Feta-Squash Ravioli Tutorial(Recipe)

Have you ever wanted to make your own Pasta? It's not hard, but it does take some work. The reward is something tailored to your taste, and something without preservatives! In my books, that's worth it!

This week, because of all my squash/pumpkin cook-downs, I decided that I should make some delicious Squash Ravioli!

Start with your pasta. I mix 3 eggs, 3 tbsp water (maybe more), 3 tbsp oil, and 3 cups of flour. I make a well in the center of the flour, lightly beat eggs in a separate bowl with the oil and water, and slowely whisk the eggs to the outside of the well. In my pasta, I also like to add some flavor. Should you choose, you could add some great spices (Sage, Rosemary, and Garlic are my pasta triad). Once the mix is balled, work it together so there is no lumps/flour pieces. Let rest 1 hour in a plastic sandwich bag.

While that is resting, mix your filling. Since we are making the Squash Ravioli, that's the recipe I'll give:

Squash Ravioli filling:
1 c of squash puree
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 tsp brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1/4 c feta, crumbled.

Mix contents together, set aside and wait for the pasta.


Now, take half of the ball, and roll it out either with your pasta maker, or if you are Hobo like me, grab your rolling pin and start sweating it out! Roll it flat, about 1/2 an inch thick.



Keep your pasta from drying out. Make sure to grease up your hands, and keep it moist so it does not get all icky. Mine above is starting to dry.

Now, using a small crimped circle/square cookie cutter, cut out circles for the ravioli. Place on a baking sheet. Spray them with Pam.

Once that is done, take a little water, and dab around the sides of the ravioli circles. Now you need your filling. Spoon 1/2 a tsp into the center of the circle...

Using a fork, press down around the pre-wetted edges of the ravioli to secure them down. Spray again with Pam and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic-wrap until you have them all completed.

BOIL SOME WATER... this part is hard!
Dump your ravioli into the water and stir to prevent sticking. After about 6-8 minutes, remove pasta from the water, place into sauce.

Beautiful! This is the inside of the ravioli! (Below)

This is a slightly sweetened supper dish. It makes about 24 ravioli, so you may want to double it for a family. It is also simple enough to get the kids involved! They can cut the pasta or even help roll it (thought it must be extreme rolled!). Nothing like a special home-cooked meal.

Other fillings I enjoy:

Rosted-Red-Pepper, feta and spinache puree

Ground-Turkey/ricotta

Ricotta/Spinach/Feta

Now, again, I just feel like sharing the beauty of NWO, because honestly, it is like someone just took their paint bucket and dumped their warm colours all over the ground! IT'S STUNNING!

Notre tour en Canot

Les arbres qui sont très jolie!

Et, sur l'eau, nous (moi et mon mari) avons vu ces arbre près du garer; c'était un très belle jour pour être sur le lac!

Now, to bake cookies!

Pumpkin Pancakes: A.M on a cold day

Happy Sunday all!

I just had to share this quick recipe with you. I've been quite sick for the last week, and have not eaten very much. I decided for breakfast I'd use up the last of my buttercup squash (a sweet squash) to make some Pumpkin pancakes - Yes, you can use any sweet squash for these. I love these pancakes. The idea of having a use for the after-Halloween pumpkin (other than cookies or pie) is a good thing. These pancakes are lightly sweetened, and healthy! Great for a Sunday breakfast with the family.

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

1 c pumpkin (or sweet squash) puree. 1 lg egg
1 1/2 c milk 2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp vinegar

2 c flour 4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda 2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients: Flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger and salt.
2. Mix wet ingredients: pumpkin, milk, vinegar, egg and oil. beat until smooth.
3. Combine dry ingredients into the wet, gently folding in just enough to combine.
4. Heat a griddle to medium heat. Pour batter onto griddle. Brown both sides, serve.

Hope you all are healthy!

I'm linkin' up with Texas Monkey for other great ideas!

Spinach and Cheese Ravioli

I've often toyed with the idea of making my own pasta, and truth be told, before now, I've never attempted it. But something inspired me one night to try ravioli: Spinach and cheese ravioli to be exact. It's a tough thing to do. The pasta is a pain to roll out if you don't have a pasta roller (which I don't!) So I spent my evening rolling, cutting and forming little ravioli just so I can say I tried to do it!

Other than a lot of work rolling out the pasta itself, I quite enjoyed the process. It was fun to stuff the shells, then press the sides. Since I made them the night before dinner, I simply froze them overnight on a baking sheet.
(I got to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze while making these! ♥ Maybe the green filling was inspired by the turtles themselves! They do sort of look like turtle shells...)

When they were ready to be eaten, boil them for a few minutes, then, VOILA! Easy, simple supper that is quite fun to make! I would love to try this with kids. I know they would get a kick out of it. Best of all, I cut the ravioli with cookie cutters, I wonder if I could have used fun shapes?


Anyway, served with some bruschetta salad using my bruschetta recipe, this was a fun meal to have with friends.


Filled with love! This needed more cheese! I loved them!

Filled with : Spinach, Ricotta cheese, Mozza Cheese, Basil Pesto, Salt and Pepper.

I wonder what other combos people have used?

Bruschetta!

Did you know that Bruschetta dates back to 15th century Italy? In Italian, Bruschetta is pronounced as ‘brusketta’, where ‘bruscare’ means ‘to roast over coals.’ But enough trivia! On to the real deal!

I decided to make some Bruschetta this weekend because the weather has not let up at all. Right now, we've topped 30 degrees... Celsius.. that's 86 Fahrenheit! Bottom line, WAY TOO HOT TO COOK! So, I whisked up a batch for lunch and supper!

You can do it too! Making bruschetta is quite simple: Here's what you need:

Easy Bruschetta.

-Tomatoes (about 5 Roma and 2 hot house)
- 1/4 cup sundried Tomatoes (that's about 4-5) I use the type in oil.
- 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Basil Pesto (unless you have fresh Basal, which is best!)
- 1 sprig green onion
- 2 medium cloves of garlic
-1/4 cup olive oil (not in the picture)
- salt/pepper to taste
- Feta for garnish

Start by cutting up the tomatoes into little cubes, about the size of a sugar cube. Place these in a dish with a lid (one that can be stored. I use Corning ware).

Next, add the onion, salt, pepper, garlic and pesto to the mix. Go ahead and process or chop your sundried tomatoes and add them as well. That's it .. Go ahead.

Finally, stir up the mix and add in the Balsamic Vinegar. Stir that a little, place a lid on the container, and let sit over night. It will maranade to a perfect taste.

The next day, you should be ready to enjoy a nice little treat! You can put this on pizza or stick it in a pita. I love to give this as a gift. Just make or buy a little French bread to go with it, and the hostess/host will always feel appreciated!

À la prochainne, bon appetit!

Syrian Bread - It's a PITA!

Have you ever wondered how they got the pocket in the pita? Well, I've got the answer, and it is quite unlikely! See? Even I can do it!


I stumbled upon this "Syrian Bread" recipe while doing my thing on Allrecipies.com. Turns out, you too can make Pitas, and without much fuss!

Take the yeast, grow it a little: TIME LAPSE!

Add the flour, mix it for a few...

And you will make a giant LUMP. Kind of like this one:

But don't worry, after you let it rise, then divide it into balls, things start to look up!

Roll them out on a floured surface:
Bake them out, and you'll get the pocket! The bread actually steams itself apart, so that when you cut into it, it will be already pocketed!

You can enjoy it with friends (Mmmm. pita chips with salsa)

Or as part of a meal!

Hopefully you'll get the same results! The bread is good for about 2 days (stored in an air-tight container). Make good use of this knowledge. The Pita Secret must be kept!


BTW: That was an amazing pita! (Grilled Chicken Pita w/ salsa!)

Valentine's Day Dinner Fit for a King! (of Hearts)

As a little Valentine's cliché, I decided to make a Heart-Shaped, Focaccia Pizza. ♥

Interested in making a healthy pizza? See the recipe below!

Step 1: Saucy! The nice little red-silhouette.

I had to make two pizzas because I wanted left-overs ☺
This little pizza was for lunch tomorrow:

The Main Course! My husband and I worked together to make this one. Toppings: Mozza, Cheddar, and FETA cheeses, spiced chicken, and tomatoes! Too bad there were no mushrooms.


Look at that crust! YUMMIE! The rosemary is really the key in this pizza. The dough is great on it's own, but something about that rosemary taste makes all the flavors come together! It's just the right analogy for our little evening: Pizza and a movie on the couch!

Making pizza from scratch is so much better than the box or, GASP, a pre-made crust. It is simpler than you might think. You can pick up the ingredients from the store, and make a crust for under 3 dollars! At least this way, you know what is in the pizza (no additives). Not only that, but you can make it healthier by using whole-wheat flour!

Recipe: Crusty Focaccia Pizza:

1 pkg (2 tbsp) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp olive oil
2 1/4 c flour (depending on humidity and altitude) - I like to use bread-flour, but all-purpose is good too.
1 tbsp ground Rosemary
1 tbsp Italian Spice
1 tbsp cornmeal

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast, salt, honey, and sugar in warm water. Let stand until yeast is frothy.

2. Add olive oil. On medium setting (mixer) add flour in slowly. Continue mixing until incorporated. Grease the top of the dough with a little olive oil/cooking spray. Let dough stand in warm, dry, draft-free place for 15-20 minutes, or until doubled.

3. Sprinkle pan with cornmeal. Press dough into a pizza pan, leaving a ridge for a crust. At this point, I simply shaped the dough into a heart. Sprinkle with Rosemary and Italian Spices

4. Add sauce and toppings. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is browned on the bottom. Let cool 2 minutes before cutting. ENJOY!