Easy Fall Dinner - Ravioli with a Pumpkin Cream Sauce

This is a great easy meal that comes together really quick, but still tastes decadent and homemade. I'm not one to shy away from prepared freezer meals (particularly from Trader Joe's, my favorite for freezer meals), but this comes together just as quickly and just feels like it was made with more love than a meal that is poured into a pan and heated up. I based this on a recipe from a restaurant here in town that is no longer around (Zaffiro, which was originally Pascucci's, which still exists in their downtown location). Our absolute favorite dish at this restaurant, which both the husband and I would order nearly every time, was the Spicy Sausage Ravioli with Butternut Squash sauce. The way the spicy and sweet would play off each other was just fabulous. I wanted to recreate this at home, so I picked up some Italian Sausage stuffed prepared ravioli (not spicy, but I think there are some spicy brands on the market these days). For the sauce, I had heard that Trader Joe's carries a seasonal pumpkin butter that can be made into savory soups & sauces. I combined about a 1/4 cup of the pumpkin butter with about a 1/2 cup of heavy cream (I said it was decadent! You can use lighter dairy products) and spiced it up with about a 1/4 tsp ground sage (I'm afraid of ground sage, so I didn't use much. The store was out of fresh) and 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg. I served this sauce over the cooked raviolis and topped with finely chopped candied walnuts, also from Trader Joe's. I finally topped everything with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The entire meal takes about 15 minutes, is really filling and just plain makes us happy!

Pumpkin White Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Since I came out a winner in the great pumpkin shortage of 2009, I've been looking for recipes to satisfy the fall pumpkin cravings many of us have at this time of year. When I made the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last week, the boys at my husband's work were clamoring for more, so I made them a second batch. I was a little sad at how few of these pumpkin treats were being consumed by my household (namely, me). Thankfully, we were invited to a barbeque last weekend. We were told "No need to bring anything, since everyone else is already bringing something." Yeah, that works well in the world of reciprocity! Husband and I debated a little bit before deciding to bring a "snacky dessert" that we could bring and people could munch on, without stealing the thunder of whoever had already brought dessert. I knew I wanted to make a pumpkin treat, had some white chocolate chips at home, and the butterscotch chips at the store have been calling my name, hence these cookies became the choice. They came together quickly using this recipe from Skinny Food by Amy (I obviously mixed the chips, but that was the only change). These were so good. I brought 2 dozen to the party with 7 total adult guests and brought home an empty plate! We kept referring to them as "Cakies" instead of cookies because they were like a mix between a cake and cookie texture. The recipe made 3 1/2 dozen cookies for me with my 1 Tbs cookie scoop, so thankfully, I had leftovers!

Pumkin White Chocolate Butterscotch Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I accidentally omitted. This seems like a lot, though!)
2 cups chocolate chips (I used 1 cup white chocolate, 1 cup butterscotch chips)
Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla & chips. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Fall has finally arrived in Santa Barbara! Today was the first day that we had a bit of a chill to the air, and the wind blew fiercely all day out by where we live. What better way to celebrate the cooler weather than by baking some fall flavored treats? I had heard that there has been a nationwide pumpkin shortage from the cooking board I frequent, so I was excited to see that my regular store had plenty in stock. Sure enough, the checker commented: "Some other shoppers were telling me we are the only store in town carrying the small cans of pumpkin." I guess I'm just lucky that my store is the one with the stock! I'm hoping my husband's coworkers enjoy these muffins. They smelled divine as they were baking, and really got me in the "good little housewife" mood and they inspired me to get a ton of cleaning and chores done the rest of the day. My husband will be happy to know that baking triggers this mood, as he will be able to enjoy baked goods AND a clean house whenever I bake anything! I can't wait to bake more with my pumpkin stock (and the rest of the cinnamon chips, those were fantastic!)!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (from My Baking Heart by way of Jenn and Food, Perfect Together)
1 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c whole-wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 c canned pure pumpkin

2 large eggs

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c skim milk

1/3 c canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c cinnamon chips

1 c mini chocolate chips

1/2 c chopped pecans (I used 1/4 cup and made 1/2 with nuts, 1/2 without)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners and set aside.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, milk, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Then add in chips and pecans. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins and cool an additional 5 minutes before serving.