Recap of Dinners

Chipotle-Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

This is my mom's favorite recipe for shepherd's pie. Mashed sweet potatoes get a smoky kick from chopped chipotles in adobo sauce. The beef-vegetable mixture is flavorful and light with a light gravy made by the ingredients and not a roux.

My mom's go-to recipe for potato soup, which she added tilapia to and made it into a potato fish chowder. She also added a splash of kirsch in towards the end that really added to the flavor. Accompanied by no-knead bread I made earlier, this was a perfect meal for colder weather.

Chicken quesadillas with refried beans, diced green bell peppers inside, and guacamole on the side.

My first BSI , I decided to make pumpkin potstickers. The filling is a creamy pumpkin-tofu mixture with oregano, a bit of paprika, garlic, brown butter, kosher salt, and finely chopped spinach for color contrast.

(Recipe below)

A frozen tray of pumpkin potstickers

Everyone really enjoyed these. The texture of the pumpkin flavor was very creamy and flavorful with a hint of pumpkin. If you are skeptical about using tofu, don't be. Tofu takes on the flavor of the ingredients with it, especially if you use ingredients with pronounced flavors.

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Pumpkin Tofu Filling
My variation on Tofu Basil Ricotta

Ingredients

• 1 pound firm tofu, pressed


• 3 tablespoons brown butter


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree


• ¼ cup parmesan cheese


• 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt


• ½ teaspoon oregano


• ¼ teaspoon paprika


• ½ cup finely chopped baby spinach leaves

Directions:

1. Place tofu in a bowl and mash with a fork until crumbly.


2. Add remaining ingredients and mash again until the mixture resembles ricotta cheese. Check for seasonings. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to give the flavors time to meld.

Use as a filling for wontons or potstickers, calzones, in lasagne, a topping on pizza, etc.