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Kale, Cranberry + Walnut Stuffing (stuffed in a pumpkin!)

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I’ve got something to tell you.

I am OBSESSED with stuffing.

Oh my goodness do I love it.

When I tell people that I don’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving, I often get the response, “If you don’t eat turkey, then what do you eat?”

I eat stuffing. Lots and lots of stuffing. 

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I’m not sure when exactly this obsession started, but I’m glad it did. Stuffing makes me so happy. I even “liked” stuffing on Facebook. I’m not sure why you can do that (or how I discovered that you could), but I did. And every year around Thanksgiving, “Stuffing” begins to post on Facebook. And I secretly love it!

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I think my mom makes the best stuffing. It’s very simple and very classic, but so delicious. It has the perfect flavor. And it is so moist. It doesn’t need gravy, although I put gravy on it anyway because I also love gravy. 

And while I love and wouldn’t want to go without my mom’s amazing, classic stuffing, it is fun to experiment with it a bit, too. As far as I’m concerned, the more stuffing, the better. 🙂

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The story behind this kale, cranberry + walnut stuffing:

When I came home from Florida last week, a beautiful pumpkin was sitting on the table waiting just for me (and flowers, too!). Greg picked out the pumpkin for me at the farmers market when I was away. He said he talked to a woman about stuffing the pumpkin, and thought that I would love the idea. He knows me too well – there is nothing I would rather do this time of the year than stuff a pumpkin with stuffing! 

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I bought some multigrain bread (my favorite) and then searched my fridge and pantry for the perfect add-ins for the stuffing. I love the classic flavor combo of fresh garlic, shallots, carrots and celery so I thought that would be my base. I added baby kale because I am obsessed with adding it to everything lately. To the bread, I added dried cranberries and walnuts, just because I thought it would work. I spiced it up with plenty of dried thyme, sage, nutmeg, salt, pepper and some fresh rosemary. I used fresh rosemary because I love the flavor of fresh over dried and I know that I will use the entire package when I buy it. The only binding ingredient in this stuffing is chicken broth (use veggie broth to make it completely vegetarian!). I didn’t want to add egg, so I tried just the broth and it worked perfectly as a binder.

And just a note: stuffing doesn’t have to be wildly unhealthy to be delicious! This stuffing has only 2 tablespoons of butter in the entire thing. I used multigrain bread, nuts, dried fruit and a ton of veggies. I’m not saying it’s a health food, but you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging in this!

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My origianl plan was to cut the pumpkin top off, jack-o-lantern style. Just as if I were carving the pumpkin. But, this pumpkins skin was very thick and hard to cut through. I tried but decided I just couldn’t do it. I decided to cut the pumpkin in half, take the seeds out and stuff some stuffing into each side. It worked very well, and I think that anyway you can cut your pumpkin would work, too. 

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The flavor of this stuffing is amazing. It is everything I hoped for. The cranberries and walnuts add great texture. It is perfectly moist. Greg and I agreed that gravy is not necessary for it. 

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And the pumpkin presentation is fun and cool. I think that it would be a fun dish to take to a family or friend Thanksgiving get-together. And as far the the pumpkin flesh, it can be scraped out and eaten with the stuffing, or scraped out and used for another recipe. Don’t let that pumpkin go to waste!

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So, what do you think? Will you stuff some stuffing into a pumpkin this season? Even if you have a traditional stuffing recipe, I encourage you to give this one a try too. It’s fun, delicious and like I said above, there can never be too much stuffing. 🙂 Enjoy!

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Kale, Cranberry + Walnut Stuffing
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Ingredients
  1. 5 cups multigrain bread, cut into cubes
  2. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  3. 1/2 cup walnuts
  4. 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  5. 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
  6. 1/2 tablespoon dried sage
  7. Pinch of nutmeg
  8. Salt and pepper
  9. 1 tablespoon butter
  10. 2 tablespoons olive oil
  11. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  12. 8 small shallots, sliced
  13. 2 medium carrots, diced
  14. 3 celery stalks, diced
  15. 2 ounces baby kale
  16. 2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth to make it vegetarian!)
  17. 1 large baking pumpkin
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Prep your pumpkin. Do what seems to work best. You could cut it as if you were carving a pumpkin, or like me, cut the pumpkin in half. Clean out the pumpkin seeds.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the cubed bread, dried cranberries, walnuts, rosemary, thyme, sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  4. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil. Once hot, add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook several minutes, until shallots soften.
  5. Add the carrots and celery and cook several more minutes, until veggies begin to become tender. Once tender, add the baby kale and cook, stirring until kale is wilted.
  6. Add the cooked veggies to the bread combo. Add the chicken broth and stir, until well combined and all bread is wet.
  7. Stuff the stuffing into the hollow, cleaned out pumpkin. Place the pumpkin in a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1-1.5 hours, or until stuffing is cooked through and the pumpkin flesh is fork tender.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Go-To Granola

3 Replies

Hi guys! How are you? It’s been awhile since we’ve last talked. 

Did you have a good weekend? I had such a good weekend.

My mom and dad came to Philly for a visit! We spent Friday evening eating, drinking and enjoying a perfect summer evening.

On Thursday evening, Greg and I picked up our brand new charcoal grill! Can you believe it? It was a generous and perfect gift from Greg’s mom and stepdad. I can barely get over the fact that we now have a grill and we definitely took great advantage of it Friday evening. Burgers for my mom and dad, and sweet potato burgers for Greg and I. We also got a veggie rack and grilled whole cremini mushrooms and onions. We added pasta salad, hummus and guacamole and called it a meal. 

Saturday, the four of us went to nearby Peddler’s Village. It was so much fun! Definitely recommended for locals/visitors!

I unfortunately took zero photos over the weekend, although I would have had some very good ones to share with you. The comment/joke of the weekend was everyone saying to me “This would have been a good photo, Jess.” 🙂 Oops! 

Anyway, let’s now talk about granola.

You need to look no further. This is your new go-to granola recipe.

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Whether you’re looking for a healthy snack, a hearty breakfast or a homemade gift, this recipe has got you covered. 

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I’ve always loved granola but I don’t eat it that often. That’s mostly because I can’t find a granola that I’m really in love with. 

Usually store-bought granola tastes too sweet. Or is too crumbly. Or just tastes plain stale. 

But, this recipe changes it all.

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I’ve been wanting to make my own for awhile now. I wanted something that is healthy. That has a simple list of ingredients, things I know. I didn’t want it to be oily. Or crumbly. I wanted there to be large chunks of granola. I didn’t want it to be overly sweet or sugary. I wanted to control what went in.

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So, I did it. I’m in love with this you guys. I knew what I wanted going in, but I didn’t know I’d come out being addicted. Does what I described above sound good to you? Prepare to be addicted. 

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Let’s talk about the goodness of this granola.

1) It has a short list of ingredients:

Oats
Pecans
Sunflower seeds
Unsweetened coconut
Cinnamon
Salt
Coconut oil
Egg white
Pure maple syrup

2) You won’t be left still feeling hungry after eating it. Yep, it fills you up!

3) You won’t feel a sugar rush or like you just ate dessert after eating this granola. It is just slightly sweetened with pure maple syrup and perfectly cinnamon-y. The cinnamon just warms me up.

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4) This granola is crunchy and sticks together in large clumps.

5) It takes one bowl to prepare. Yep, one bowl, one spoon and one pan. Maybe some measuring cups. It’s simple and easy, you guys.

6) It is customizable. Make it your own. Use this as a base and be creative. Add what you like and leave out what you don’t!

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I’m telling you. Once you start on this granola, you won’t be able to stop. But really, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. 🙂

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Go-To Granola
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Ingredients
  1. 3 cups rolled oats
  2. 1 cup pecans, lightly chopped
  3. 1 cup sunflower seeds
  4. 1 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut
  5. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  6. 3/4 teaspoon salt
  7. 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  8. Scant 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
  9. 1 egg white
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300*.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds, coconut, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
  3. Add the melted coconut oil and maple syrup.
  4. Crack the egg white into a bowl and whisk very well, until it becomes a bit foamy.
  5. Add the egg white to the rest of the ingredients.
  6. Stir everything together very well, so that the dry ingredients are completely wet and everything is well mixed.
  7. Place the granola on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the granola is slightly browned and hardened.
  8. Let the granola cool for about 10-20 minutes, or until it is hard and can be broken into pieces.
  9. Enjoy!
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Curry Stuffed Peppers with Chickpeas + Carrots

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I know, I know.

peas

 

carrots

Another curry recipe.

peppers

I told you I’m obsessed. 🙂

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I really, truly can’t get enough curry lately. 

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This recipe is it. I am down right obsessed. This recipe has turned me into a stuffed pepper person.

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I never have been. Stuffed peppers have never been something I have desired. They always just seemed sort of bland, sort of boring. Is anyone with me on that?

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But these. These peppers are full of flavor. They are bursting with it. They could not be stuffed enough. There could not be enough rice in the world to satisfy my craving for these. I want to eat them forever and ever. 

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If you like curry + rice, you have got to try these. They are super easy too!

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Just make some rice. Make a simple curry sauce with coconut milk, curry paste, some lime juice and fish sauce. Oh, and don’t leave out the lime juice and fish sauce! They are essential to the taste, I promise!

Add some beans + veggies. I did chickpeas + carrots. You can do what you’d like, really. Add the beans + veggies that you like.

Mix the sauce with the rice and stuff that into some peppers. Yep, that’s it. Just add some baking time, during which you should pour yourself a glass of wine, and then you get to enjoy these plump, delicious beauties! 

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Yes, you will want to lick your plate. I did.

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This may be my only recipe this week, you guys, but it’s one I stand behind with my entire heart. It’s extra special.

Hope you enjoy!

 

Curry Stuffed Peppers with Chickpeas + Carrots
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Ingredients
  1. 4-6 bell peppers
  2. 1 cup rice
  3. 2 cups water
  4. Olive oil
  5. Salt
  6. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  7. 4 small shallots, sliced
  8. 2 - 15 ounce cans coconut milk
  9. 5 tablespoons red curry paste
  10. 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  11. Juice from 1/2 lime
  12. 4 medium carrots, chopped
  13. 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400*.
  2. Get the rice started. I used 1 cup dry jasmine rice and 2 cups of water and cooked it for about 30 minutes. Follow your rice package cooking instructions.
  3. While the rice is cooking, start the curry sauce.
  4. Add a small drizzle of olive oil to a large saucepan over medium heat.
  5. Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and sliced shallots, and cook for several minutes, until softened and slightly brown.
  6. Add the coconut milk to the saucepan and bring to a simmer.
  7. Once simmering, add the red curry paste and whisk until fully incorporated.
  8. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and salt to taste and stir well.
  9. Before adding the veggies, reserve about 1 cup of the sauce in a separate bowl for topping the peppers.
  10. Add the chopped carrots and chickpeas to the sauce and stir well.
  11. Let the sauce cook over low heat for several minutes, to slightly soften the carrots.
  12. While you are cooking the sauce, cut off the top of each bell pepper. Scoop out the inside flesh and seeds and rinse them well. Set aside.
  13. Add the cooked rice to the curry sauce and mix well.
  14. Spoon the curry/rice mixture into the hollowed out peppers.
  15. Spoon some of the reserved curry sauce on the bottom of a baking pan.
  16. Place the peppers on top of the sauce and spoon some more sauce on top of the peppers.
  17. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until peppers are soft.
  18. Enjoy!
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Chai Muffins with Pistachios + White Chocolate

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Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I hope you had yesterday off, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Let’s talk muffins. And life. Let’s talk muffins and life. 

Life: So as you know, I have been on a much less frequent posting schedule lately. I’ve explained in the past few weeks that moving was happening and food making was not. Then I told you about my job. And while I am not working full-time, I am still trying to find my footing. I’m still figuring out when is the best time to make things to share with you.

And, I want to say thank you, to you, because even with less-than-usual posting, August was the best month ever for The Dreaming Foodie! I’ve had more views in August than in any other month before. Every single person – thank you so very much for reading! 

I’m proud of August. The recipes I’ve shared with you this month are some of the best ever, in my opinion. There were only seven. Yes, seven recipes this entire month, but I’m totally in love with every single one. The month started with super simple and delicious homemade almond joys. With a recipe like that to start, I should have known that this would be a good month. Also, if you missed any from this month, check out:

Corn Soup
Barbecue Lentil Burgers
Spinach + Feta Braid
Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Butternut Squash
Smoked Salmon Quiche
One Pot Fajita Pasta

So, from here I am going to try to continue to bring you recipes to be totally in love with. I’m going for 100% quality over quantity, even if it means only posting twice a week. 

Like I’ve said before, thank you for bearing with me. 🙂

Now, onto muffins!

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I could not be happier to start this month with these muffins!

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I tested, tested, tested this recipe to get it just right. After one too many muffin fails in the past months, I wanted to go into this one completely prepared and set up for success. 

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Let me tell you about it. I saw a little girl at market one day with a pistachio muffin. I was instantly intrigued. I love pistachios. And, I love pistachio ice cream. Since I was working and unable to get a muffin of my own, I knew I wanted to try my hand at pistachio muffins. 

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I started brainstorming and searching the internet and saw that Cooking Light did a pistachio-chai muffin. Okay, that was my new plan. Chai muffins with pistachios. And then I decided to add white chocolate. Because chocolate is never a bad idea. 

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Okay, so I had my flavors. Chai, pistachio, white chocolate. I then moved on to making the muffin itself the best it could be.

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I researched. I made decisions. I didn’t want my muffin to be overly sweet, so decided to use minimal sugar. I figured out baking soda/powder amounts that would produce a good rise/neutralize the acid in my muffin. I decided to use buttermilk instead of regular since I love the taste of buttermilk. I decided to use butter as my fat over oil (never go wrong with butter!). I decided to pulse some oats and add them to the dry part of the batter to add some texture.

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I took notes. I researched more. I wrote down tips: a thick/lumpy batter is what you’re looking for, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. And I finally had a recipe. My first trial turned out pretty darn good. I was so excited. The work I put into the recipe paid off, it was not another added to the list of muffin disasters. 

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I tasted the muffin, I took notes on what I wanted to improve. And I preformed trial 2. Then trial 3. Trial 3 is what you see in the photos and the recipe I’m sharing with you today. 

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This muffin is lightly spiced with chai tea bags. Chai is a flavor combo of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and cloves. Most people are familiar with chai lattes. Chai works just as well in baked goods. In addition to having wonderful flavor, these muffins are soft and fluffy. 

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The pistachio and white chocolate flavors work wonderfully with the chai. They add a crunch and sweetness that will be hard to resist.

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These muffins are layered: chai batter, pistachio/white chocolate mixture, and then repeated. The layering is a great way to incorporate texture/flavor though the entire muffin. 

bite

Although this is not a completely traditional muffin, I hope that you give it a try. 🙂 

Chai Muffins with Pistachios + White Chocolate
Yields 9
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
  2. 1/2 cups oats
  3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  4. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  6. 1 1/2 chai tea bags
  7. 5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  8. 1/2 cup sugar
  9. 2 egg whites, at room temperature
  10. 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
  11. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  12. 1/3 cup pistachios, shelled
  13. 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
  14. Small drizzle coconut oil or water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375*. Prepare a muffin pan with 9 muffins liners, lightly sprayed.
  2. Start by prepping some of the ingredients. Add the 1/2 cup oats to a food processor and pulse until the oats are a coarse meal (see photo above). Remove from the processor and set aside.
  3. Add the pistachios and white chocolate chips to the food processor. Process, with a small drizzle of oil or water, until they have become a coarse meal (see photo above). Remove from processor and set aside.
  4. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, processed oats, baking powder, soda, salt and chai tea. Mix with a whisk. Set aside.
  5. In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg whites and mix well, until pale and creamy. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix until just incorporated.
  6. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry one and using a spoon, mix until just combined.
  7. Using a mini ice cream scoop (or a spoon), place one scoop of batter into each prepared muffin liner.
  8. Layer one heaping teaspoon of the pistachio/white chocolate mixture on top of the batter.
  9. Top that with one more scoop of batter, followed by a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the pistachio/white chocolate mixture.
  10. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  11. Enjoy!
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/

Smoked Salmon Quiche

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I’m so excited to share this with you.

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This quiche is really good, you guys. 

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toms

From what I see, you all really like this heirloom tomato + pesto quiche. Yes, that quiche has wonderful flavor. So, I can’t wait for you to try this!

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I tried smoked salmon for the first time when I was 17 or 18. My dad and brother are avid fishermen and brought home a smoked salmon from one of their trips. It was definitely love at first bite for me. I love the stuff!

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I used to eat smoked salmon on crackers with a spread of mustard. If you haven’t tried that, I think you should. Such a simple, delicious snack. Just talking about it makes me want it now!

quiche

Over the years, I got more adventurous with my smoked salmon eating. I’ve ordered smoked salmon quiche in restaurants and I’ve also had it in an omelet. Smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese, lettuce and tomato? Yes, please.

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Anyway, as you can see, I love it. And this quiche is my new favorite thing. I took one bite and then the whole piece was gone entirely too fast. I declared that I would be making this all the time now.

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And I really could! It’s so easy to prepare. Smoked salmon is ready to go once you buy it, with no preparation. Isn’t that nice?

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For this quiche, I used a store-bought whole wheat crust. I still don’t have that crust making down yet.

Some other tips: It’s important to let the cream cheese soften for this. Once softened, it is much easier to mix with the fresh dill and chives. I really do suggest using fresh herbs here. I’m sure you could use dried if you want, but the fresh herbs taste so good in this.

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Also, use any tomatoes you would like. I used two small San Marzano tomatoes from Three Springs. From what I hear, they are awesome sauce tomatoes, but they also worked wonderfully in this quiche.

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The last thing about this is the capers. Just a small amount adds something really special to this quiche. They are little bits of goodness and go so well with smoked salmon. 

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The flavor of this quiche is out of this world. It’s the right combination of cheese, fresh herbs, veggies, salmon and eggs. I do hope that you get to try this quiche and I hope that you enjoy every single bite!

Smoked Salmon Quiche
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pie crust (choose your favorite!)
  2. 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  3. 1 tablespoon mix of fresh dill and chives, lightly chopped
  4. Pinch of onion powder
  5. 2 small or 1 medium tomato, diced
  6. 4 ounces smoked salmon
  7. 1 1/2 tablespoons capers
  8. 4 eggs
  9. 1 cup milk (I used whole)
  10. Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375*.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, chopped dill and chives and pinch of onion powder.
  3. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the bottom and sides of the prepared pie crust. Once spread, there should be a thin layer the entire way around (see photo above).
  4. On top of the cheese layer, add the diced tomatoes.
  5. Add small pieces of the smoked salmon on top of the tomatoes.
  6. Add the capers on top of the salmon.
  7. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add salt and pepper.
  8. Pour the egg mixture into the crust.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat to 400* and bake an additional 25 minutes, or until the quiche is set.
  10. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. Baking times may vary. Start watching your quiche after 15 minutes in the 400* oven.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/