Pumpkin Lasagna

I slacked on the plating of the this, because I was terribly tired after cooking and I was hungry from the aroma. This turned out far better than I had expected, I thought of this because I was missing Fall weather. I had two cans of pumpkin in the house and I said, eh what the heck. I didn't measure much of anything while I was going through, so make sure to taste as you go. Honestly, the more flavor you add the better. Here is everything you'll need:

Lasagna noddles
Ground beef, turkey, or pork.
Ricotta Cheese
2 cans Pumpkin
Nutmeg
Pumpkin
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Yellow Onion
Honey
Sage
Cinnamon
White Wine
Salt
Pepper
5 cheese Italian shredded
Mozzarella shredded
Milk
Flour
Grated Parmesan
Cardamom
Lemon (optional)

You're going to preheat your oven to 350. Once you've done that bring the water for the lasagna to a rapid boil, add a bit of salt to ensure the noddles won't stick together. Add lasagna noddles 2-3 at a time and stir frequently.

While that is cooking, add olive oil to a non-stick pan and place on medium heat. Chop onion and break garlic clove out of skin - chop this as well. Add to the pan until tender, but not brown, add a little white cooking wine and let reduce for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Now, brown the meat of your choice.

Take the can of pumpkin and add nutmeg, sage, cinnamon, cardamom, and honey. Add until the taste is right for you. Place aside. Now to make the cheese sauce I made for in-between the layers of lasagna. Heat up butter in a pot, add flour, and milk until creamy. Finally add grated parmesan. I use this same recipe to make a homemade alfredo sauce! Add the chopped onions and garlic to the sauce.

Layer the lasagna noddles to the bottom of the pan once they are done. Layer pumpkin, then ricotta, meat and add cheese sauce. Layer again with noddles, but this time, only add the rest of the pumpkin, ricotta and last bit of the cheese sauce. Cover in cheese and let cook for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is lightly brown.

Serve and enjoy - I added a bit of lemon zest to the top of ours. It was a nice twist to the dish.

The only thing I would have probably changed is not adding something to the lasagna. It's a nice creamy and delicious meal but it lacked texture. Next time I'd add cinnamon sugar pecans possibly or sweet corn. I hope you all enjoyed my thrown to together meal. My husband wants this again in the near future.

Tomorrow stay tuned for apple caramel, shortbread tart recipe to appear on the blog.

Apple Chipotle Salmon and Pumpkin puree.

*I use all organic ingredients for all who have wondered. I try to have the freshest ingredients possible.

This recipe is just in time for Fall. I looked and looked to see if I could find a recipe like this on google, and I didn't not. So, this was me playing Mad Scientist in the kitchen. It didn't come out as I expected....it came out beyond my expectations, and was simply delicious. Proud to say, this was a pair made in kitchen heaven by me.

Everyone else is making recipes for desserts and simple things to go with pumpkin, but here is a real dish for dinner, that you can really enjoy and put your pumpkin to use. Here is what you'll need:

Wild caught salmon
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Garlic
Cinnamon & Nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp Pepper
White Cooking Wine (optional)"
Marinade of your choosing

Your flavors will vary from mine, which is fine! Have fun with it, and season everything to your personal taste. I made my own fresh apple, honey chipotle sauce to marinade my salmon in. I'll have a tutorial soon for all of you!

Marinade your salmon in anything you please. Season it well, and let it sit for about an hour. I found that my salmon doubled in size and flavor when it let it sit within my marinade, that I made for 24hrs - hence, my friend telling me it looked like a chicken leg, haha. You can make pumpkin puree yourself or just buy it in a can. I bought organic pumpkin puree from Whole Foods. When I was ready, I heated the pumpkin and added a bit of raw honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice and milk to make it creamier.

Heat up your skillet on medium high, coat the bottom of the pan in olive oil. Pan sear salmon for 4-5 minutes on each side. It should be a hue of orange instead of red on the outside when fully done. You do not want to over cook a salmon, it is done when it easily flakes with a fork. It's better to undercook salmon, than to overcook it. Just before it is done, pour the white cooking wine and let it reduce and you're all set for dinner.

Once everything is done, serve it with sweet corn, or broccoli. Honestly, anything goes with this! Think of Fall when cooking this, have fun, just experiment. The greatest things are made by accident.

This recipe is easy enough, for those who aren't so confident in the kitchen to enjoy!

-- Be on the look out for homemade Lemon Lavender cookies for your Fall teas, and coffee.