cheese ravioli with pumpkin sage sauce

recipe adapted from buitoni ad

ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 cup chopped onions
jar of alfredo sauce
1/2 cup pure pumpkin
1 tsp ground sage
1 20oz. package buitoni refrigerated four cheese ravioli

1. cook butter, wine, and onions in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and sauce is reduced.
2. stir in sauce, pumpkin, and sage. cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
3. prepare pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.
4. stir reserved water into sauce and toss with pasta.

notes: super yummy and ridiculously quick and easy. new recipe and the baby wouldn't eat it, though.

slow cooker: vegetable curry

recipe from slow cooker cookbook shared by friend, a.

prep time: 15 min; 8-10 servings

ingredients:
16oz package baby carrots
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
15oz garbanzo beans, drained
28oz canned crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp minute tapioca
3 tsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup boiling water
2 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or 2 cubes)
1 lb green beans (if canned add towards end)
basmati rice

1. combine veggies in large bowl. stir in tapioca, curry and salt.
2. dissolve bouillon in boiling water. pour over veggies. mix well.
3. spoon into large cooker. cover. cook on low 8-10 hours or high 3-4 hours.
4. serve over basmati rice.

notes: this recipe makes tons so either 1/2 it or plan on enough to freeze. i usually do the latter. this is a great way to get the veggies in and the kids can't seem to get enough. it's not at all spicy (i think some curry dishes can be?)...and not terribly ethnic tasting (my taste buds are pretty simple)...mostly just a tomato vegetable dish served over fragrant rice.

tonight's meal: spinach and chicken sausage, left over sweet potatoes, fruit

start to finish about 15 minutes.

ingredients:

organic, all-natural chicken sausage (HEB has some great ones...and they're great to have in the freezer for quick easy meals)

saute or grill sausage, serve with condiments of your choice. for a quick meal tonight, i just served the left over sweet potatoes from thursday and fresh fruit that we had on hand. instant, colorful meal!

tonight's meal...a new recipe: roasted citrus-crumbed tilapia, sweet potatoes, and left over wild rice

about 1 hour from start to finish, although only about 15 min hands-on time.

citrus-crumbed tilapia
(recipe modified from redbook magazine)

ingredients:
1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
5 tilapia fillets, thawed if frozen (i buy them individually frozen in the big bag from sam's)
salt and pepper

1. heat over to 450 degrees. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. combine panko, butter, parsley, and lemon juice in bowl. arrange fillets on baking sheet. salt and pepper both sides. top both sides with panko mixture, pressing to adhere to fillets.
3. roast until breadcrumbs are browned and tilapia is opaque in thickest part, about 8-10 min, flipping half-way.


baked sweet potatoes

ingredients:
4-5 small sweet potatoes (smaller=generally sweeter)

clean skins, poke holes in potatoes, line a baking pan with foil and bake appx 1 hour in a 425 degree oven.

*review: the boy and girl gobbled it down...although, truth be told, the girl hesitated trying the fish for a while. evidently, she's terribly allergic to parsley? no worries, temporary allergy only and she soon discovered it was quite tasty. thank goodness.