Gluten Free Pumpkin Carving Party!

Last night we had our newlywed friends Marc and Danielle as well as their daughter Ari to watch the ASU game and carve pumpkins.  I refuse to touch pumpkins.  I think their insides are gross and I hate carving them... but I like having them as decorations.  You can even ask my mother, since I was very young my sole pumpkin carving job was to micromanage everyone else who was carving pumpkins to make sure they were doing it properly.  After both traveling all week and going on a brief cooking strike (my disposal was broken....I do not know how people can cook without one but told Chris I was on strike until it was fixed) my cooking had gone all to heck and I definitely fell off my gluten free, soy free, and somewhat  (used very loosely) dairy free diet. 

I had Danielle bring over veggies and delicious hummus for an appetizer and I made my signature Pesto Pasta and a harvest salad.  I have a hard time explaining recipes because I cook all of the time rarely measure things and change things each time I make them but here's my best shot!

Pesto Pasta (serves 4-5)
1-16oz bag Gluten Free Brown Rice Penne (I like Trader Joes because it does not seem to get soggy)
Parmesan Cheese
Small bag of Organic Pine Nuts
5/8 Cup Pesto (recipe below I make large quantities before hand and freeze it)
2 Organic Chicken Breasts
21 Season Salute (Trader Joes)

Cook pasta per directions on bag and start water boiling as you start the chicken
Cube Chicken and cook in a sauce pan flavoring with 21 season salute until fully cooked
Drain and rinse pasta, put into bowls, and add as much chicken as you want to each bowl 
 Add 2 tbl spoons (or to taste) Pesto to each bowl and mix in
Sprinkle with a little bit of Parmesan Cheese and Pine Nuts

Pesto Sauce 

1/4 cup organic walnuts

1/4 cup organic pine nuts (or pinons if your from NM :)

3 tablespoons chopped garlic
5 cups fresh organic basil leaves, packed (my mother in law grows LOTS of organic Basil it grows like a weed so let me know if you need any :)

Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups good  organic olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan ((I usually use A LOT less....maybe about a 1/3 of a cup and can not tell the difference)

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of your food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Process for 15 seconds.

Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper.

With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed.

Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute.

Harvest Salad

2 large bags organic mixed baby greens salad

1 organic red apple (i prefer gala)

1 cup glazed organic walnuts (I just glaze them myself on the cook top with sugar) but you can buy them at TJ

3/4 cup goat cheese

1 cup organic dried cranberries

Just throw it all together....if you don't know how to make a salad with the above ingredients at this point but plan on making the other two recipes above there is no hope for you. :)

I do my own dressing as well....soy/gluten free dressings are few and far between at the grocery store.  Again I just kind of throw stuff together in a salad dressing container.  Mix 1 cup organic olive oil, 1 cup raspberry vinegar, about a tablespoon dried organic Basil and a tiny bit of sugar....violently shake and modify to taste and your done.   

Pink Chicken Yum!  Season with 21 season salute to taste.

 Glazed Walnuts.  VERY EASY TO BURN if you do not constantly watch them!!!!

 Finished Pesto Pasta Deliciousness

 Harvest Salad and Dressing

 Marc, Chris and Ari Carving Pumpkins. 

 Danielle and I relaxing watching ASU put the smack down on CO

 Chris' Dbacks Pumpkin and Ari and Marcs Kitty Pumpkin

And a special treat for everyone!!!  Literally the cutest child you will ever see... Emily my Niece/God Daughter in her Halloween costume in NM.  Raarrrr!!!!