Hi Guys! I’m currently in the middle of moving our entire life across the country so Lindsay (Pinch of Yum) is here for the day! 

I made the small mistake of looking at the pictures and write-up that Lindsay sent me for this guest post as I was in the middle of packing up our apartment and we had absolutely no food left. Ok, exaggeration, we did have food left, but pretzels lose some of their appeal after looking at these quesadillas. Right?

Thanks so much to Lindsay for helping me out during a very crazy part of life. Lindsay is Twin Cities blogger/teacher/amazing photographer who is always coming up with my kind of recipes. I can only hope that someday my pictures are as good as hers!

Hello friends!  I’m Lindsay from Pinch of Yum.

When Emily (the smart and healthy-conscious nutritionist) asked me to do a guest post, I panicked.

Nutritionist?  Post?

Time to get healthy.

But then something weird happened during my favorite part of the day: snacktime.  I wasn’t even trying to come up with a healthy recipe, and it just showed up on its own.

During a moment of extreme hunger, and an attempt to use up the last of the tomatoes from my neighbors garden – which were gifted, not stolen, although I had been eyeing them – these little Tomato Corn and Basil Quesadillas were born.

Talk about a perfectly fresh and filling snack!

And then I remembered that, actually, I kind of like to eat healthy snacks.

Especially healthy snacks with melted cheese.

Oh, yes.

Tomato Corn and Basil Quesadillas (makes 1 quesadilla)

• 1 whole tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup corn
• 4 leaves fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• 2 tortillas
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• hummus, optional
• salt and pepper

1. Put the chopped tomatoes in a strainer and mix with the corn.  Add salt and allow juices to drip out for a few minutes.  Press on the mixture to make sure most of the moisture gets out.  Add ¼ cup cheese to the mixture and stir.
2. Preheat a skillet or a Panini press to medium-high heat.
3. Spread a tortilla with hummus (optional) and top with the tomato mixture.  Top with the remaining cheese and basil leaves, and place the other tortilla on top.  Grill for a few minutes on each side until cheese is melted and outside of tortilla is toasted/grilled.  For a more crispy outside, add a little butter or olive oil to the pan before grilling.
4. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into wedges and serve!

Thank you Jess from Ica Jell Eats for this wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to make it when I get back from Haiti! Be sure to check out her blog!

I have always loved Fall. It’s the meeting of most of my favorite things: warm days with cool nights, baseball and football, local breweries and their Oktoberfest brews and most importantly; fresh produce and hearty meals.

While perusing the Farmer’s Market last weekend, I saw the late harvests of eggplant, zucchini, peppers and onions. Immediately, this had me thinking about dinner. Well, most things get me thinking about dinner I suppose, but with this one, I think I was onto something delicious.

I got home and started ransacking the fridge and pantry; I found a batch of homemade marinara in the freezer and a box of rigatoni keeping the shelf from getting dirty. Hey, wait! Didn’t I see some goat cheese somewhere? Yes, yes I did.

Something you need to know about me: I love cookware. I love it so much I own over 40 individual ramekins of various sizes. I knew I had to put whatever this was going to be into some of those ramekins.

I started the pasta boiling. I chunked up the veggies. And then I thought….Roast them. So they went into the oven with a little olive oil. By now, my house was smelling all kinds of awesome. I warmed the sauce, added the pasta and veggies, and divided it between six of my previously mentioned ramekins. Then I topped it with some grated parmesan cheese and tossedit into the oven.

And that was when I realized I had forgotten the goat cheese. Oh well, no harm, no foul.

What came out of the oven was perfect! Piping hot pasta with a crisp cheese topping and those slightly over cooked pasta edges that everyone loves! Hey, where did that goat cheese go? A few dollops on top and the heat from the pasta melted it just enough to give everything a creamy finish.

As I put down my fork, and finished my glass of Malbec (which goes perfectly with this dinner, by the way), I thought to myself, “Fall really is the greatest time of year.”

I’ve included the recipe below; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables - 6 servings

• 1 pound rigaoni
• 1 eggplant, peeled & diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups marinara sauce (homemade is best, but store-bought will do)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 3 oz. goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place vegetables on large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until softened and slightly charred, about 45-60 minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to manufacturer’s directions. Heat marinara to a simmer.
4. In large bowl or saucepan, combine roasted vegetables and pasta. Add sauce and stir to combine.
5. Spray 6 individual serving dishes or a 9×11 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place pasta mixture in baking pans and top with parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbly.
7. Crumble goat cheese over top of dish. Allow pasta to rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

*Looking for a lower carb alternative? Roast 1 pound of chicken breast, top with the veggies, sauce and cheese, bake at 400° for 30 minutes and you’ll have a delicious Catticatore-style dinner in no time!