you can make them in crock pot!  This recipe took some of my favorite flavors and turned it into a really yummy dinner that did not take that much time or work!  This is wonderful since I don't have much time! I just threw this together on morning and then we had amazing peppers for the week!  They stay well if you keep them in the fridge and they are quite delicious.

Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers 
(adapted fro Avocado Pesto)

Ingredients:
5 or 6 red peppers (good stuffing ones), tops removed and seeds taken out
1 cup quinoa
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. portabella mushrooms (sliced)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta
handful of fresh basil
1-2 tbsp dry white wine
salt and pepper
shredded cheese (your favorite, I used cheddar)

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, warm 1 tbsb olive oil over medium heat.  Cook garlic until aromatic.  Add in quinoa and cook until toasted, about 2 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cups of water and increase heat until boiling.  Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.
2. In a pan, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat, add in sliced peppers and cook until translucent and soft.  Place in a bowl.  To the same pan, add the mushrooms and cook until soft and fragrant.  Place into the same bowl with the peppers.
3.  When the quinoa is done, add to the mushroom and pepper bowl.  Combine with the feta, basil, wine and salt and pepper.  Toss to combined.
4. In your crock pot, place the peppers.  Stuff the peppers with your quinoa mixture.  Top with the shredded cheddar and let cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Enjoy :)