Pumpkin Round Up

I have been sharing pictures with some of you of this great fall food we have been having lately.  Including, but not limited to, incredibly fresh veggies and, of course, pumpkin!  Not much has been going on with us the last few days so I thought I would take some time and post all those recipes you have been asking me to share and **gulp** I keep forgetting.

So here are some of our very favorite, constantly on the rotation new fall fav's.

Rainbow Chicken   (we particularly love this one because everything is in season right now!)

Package of chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 potato, skin on and diced small
1 medium onion, cut into lengths
1 bell pepper, cut into lengths
1 zucchini, cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 squash, cut into chunks
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Spice Rub:
2 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic

Preheat your oven to 425.  Mix all the spice rub ingredients into a fairly large mixing bowl.  Add in the chicken and give a few turns to coat.  Arrange the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish coated with baking spray.  Next add all the veggies to the spice rub mix.  I know, there isn't much mix left over but do the best you can, trust me, it is enough.  Arrange the veggies over the chicken and add your sliced lemons on the top.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Tuscan White Bean Soup (HOLY HOLY MOLY!!  I crave this now!!)

2 Tbsp. EVOO
6 oz. pancetta, diced (we don't carry pancetta at the commissary, so I picked up a package of prosciutto, rolled each individual slice, cut it chiffonade style and "fried" it rolled up in tight balls.  Turned out perfectly!)
2 onions, diced
kosher salt and pepper
5 cloves minced garlic (I promise that is NOT a typo)
2 quarts chicken stock
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
1/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. grated Parmesan

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the pancetta and cook until browned and crispy.  Remove and set aside to drain.  Add the onions to the hot oil, season with some salt and pepper and cook until they begin to soften, about 5-7 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds more.  Add one more cup of the stock to the pan, scraping any browned bits.  Add the remaining beans, bay leaves, stock, rosemary, thyme and Parm rind.  Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Fish out the bay leaves, herb stems and parm rind; add in cream and parm and cook until soup starts to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes more.  Taste for seasoning.  Add the pancetta and serve hot.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese
1 block of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
dash of salt

Combine them all.  (I use the back side of a spoon to get the cream cheese going and then my hand mixer with the whisking attachments.)

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
chocolate chips, if desired.

Mix it all up.  Spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  If you have never baked with pumpkin in this way before, the cookies appear to still be raw but they aren't.