Pears: A BSI Submission

My kiddies had their pumpkin carving fest last night. This is actually a tradition that they enjoy with their Dad. He gives them each a sheet of paper on which they draw the face they want for their pumpkin. He then uses that as a “stencil” to replicate their ideas. The jack o’ lanterns always turn out fabulous!

This is my son’s:



This is my daughter’s:



And together:



My hubby also roasted up the pumpkin seeds. He kept it simple….just olive oil, salt and pepper…20 minutes in a 350 deg oven. I didn’t take a picture because the kids pretty much devoured them right away. Gotta love Hallowe’en!

When we went to set their creations on the front porch, the kids asked that we keep them on the deck instead. They were worried that the pumpkins would be smashed in the road by vandals through the night. That made me kinda sad for them. We never worried about stuff like that as kids. So on the deck they went. We’ll light them up for the BIG night tomorrow and move them to the front.

Breakfast was another simple one today. This was mostly due to the fact that I was running a bit late. I don’t know where I lost 10 mins this morning, but it was gone! I guess that happens sometimes!



-1 cup water
-1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain cereal
-1/4 cup pumpkin puree
-1/3 cup wild blueberries
-sprinkle of maple flakes



Mmm! A classic bowl of yum! I enjoyed this while quizzing DD on her spelling words. Gotta get that study time in!

Look who I found hanging out in the office candy dish!



It was real easy for me to choose these 2 because they were the only 2 left…..AMEN! I wonder how many I would’ve grabbed had the bowl been full? I must make a mental note to avoid that route at all cost and go around the long way. Hey…that’s better for me anyways, right?

No lunch run today. I had to make a trip to the grocery store for fruit. My kids can be funny sometimes (well, most times). Instead of me baking something for their class parties tomorrow, they want to take fruit trays. Okey dokey! This worked out well because I needed to buy pears for this week’s BSI recipe challenge. I’m VERY excited about that, by the way!

I ate this bad boy at about 11:30am. Still loving the moist texture...



I made an egg white salad for lunch today which I bundled into an Italian Herb flatout wrap. But, gosh darn it…I forgot my lettuce! Oh, well..it was an awesome wrap regardless!



I served it with a side of carrot sticks. These puppies were SO sweet and crunchy! I should stop being so lazy and cut up carrots sticks more often! The only changes I made to this recipe were because I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand. I used carrot, celery and asparagus and omitted the lime juice. Everything else was as called for.


The afternoon plunked by well enough, I guess. A little on the slow side, but nothing to drastic!

Dinner tonight was chicken. I was actually going to have my hubby BBQ them, but he got held up at work so I decided to make my old stand by...Cheesy Salsa Chicken. This dinner is SO easy and I know that it's a family favorite. That means no fights at the table about who doesn't like what! I sliced up a cucumber to go beside it.



On to my BSI entry featuring pears! I decided to go sweet with a hint of savory. To me, pears are a perfect match with a mild cheese, so that's the savory part of this recipe.

Pear & Goat Cheese Tartlets

Filling:

-6-7 bartlett pears
-1 tsp almond extract
-1/2 cup water
-1/2 cup raisins
-2 Tbsp maple syrup (I used ED Smith sugar free)
-1/2 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves

*Chop pears up to a pretty fine dice and put into a dutch oven along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Shells:

*I used a package of Dr.Oetker pie crust. Empty contents of package into a bowl and add 3-4 TBSP of water, stirring after each addition. Form into 2 balls and flatten slightly of a floured surface. Roll out fairly thin and using a water glass or coffee cup, cut out circles. Place dough circle into pre greased muffing pan.

Method:

*Preheat oven to 425 deg
*thinly slice plain goat cheese and put the slice on the bottom of the tartlet shell. *Fill with about a 1/4 cup pear "sauce".
*bake for 20 minutes or until edges of crust turn golden brown.
*remove from oven and allow to cool before digging in!

Pre-Oven:



Ready to be devoured:




Half way through...check out the decadent layer of goat's cheese!! MMmmm...



I have to admit that I went back for round 2! I seriously couldn't help it. They were that awesome!

**edited to add: I ran this through the recipe builder at Spark People and came out with...

216 calories
9.5g fat
2.7g fiber

I'm off to watch CSI now! Have a great night!

Bye for now!