The 23rd was my dear husband’s birthday and I wanted to have a few surprises waiting for him for when we woke up.  First up, some birthday brownies with sprinkles, a brightly colored package, and some festive gnocchi…

What’s inside?  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Version on BluRay.  Snap.

For the food I whipped up something based on what I had in the house.  One of Mike’s student’s family gave us some wonderfully fragrant fresh sage and I had a package of fresh cranberries in the fridge I wanted to use up.

First, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and saute the sage.

Add the cranberries and cook until they are tender.  Add a sprinkle of light brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Pour it over cooked gnocchi.  So festive!

Sage and Cranberry Whole Wheat Gnocchi

2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup finely chopped cranberries
A couple tablespoons of chopped, fresh sage
1 package whole wheat gnocchi (I used Gia Russa brand)
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Add gnocchi to water, they are done when they start to float.  Drain and set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter and add cranberries and saute until they are tender.  Sprinkle brown sugar over top, add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well and pour over cooked gnocchi.  Enjoy warm!

Happy Birthday, Hubs!  Looking forward to spending many more with you!

Hello there! Long time no see!  There are a couple reasons for that…

Besides being crazy ridiculous busy with work and school the blog was being transferred away from WordPress to its very own domain and freestanding site:

agirlinherkitchen.com

So, update your bookmarks!

Last Sunday I made a batch of Pumpkin-Ricotta Stuffed shells for my fabulous blog team.  I found this recipe in Country Living magazine and it is delicious!

For the recipe I picked some fresh sage and basil from the yard.  My herbs and even my zucchini are still kickin! Love the warm weather we had this month in Chicago!

Pumpkin is low in calories and high in vitamin A.  Using it in the shells decreases the amount of cheese needed and it tastes amazing!

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells from Country Living

• 24  jumbo pasta shells
• 1 tablespoon(s) extra virgin olive oil
• 22 ounce(s) (2 1/2 cups) fat-free ricotta
• 1 can(s) (15-ounce) pumpkin puree
• 2 1/2 ounce(s) pecorino Romano, grated (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1 large egg white
• 2 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 1 cup(s) fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tablespoon(s) finely chopped fresh sage
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 1 jar(s) (26-ounce) store-bought tomato sauce

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions; drain. Transfer to a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Set aside and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup pecorino Romano, and remaining ingredients, except tomato sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread sauce in bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with about 3 tablespoons ricotta-pumpkin mixture and arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Remove foil, sprinkle shells with remaining pecorino, and bake for 15 minutes more. (If desired, stuff shells the night before and refrigerate overnight in an airtight container, in between layers of plastic wrap; arrange shells on sauce right before baking.)

Serve with mixed greens…

I am so lucky to have awesome people in my life  like Milton- aka the Accounts Manager here at AGIHK, Inc- help me with the conversion (and his lovely wife Rebecca who let me borrow his expertise on a Sunday).

Hubby, CFO and Head Taste-Tester

So, I made these awesome people some oatmeal chocolate bars for dessert.

This was quite a week for the blog.  I also found out that I won a Top 70 Foodie Blog award from eCollegefinder! I am so honored- thank you!  Check out my blog listed on their site!

I’m so excited to be a free standing site with my own domain!  I have lots of ideas and future plans for the blog so stay tuned!!

Thanks for reading,

ally

For dinner this evening I needed something that was quick and easy.  I am exhausted after a full day of seeing Northwestern patients and an evening filled with work on one of several papers due and pages and pages of reading.  I’m pooped, ya’ll.

Luckily, I had a few items around the house to whip up a respectable meal thanks to a  little care package bearing fairy (ignore the balsamic, I didn’t use it).

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