Pumpkin Muffins

I prefer cooking to baking, but occasionally I get the baking bug. Some days I just want to crank up the tunes and start baking. Tonight I made pumpkin muffins using almond flour. I think about making them every weekend when I make the almond flour pancakes. I figured making muffins couldn't be too different. They turned out surprisingly tasty! I'm going to play around with the recipe a few times again, but here is what I did today. My belly will be very happy tomorrow morning at breakfast.

Need

2 1/2 c. almond flour
1 ripe banana
3/4 c. canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. apple pie spice
1 T. melted coconut oil
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans
Ghee to coat the muffin tin cups

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the almond flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium size bowl.

Add in the mashed ripe banana, pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup to the same bowl. Mix in the pumpkin pie spice. Lastly fold in the toasted pecans. The batter will be very thick.

Using some type of oil, coat the muffin cups. I used a small amount of ghee.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan filling about 3/4 the way full. Top each muffin with a toasted pecan.

Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes. The muffins should be golden brown.

Warm in the microwave the next day to enjoy with your coffee!

Sweet Sauce and Spicy Sausage

Who doesn't like Italian food? Italian food is my favorite cuisine. Traditionally, it is also a cuisine that can sometimes leave me feeling bloated and sleepy. If you eat the warm buttery bread that is usually served before hand, that is pretty much your carb count for the day. I decided to omit the bread and exchange the pasta noodles for spaghetti squash. I also used tomatoes that had zero preservatives and no water or citric acid added. I made a basic tomato sauce and cooked spicy sausage and peppers to go over herb spaghetti squash. It sounds more challenging than it really is. It's a long post though, so grab the vino if you're still interested.

Need

Tomato Sauce
1 box Pomi Tomato Sauce
1 box Pomi Tomato
4 gloves chopped garlic
2 T. fresh chopped basil
1 T. fresh chopped parsley
1/4 t. bay leaves (or 1 whole bay leaf)
1/4 t. garlic powder
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Sausage and Peppers
1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 yellow bell pepper cut into strips
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
1 green bell pepper cut into strips
1/2 large onion cut into strips
1 large glove of garlic
Olive Oil
Red wine

Spaghetti Squash
1 small yellow spaghetti squash
1 T. fresh chopped basil
1 T. fresh chopped parsley
1 T. Olive Oil
Salt (about 1/4 t.)
Pepper (about 1/4 t.)

Prepare

Start the tomato sauce right away. In fact, you can make the sauce a few hours ahead if you want the sauce to simmer longer. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a sauce pan and heat on medium. About a minute later, saute your garlic in the sauce pot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic powder, and herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. (I added about 1/4 teaspoon of each.) Simmer the sauce on low. If the sauce seems watery, take the lid off and it will start to thicken.

Cook the Italian sausage on medium heat in a large pan to brown on each side. Browning take about 4 minutes a side. Next, put a lid on the pan to allow the sausage to cook on the inside. It took approximately another 5 minutes for the sausage to be fully cooked. The internal temperature should reach at least 165ºF and there should be no pink.






Once the sausage is fully cooked remove them from the pan. Set the heat of the pan to medium-high. Throw in the peppers and onions. Add a large pour of red wine. I had pinot noir on hand, so that it what I used. Turn up the heat and allow the peppers to cook on high for 3 minutes. Bring the heat back down to medium, throw in a large glove of garlic, and cook until the veggies are tender. Slice the sausage while the veggies are cooking. Toss the sausage back in the hot pan a few minutes before serving.










There are several ways to cook spaghetti squash. I have had the most success when cooking it in the microwave. First cut the spaghetti squash in half. Using a microwave safe dish, place one half of the squash face down. Fill the dish with water so there is enough water to cover the bottom of the dish. Microwave on high for 6 minutes. Refill the water if needed and microwave on high for another 6 minutes. Prick the squash with a fork to check tenderness. If the outside cannot be easily pricked with a fork, cook for another minute. The squash will be extremely hot! Make sure you use a oven mitt to handle it. Repeat same process for other half of squash.










Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds inside the squash. Once the seeds are discarded, use a fork to scrape out the squash into a medium size bowl. The squash "noodles" should peel up easily. Toss in the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.

Finally, top the herb squash with a layer of tomato sauce, then the sausage and pepper mixture. To make it extra special add some fresh Parmesan on top.

It seems complicated, but it is worth it!