BBQ Chicken, Apple, Bacon and Cheddar Quesadillas

After making the apple, bacon and cheddar sticky buns earlier this week the flavour combination has been on my mind and I could not resist using it again, this time in some quesadillas. Even with the apple, bacon and cheddar the quesadillas felt like they still needed something and BBQ chicken was the perfect solution, adding a sweet heat along with a hint of smokiness. There is just something magical about this combination of sweet juicy apples, melted cheddar cheese, smoky bacon and spicy BBQ chicken and I will definitely be enjoying a few more of these quesadillas over the next few weeks this fall!

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Pumpkin Hummus

It's time for another pumpkin recipe and up this time is a super quick and easy pumpkin hummus that is perfect for fall entertaining and and it is nice healthy to boot! Hummus is typically made with mashed chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice but it is easy to add flavour to it like in this case by adding some pumpkin puree. Given the use of pumpkin in this humus it only seemed natural to add a hint of cinnamon to make things a little more exotic. I like to serve the pumpkin hummus topped with pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) along with some toasted whole wheat pitas for dipping making for one light and healthy snack!

Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds so one option that I enjoy for this pumpkin hummus is the addition of some ground pepitas which adds another layer of pumpkin flavour!

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Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Winter squash is in season and one that I do not use nearly often enough is spaghetti squash so when I came across the idea of a lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash I pinned it right away to try later! Lasagna is a layered pasta dish typically containing noodles, a meat sauce and a cheese or bechamel sauce and it is topped with plenty of cheese and baked until golden brown and bubbling. This lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash takes the basic components of lasagna including the meat sauce and the cheese layer and stuffs them into a spaghetti squash, which essentially replaces the noodles, and bakes them until the cheese has melted. Since this dish goes with healthy spaghetti squash instead of noodles I decided to keep things on the lighter side going with ground turkey for the meat and a low fat cottage cheese for the cheese layer. Even though this lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash is designed to be healthier it certainly does not sacrifice anything in the way of flavour! You will definitely not miss the noodles in this tasty lasagna!

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SweeTango Apple, Bacon and Cheddar Pecan Sticky Buns

One of the best things about fall is that it is apple season and this year I discovered a tasty new apple, the SweeTango apple! The SweeTango apple is a cross between the Honeycrisp and the Zestar and they have the best qualities of both of them! SweeTango apples are grown in a few states in the US and a few provinces in Canada and they are only available for a few short months in the fall. After enjoying snacking on some SweeTango apples it was time to put them to the test and use them in a recipe and the first recipe on my list to try was some SweeTango apple pecan sticky buns!

Apple pie has to be one of my all time favourite things and I was a kid when I first came across the idea of serving apple pie covered in cheddar cheese. It wasn't until a few years later until I finally embraced the idea of combining sweet and savoury by adding cheddar cheese to apple pie and to my surprise I found that the combination was amazingly good. When I first got my hands on some of the SweeTango apples I could not resist using them to make some apple pie inspired pecan sticky buns and I just had to try throwing some cheddar cheese into the sticky buns! As you know, I am a complete bacon addict and I just had to try adding some bacon to the apple pecan sticky buns since bacon goes so well in sweet dishes and when combined with both apples and cheddar cheese.

Since you need to let the dough rise two times, these sticky buns require a bit of time to make but they are actually pretty easy requiring very little actual work. One of the great things about making these sticky buns is the amazing aroma that fills the house while they are baking and it only heightens the anticipation! These SweeTango apple, bacon and cheddar pecan sticky buns turned out amazingly well! The sweet and savoury combo of the SweeTango apples and caramel when fantastically well with the melted cheddar and bacon! The SweeTango apples themselves worked really well in this baked dish and I can see myself using them in many more!

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Pork Tinga Quesadillas

I have been on a quesadilla kick lately so when I made the pork tinga tacos the other day I made sure to make a large batch of pork tinga so that I would have leftovers for quesadillas. At it's base a quesadilla is simply melted cheese in a toasted tortilla so I kept these quesadillas nice and simple filling them with the pork tinga along with the cheese. Although these quesadillas are great just like that, while I was enjoying one I could not help but think that I could make them even better with the addition of some avocado. Instead of just throwing some avocado into the quesadillas or serving them with mashed avocado for dipping I decided to go with something a little different and I treated the quesadillas like a base and topped them with an avocado spread, almost like a pizza. Of course I could not stop there and I mixed some salsa verde into the mashed avocado and sprinkled on some diced onions, crumbled cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. I have to say that these 'pizza' like quesadillas were certainly fun to eat and so amazingly good! The cool and creamy avocado topping plays beautifully well with the spicy chipotle pork tinga and all of the melted cheesy goodness!

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Shrimp Linguine in a Tomato and Feta Sauce (aka Shrimp Saganaki Linguine)

October is National Pasta Month and that means that it is time for some pasta! Pasta Fits into a healthy diet, a busy lifestyle, and a tight budget; it is super versatile and always fun to work with! This shrimp linguine is inspired by one of my favourite Greek dishes, shrimp saganaki, where shrimp is cooked in tasty tomato and feta sauce and it works really well as a pasta dish! If you are looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal this recipe fits the bill literally only taking as long to make as it takes to boil the water and to cook the pasta. When in season, fresh tomatoes, dill and parsley really make this dish sing but otherwise pantry staples, canned diced tomatoes and dried herbs, also work well so you can enjoy this tasty pasta all year round. No matter how you cut it, this shrimp linguine in tomato and feta sauce, aka shrimp saganaki linguine, is a great way to celebrate National Pasta Month and it is sure to make a regular appearance in your meal rotation!

Do you have a favourite pasta recipe? Share it with the National Pasta Association for the chance to win their Pasta Presto Recipe Contest with a $1500 prize!

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Hot Cheesy Roasted Brussels Sprout Dip

I cannot believe that it is already mid October and I still have not done anything with my favourite winter green vegetable, brussels sprouts! As soon as I had this thought I had to resolve the problem and I knew exactly what I was going to make first, a brussels sprout dip which I have been wanting to try ever since I came across the idea on Minimalist Baker. You could cook the brussels sprouts any way that you want for this dip but roasted brussels sprouts are the bees knees so I went with them and since I was roasting them I threw in a few cloves of garlic to as well. (Roasted garlic is the best!) Once the brussels sprouts have been roasted this dip is as easy to make as mixing it all up and baking until the cheese is all melted, ooey and gooey! Given how much I enjoy both brussels sprouts and hot cheesy dips, I knew that this roasted brussels sprout dip was sure to be a winner and it did not disappoint!

With this dip there is no reason to not eat your brussels sprouts! Even brussels sprouts haters will be asking for the recipe!

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