More good food for dinner

When I need a quick meal I find that Baked Ziti fits the bill for me. I always keep some Papa Weaver’s sausage in my freezer (I pick this up at our local farmers market each weekend and then at the local farm when the farmers market closes for the winter). I found a gluten free pasta that my family actually likes at Wegman’s and I happened to have extra ricotta from the Manicotti I baked yesterday and I really did not want that to go to waste.

Gluten Free Pasta
1 lb sausage – I use a clean sausage that is free of the gross stuff, nothing but the meat and seasonings.
1 lb ricotta
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan
2 eggs
Garlic
salt
pepper
italian seasoning
Homemade tomato sauce (I happened to have plenty from my big pot I cooked on Sunday). Your favorite jar of sauce works just fine too.

I boil the pasta and while that is cooking I usually have the sausage cooking. While all that is cooking I mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, garlic powder, salt pepper and Italian seasoning. After the sausage is cooked I toss in the tomato sauce and mix that together. Once the pasta is cooked I toss it in with the ricotta mixture. I put a layer of the sausage/sauce mixture on the bottom of a pyrex rectangle pan, then I put in the ricotta/pasta mixture and then pour the remainder of the sauce/sausage mixture on top, spread evenly. I then grate some fresh parmesan on top and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

I was on the hunt for something sweet I could bake using my pumpkin puree so I searched and could not find one that had made use of the alternative sweeteners I wanted so I found one that looked unbelievably yummy and made it into my vision. Hers did not include butter and butter is a must for me and my cookie baking adventures or they just don’t taste right for me. I started with this recipe and ended up with the following.

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies – Title courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction

makes a whole bunch =D *

1 cup butter (2 sticks softened)
2 cups pumpkin purree (not pumpkin pie filling)
4 eggs
4 tsps vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
6 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup succanat
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
6 teaspoons cinnamon (or less)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together butter, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, succanat, maple syrup, baking powder, baking soda, spices and chocolate chips. Fold together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined – do not overmix. The cookie dough will be thick. Taste the dough and add a pinch of salt if needed.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.

Cookies stay fresh at room temperature for 3 days in an airtight container.

*My recipe so far has produced 30 cookies and I have refrigerated 2 bowls of the dough to bake tomorrow, so I will give you a final count then.