Pasta, Chickpea, and Chicken Soup with Pesto

Adding a spoonful of homemade pesto and a pinch of parmesan cheese to a bowl of this soup before eating elevates the flavors so much, you find yourself going back for a second bowl. :) 

Ingredients:

- 8 Tbs olive oil, divided
- 1 cup chopped leeks
- 1 cup chopped carrots 
- 6 cups chicken broth or homemade bone broth
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup orecchiette pasta
- 2 cups shredded or chopped chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken
- 1, 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1/3 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 3/4 cup flat-leaf parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add leeks and carrots and let sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add broth, salt and pepper. Let simmer about 10 minutes until leeks and carrots are tender. 

Bring broth to a boil and add orecchiette. Stir occasionally, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in chicken and chickpeas, and cook until pasta is tender and chicken and chickpeas are heated through. Remove from heat. 

Meanwhile, combine lemon juice, almonds, basil, parsley, and remaining 7 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor. Process until smooth. Serve soup topped with a spoonful of fresh pesto and enjoy! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here. 

"The fall season brings beautiful leaves, cozy sweaters, 

and hot flavorful soups." - Me

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

If you love pumpkin and cheesecake both, this is your lucky day! Well, I guess a truly lucky day would be to receive them in the mail from me. :) A wonderful dessert for Thanksgiving or any lovely fall day!

Ingredients:

- Store bought ready pie crusts

- 3, 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

- 3 eggs

- 1/4 cup sour cream

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 5 Tbs pure pumpkin

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1 1/2 Tbs corn starch

- 2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice

- pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 pie pans with crust. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, and sugar. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Divide batter evenly among the 2 pie pans. Top with pecans, if desired. Before baking, rim the edges of the pies with aluminum foil so crust does not burn. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, shut off the oven but leave the pies in for another 30 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate. Enjoy! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here.

"Let us give thanks for the blessings we receive. 

Especially pies." - Anonymous

Mini No-Bake Pumpkin Pies

Fall time is here! Time to bring out all of the fall recipes, at least the ones that are incredibly easy to make. You might want to make copies and keep this recipe handy, because people will be asking for it once they try these dreamy pies!

Ingredients:

- .25 oz. package of unflavored gelatin (about a tablespoon)

- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1, 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 1, 15 oz. can pure pumpkin

- 9 mini Keebler graham cracker pie crusts

Add gelatin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt to a sauce pan. Stir in milk and eggs, and let set one minute. Place pan over low to medium heat and stir constantly for 10 minutes until gelatin dissolves and mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin and spoon into pie crusts. Chill for 3 hours or more before serving. Enjoy! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here.

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." - Anonymous

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Packed with protein, fiber, and many great nutrients, this succulent acorn squash, stuffed with chicken, bacon, power greens, and whole lot of flavor fills you up without filling you out!

Ingredients:

- 2 acorn squash

- 1 Tbs Land O Lakes light butter with canola oil, divided

- 2 tsp. maple syrup

- 2, 4 oz. skinless boneless chicken breasts

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1/2 tsp. pepper

- 3 slices of bacon

- 1 shallot, diced

- 1 tsp. minced garlic

- 2 cup power greens (kale, spinach, or mixed greens)

- 1 1/2 tsp. fresh chopped sage

- 2 Tbs roasted pine nuts (for garnish, optional)

- 2 Tbs. dried cranberries (for garnish, optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1 inch off the top of each acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. (If necessary, cut off a small portion of the bottom so the squash can sit upright.) Put 1/2 Tbs of butter in the bottom of each acorn squash as well as 1 tsp. maple syrup into each squash. Take the back of a spoon and spread butter and syrup mixture all around the inside of the squash. Set squash on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper and put in a baking pan. Bake chicken for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from oven and reduce oven heat to 350 degrees. Allow chicken to cool and cut into small cubes.

In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp over medium-high heat. Remove bacon to a plate and add shallots and garlic to the skillet with the bacon grease. Stir constantly for about a minute so the shallots and garlic do not burn. Add greens and sage and cook until greens are cooked through and slightly wilted. 

Scoop skillet mixture to a large bowl and add cubed chicken. Crumble bacon into the mixture and combine. Scoop equal amounts of mixture into each acorn squash. Top each squash with its lid and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and remove lids. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and dried cranberries, if desired, and serve immediately. Enjoy! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Anonymous