It’s a beautiful afternoon on an autumn weekend and you decide to go to your local grocery store for your weekly necessities. You pull into the lot, and it is PACKED, so you park in the very last spot, which feels like it’s 3.5 miles from the front of the store. You shrug it off, hey it’s nice and you could use the exercise. You finally get into the store and it is complete mayhem. People are frantically running around like chickens with their heads cut off and suddenly a human stampede is coming right towards you. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!!!
No, it’s not a blizzard. It’s not the day before Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, or even Super Bowl Sunday. It just happens to be…Pumpkin Time. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating in that scenario just a teensy bit, but what is our deal?
Pumpkin Everything
Americans have been becoming increasingly pumpkin-obsessed every fall. It’s to the point that there are people in late July/early August who are posting on social media that they are ready for “crisp air, boots, and PUMPKIN everything”. And, literally, if you walk into the grocery store right now, you will see pumpkin EVERYTHING. Coffee, cereal, granola bars, protein bars, crackers, cookies, Oreos, dough nuts, cakes, coffee creamer, oatmeal, pancakes, sauce, pumpkin-filled pastas, soup, yogurt, Jell-O, bread, English Muffins, bagels, muffins, Tastykake products, Pop-Tarts, Entenmann’s, Little Debbie, Clorox Bleach (really!) and even pumpkin butter. If you have pets, you’ve probably noticed that those companies have also jumped on the pumpkin train, now offering pumpkin-infused flavors for cats and dogs. Are we getting the picture here? Basically, any food product you’ve ever laid your eyes on, most likely has a pumpkin flavor out in stores right.this.very.second. And the vast majority of consumers is loving it.
Being the girl who shoots straight pumpkin spiced whipped cream from the can into her mouth, and who loves to put one candy pumpkin on each side of her mouth (my poor molars!) and let the sugary goodness rot her teeth, you KNOW I just can’t help but jump on the bandwagon and make some pumpkin dishes for my clients. Here is a recipe for Pumpkin, Goat Cheese and Walnut Quesadillas. Simple enough for the average Joe to make, but DELICIOUS and way healthier than the many processed food products mentioned above. So here is a quick and easy way to satisfy that pumpkin craving.
Be sure to post in the comments after you make it and let me know your thoughts. Oh, and of course, feel free to change it up!! After all, that is one of the best parts about cooking!
Pumpkin, Goat Cheese and Walnut Quesadillas
Ingredients:
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 tsp cumin
Drizzle of honey
Salt & Pepper to taste
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
4 oz. crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Non-stick cooking spray, butter or oil
Directions:
- In a small bowl, mix pumpkin, cumin, salt, pepper and honey together.
- Spread mixture over half of each of the 8 tortillas, sprinkle with cheese and nuts.
- Fold tortillas in half.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over med heat, cook one quesadilla at a time, turning once so both sides get golden brown.
Option: you can sub feta for goat cheese, and cilantro for nuts.
Click here to download a printable copy of the Pumpkin Goat Cheese Quesadillas Recipe
