Maria's Spinach Ravioli and Giada's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

I am sure many of you have visited Maria's blog, Two Peas and Their Pod. If you haven't, then go and check it out. Maria and her husband are always serving delicious, healthy meals and yummy desserts too. They have featured a couple of homemade pasta dishes that look absolutely too good for words. I decided to make their Spinach Cheese Ravioli, even though I don't have a pasta roller. This required alot of rolling out on my part and I still think that I didn't get the pasta quite thin enough, but it tasted amazing anyway! The filling was so yummy and easy. The sun was going down as I was making it so, I didn't get any pics of it cooked with the sauce and sure enough, there weren't any leftovers, but I did take a few when I was rolling out the pasta and cutting it. I just used a pizza roller to cut mine out because I don't have a ravioli cutter.
Maria also had a great recipe for Lemon Ricotta Biscuits on her blog, and since I had just 1/2 cup of ricotta left after making the ravioli, I decided to make a half batch of the biscuits, and make them in a mini-muffin tin. Yum!

For the recipe for the Spinach Cheese Ravioli go- HERE
Lemon Ricotta Biscuits Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (I used skim)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds
Glaze:

Powdered Sugar

Lemon Zest

Lemon Juice

Whisk together in a bowl. Just eye ball the ingredients. If it is too thick add more juice!

Directions
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.
Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins.
Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Coming Thursday- Craving Ellie's Roasted Ratatouille Tart and Barefoot Bloggers-Coq Au Vin

TWD- Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies, was chosen by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. You can find the recipe on her blog or by turning to page 146 of the wonderful book, Baking-from my home to yours, by Dorie Greenspan. I was making a bunch of desserts for a get-together anyway, so I decided to take these along. I kept it simple by doing the slice and bake variety, but mixing it up a little by adding the zest of 1 orange to the cookie dough, as Dorie suggests in the Playing Around options, and icing them with some Orange Cream Cheese Frosting that I had in the fridge from a recent cake. These cookies were a big hit. Very, very popular. I am probably going to make them again and see how the dough holds up for cut-outs and decorating. Go check out what other cookie creations the other TWD Bakers came up with by visiting the TWD Blogroll!

Coming Tomorrow- Maria's Spinach Cheese Ravioli

Lunchbox- Oat Bran-Applesauce Mini Muffins, 7-Grain Greek Salad, Whole-Wheat Wrap & Bulgur Salad, and Homemade Sausage Roll

The Lunchbox has been missing for a couple of weeks! We have had so many great meal leftovers that I really haven't had to make too many additional salads or baked goods to fill lunches. But, this week, I got back to business, making a couple of salads, muffins, and wraps that are lunchbox friendly. The Oat Bran muffins are very hearty and healthy, with no added sugar or fat. A perfect nutritional boost for the middle of the day. The 7-Grain Salad uses one of my fave seasonings, Greek. The veggies and beans add great texture and the Kashi Pilaf is really good. The bulgur salad and wrap were a nice combo and the Homemade Sausage Roll was one of my son's favorite items. He loves sausage and so do I, when it is turkey sausage, because I know it is a little bit healthier. If your lunchbox needs a healthy makeover, here are some great recipes to try!

Oat Bran-Applesauce Mini Muffins from Martha Stewart

Makes 2 dozen

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 ounces dates, pitted and chopped (1/2 cup)

1 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 2 mini-muffin tins with cooking spray. Place applesauce and dates in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and let cool completely.

Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in bran, buttermilk, egg, honey, ginger, and vanilla. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, allspice, and 1/4 cup oats. Stir into bran mixture. Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling to the brims. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon oats over muffins.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of 1 comes out clean, 21 to 23 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks. (Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days

7-Grain Greek Salad by Mary Ann

1 pkg. Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf, cooked according to pkg. directions

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Tbls olive oil

1-2 Tbls greek seasoning

When Kashi Pilaf is cool, place in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Season with additional greek seasoning, to taste. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Whole-Wheat Wrap and Bulgur Wheat Salad from myrecipes.com

1/4 cup bulgur wheat

1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed

1 scallion, chopped

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 whole-wheat wrap

1/2 cup packaged salad greens

1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/4 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

Cook the bulgur according to the package directions, transfer to a bowl, and let cool. Add the edamame, scallion, oil, lemon juice, and pepper. Toss and transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, fill the wrap half with the greens, bell pepper, carrot, and mozzarella. Roll up and serve with Bulgur Wheat Salad.

Homemade Sausage Roll by Mary Ann

1 pkg. reduced fat, refrigerated cresent roll dough

1-2 links sweet lean italian turkey sausage, such as Jenny-O

poppy seeds

Remove the casings from the sausage and cook in a skillet, crumbling as it cooks. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll cresent dough onto a cooking sheet, but do not divide it into triangles. Keep it together, by pressing the perferations in the dough, together with your fingers. You should have a large triangle. Spread the cook sausage down the center of the dough, and bring one side of the dough over the top of the sausage, covering it completely, and close the dough by pressing it together. You should have a large roll, with open ends. Sprinkle poppy seeds onto the top of the roll and press them gently into the dough.

Bake for 11-15 minutes, until the cresent dough is cooked through.

Coming Tuesday- Tuesday's with Dorie- Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

Chicken Fried Rice

This is the busiest time of the year. There is so much to do and so little time to do it! That is why it is nice to have easy recipes that use leftovers and items that you already have in your fridge.
This is a really quick recipe that is perfect for a busy weeknight. It comes together in a matter of moments. I took the picture the morning after we ate this and thought it was funny because the rice kept the shape of the container. You can use whatever veggies are in your fridge and add cooked shrimp, ham, pork, or leave out the meat all-together. Easy peasy and fast too!

Chicken Fried Rice by Mary Ann

1 Tbls canola oil

6 green onions, sliced

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

2 cups day-old cooked rice, brown or white

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Tbls soy sauce

1 Tbls grated fresh ginger

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, green pepper, celery, and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add rice, chicken, salt, and pepper. Toss and cook until hot and golden. Stir in soy sauce and ginger. Move this mixture to the side and add the eggs; cook and scramble, mixing them into the rice. Serve.

Note- Other cooked meat can be substituted for the chicken and other veggies can be substituted or added.

Coming Up Next- The Lunchbox returns!

All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

My turn is coming up next month to choose the recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie. Let me say, that it is really hard. There are so many great recipes I want to pick, so I am trying some of them to get them out of the running. I wanted to try this cake, because it contains a couple of my fave things- fresh cranberries, pumpkin, and pecans. I made it for Thanksgiving and thought it was really a pretty cake that would give people another dessert option, alongside all the pie. I made it the day before and actually thought it tasted better, the day after Thanksgiving, after the flavors had a chance to meld together and become stronger.
My younger brother really wanted to cut into it the day I made it and I actually had a nightmare that he ate the whole thing before any of our guests arrived! Pretty funny.
This was a great cake for this time of year, easy to throw together and very tasty.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours--(makes one 9- to 10-inch Bundt cake)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves (optional)

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoon/5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Optional: Maple syrup icing (see recipe below)

To make the cake:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (about 12-cup) Bundt pan. Do not place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven's heat to come up through the Bundt pan's open core. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves (if using) and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside dry ingredients.

Working with a stand mixer (using a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and apples - don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is just barely incorporated. Working with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake 60 to 70 minutes at 350F, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack. Drizzle with maple syrup icing (if using) or simply dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar.
Maple syrup icing: Sift 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup. Add more maple syrup little by little, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of a spoon - you might need another 1/2 tablespoon to get the right consistency. Put the cooled on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and drizzle the icing over the cake. Let the icing set for a few minutes before serving.

Up next- Chicken Fried Rice

Craving Ellie in my Belly- Jewel Roasted Vegetables

This weeks Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was chosen by Marie over at A Year from Oak Cottage. She chose Jewel Roasted Vegetables, which consists of carrots, beets and brussel sprouts. Aren't they pretty? Plus, we already know I have a thing with fresh thyme. Love it!
We ate beets alot when I was growing up, because my dad and my grandpa grew them in their gardens, and I really like them. My favorite part is the beet greens. You cook them up just like spinach, or swiss chard, mmm...
Anyway, back to the veggies. I loved this combination. I think Brussel Sprouts get a bad rap, but I don't know why. I think they taste great if you cook them properly. I love to roast them in the oven, so this was a perfect recipe for us. Surprisingly, my son gobbled down his serving and asked for more. Plus when you have this many beautiful colors going on in a recipe, you know it has to be good for you. Thank you Ellie for creating this delicious recipe and Marie, for choosing it. Go check on the other CEIMB Bloggers and see what they thought of this recipe!

Jewel Roasted Vegetables from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger
4 medium beets

3 Tbls olive oil

1 1/2 pds carrots

1 1/2 pds brussel sprouts

8 large cloves garlic, left unpeeled

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp pepper, plus more to taste

1 Tbls chopped fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the beets into a small baking dish and rub them with 1 Tbls of the oil. Cover the dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, peel and cut the carrots into 1-inch thick pieces, and trim the brussel sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. Put the carrots, sprouts, and garlic cloves in a large baking dish and toss with the remaining 2 Tbls oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

After the beets have been cooking for 30 minutes, add the large pan of vegetable to the oven separately, and cook everything for 1 hour more, stirring the vegetables once or twice.

Remove the beets from the oven and transfer them to a cutting board. Stir the thyme into the carrot and brussel sprout mixture and let it continue to cook, for another 10 minutes while the beets are cooled and cut.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, after about 5 minutes, peel, then cut them into 1-inch chunks. Remove the other vegetables from the oven, toss with beets, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Beet Greens by Me

wash and dry your beet greens. Place them in a saucepan with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the greens and stems are tender. Season with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice. Enjoy!

Coming Tomorrow- Dorie's All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

Pies with That- Holiday Songs- Dorie's Creamiest Lime-Mango Meringue Pie with Ginger-Macadamia Crust

This month's theme for You Want Pies with That? is Holiday Songs, chosen by Anne Strawberry. Pretty fun, if you ask me. I don't know for sure what my favorite holiday song is, I like them all. I like singing them, playing them on the piano, humming them, or listening to them on the radio. I decided to do a play on a holiday song- It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas.
I do not love snow or cold weather, but I do enjoy a white christmas. I thought I would make a tropical pie, so I could pretend that it isn't cold and snowy (Well, it isn't snowy yet, but it is cold). So, my pie is the opposite of my song.
For the crust, I found a recipe that used ground gingersnaps, macadamia nuts, and crystallized ginger, so it was nice and spicy. I decided to fill my pie with Dorie's Creamiest Lime Cream because she says " I save this pie for summer because, as fresh as lime and ginger taste on their own, when they're mixed together, they turn uber-zingy and so cool you'd think they'd been in the deep freeze. It may be an illusion, but one you'll be happy to play along with on a sweltering day." And what the heck, why not make it a little more tropical by throwing a ripe mango in the middle of the cream, like Dorie suggests.
So I pretended it was a hot, sweltering day and made this pie. I increased the amount of meringue, so I would get some height and have enough to cover the pie and also reduced the amount of butter in the filling by 2 sticks, because I have made Dorie's Lemon Cream before; that cream is just like this one, and I liked the flavor better without all the butter. So, if you were wishing you were on a tropical island because It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas- this is the pie for you!

Dorie's Creamiest Lime-Mango Meringue Pie with Ginger-Macadamia Crust

for the crust: (recipe from epicurious.com)

1 1/3 cups ground gingersnaps cookies
1 3 1/2-ounce jar toasted macadamia nuts
1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

for the filling: ( adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours)

1 cup sugar

grated zest of 3 limes

4 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

3/4 cup fresh lime juice ( from about 6 limes)

1 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 tsps cornstarch

3 Tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks

1 ripe mango, peeled, cut into cubes, and sprinkled with a little fresh lime juice

for the meringue: (adapted from Dorie's Baking)

6 large egg whites, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

For crust:Preheat oven to 350 °F. Generously butter 9-inch-diameter spring-form pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Finely grind first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter; blend until crumbs are moistened. Press mixture on bottom and 1 3/4 inches up sides of pan. Bake until crust is set, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack, cool.

For the filling: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer, and a blender at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips, until the sugar is moist and fragrance of lime is strong. Whisk in the eggs, then whisk in the juice, ginger and cornstarch. Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with a whisk. Cook the lime cream until is reaches 180 degrees F, whisking constantly. As you whisk, the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. It won't be done yet, keep whisking and checking the temp, this could take up to 10 minutes or more.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain the cream into the container of a blender; discard the zest. Let it cool until it reaches 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high speed and add the butter a piece at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container and continue to blend for about a minute more. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

To finish the pie with the meringue- Preheat the broiler. Whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon about 1/3 of it into the cooled crust. Top with the diced mango and Cover with the remaining cream.

With the whisk attachment of your mixer, whip the egg whites at medium speed until opaque. With the mixer running, add the sugar in a slow stream and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form firm peaks.

Spread the meringue over the lime filling, swirling it if you'd like. Make sure the meringue comes all the way to the edges of the crust, because it will shrink when it bakes.

Run the pie under the broiler until the meringue is golden and the tips are dark brown. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Up Tomorrow- Craving Ellie in my Belly- Jewel Roasted Vegetables

TWD-Linzer Sables turned into Cookie Cups with Chocolate Pastry Cream and Marionberry Jam

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe- Linzer Sables, was chosen by noskos over at Living the Life. You can find the recipe on his blog. They are a pretty little cookie, made with ground nuts and filled with jam or chocolate ganache. I love decorating cookies and cutting out shapes, but I wanted to do something different. Plus, I had 4 egg yolks in the fridge leftover from a meringue I made and I needed to use them. I decided I was going to make cookie cups and make some kind of pastry cream or filling with those yolks. I flipped through Dorie's book and found that chocolate pastry cream used 4 egg yolks and I know chocolate and hazelnuts are a tasty combination, so there you go. I only had skim milk, but the pastry cream turned out perfectly.

I halved the cookie recipe and used roasted hazelnuts for my cookie dough. I rolled it into a log and then stuck it into the fridge for a few hours. Then, in went the chocolate pastry cream to chill.

I cut the cookie dough into slices and used a regular sized muffin tin and a mini muffin tin to make my cookie cups, pressing the dough into little cups. The mini muffin tin worked best. I baked them for about 11 minutes and when they were cool, piped the chocolate pastry cream into some of them, topped with a dab of whipped cream. I also filled some with marionberry jam and sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. Pretty yummy! Go see everyone's cookies by checking out the Tuesday's with Dorie Blogroll.

Chocolate Pastry Cream-from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours

2 cups milk (I used skim milk because that is all I had and it worked great!)

4 large egg yolks

6 Tbls sugar

3 Tbls cornstarch, sifted

pinch of salt

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used half semi-sweet and half bittersweet)

3 Tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into bits

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, until thick and thoroughly combined. Whisk 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, to temper the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisk constantly, pour the rest of the hot milk in a steady stream into the egg mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, over medium-heat, whisking continually, making sure to get the sides and bottom of the pan. When the mixture starts to boil, keep whisking for 1-2 minutes more. Then, remove from the heat, and whisk in the melted chocolate. Let the cream sit for 5 minutes and then whisk in the butter, until the cream is silky and smooth.

Scrape the cream into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing against the surface of the cream. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Use as desired.

Coming Tomorrow- You Want Pies with That? Holiday Songs- It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas- Lime Cream and Mango Meringue Pie

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Pecans and Warm Cider Vinaigrette and Liz's Bowtie Pasta Salad

I love salad. And if you have been reading my blog recently, you will know that I love squash. I recently bought The Barefoot Contessa's new Cookbook- Back to Basics, and this butternut salad was the first thing that caught my eye. (The Chive Risotto cakes I made last week were another that looked fabulous) I decided to try the salad when we were celebrating my baby's birthday last week and I loved it. I used pecans instead of walnuts, because I love pecans and made a few other changes, but it was really good. And really pretty- all the colors and flavors were wonderful together.
Liz's Bowtie Pasta Salad was a salad that we sampled at a get together a couple of weeks ago. My husband actually told me that he loved it and so I had to get the recipe. Trust me, if he ever tells me such information and the food didn't come from McDonalds, I am making it at home. I got the recipe and changed it a little. I reduced the amount of mayo and miracle whip and used fat-free mayo, which resulted in a little less dressing, but it was still enough. I also used the mini bowties, because they are so cute.
I dressed a little bit of the salad with Light Balsamic Vinaigrette, but we all liked it better with the mayo dressing, which is saying something, because I am not a fan of mayo, usually. So, if you need a salad, try one of these- they are crowd pleasers!

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

from Barefoot Contessa- Back to Basics

1- 1 1/2 pd butternut squash, peeled and 3/4-inch diced

good olive oil

1 Tbls pure maple syrup

salt and pepper

3 Tbls dried cranberries

3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice

2 Tbls cider vinegar

2 Tbls minced shallots

2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 oz baby arugula, washed and spun dry (I used mixed greens that included arugula)

1/2 walnut halves, toasted (I used pecans)

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used aged Asiago and reduced the amount)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. (I roasted mine at 425 degrees)

Place squash on a sheet pan. Add 2 Tbls olive oil (I used 1 Tbls), the maple syrup, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Toss. Roast squash for 15-20 minutes (I added 10 more minutes to the roasting time), turning once, until tender. Add the cranberries to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Place the arugula in a large bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts, and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten, and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Liz's Bowtie, Peas, and Bacon Salad by Liz Harris

1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chilled

16 oz. box bowtie pasta, cooked and drained (I used the mini bowtie pasta)

1/2 c. fat-free mayo

a couple Tbls miracle whip

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 t. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 bag peas ( thawed)

6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 small bag parmesan cheese

Combine lettuce and bowtie pasta in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine mayo, miracle whip, sugar, salt and pepper. Add the peas, bacon, green onions, and parmesan cheese to the lettuce/pasta mixture. Toss lightly. Add the mayo mixture to the lettuce and mix until mayo dressing evenly covers the lettuce. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve

Coming Tomorrow- TWD- Linzer Sables