Pumpkin and Sausage Baked Pasta

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween yesterday.  After the sugar coma I think everyone is in today, I am making you a healthy pasta dish.  It has pumpkin, which when made without all the sugar of a baked good, is really healthy for you.  I found this pasta recipe over at I was Born to Cook.  I have never had pumpkin with pasta before.  I have seen it before, but never been brave enough to try it  (I am a picky eater).  With my husband (non pumpkin lover) in Colorado and me here with my pumpkin loving 6 year old, I thought it was the perfect time to try it.  It was so good!  I will be making this again for my husband.  It doesn’t taste like pumpkin at all to me.  It just tastes like this rich and creamy pasta dish.  I really think that with all the sausage and sage in there, if I didn’t tell him it had pumpkin, he would never know.  My 6 year old ate it, but didn’t love it.  Now to be fair, he isn’t really a fan of noodles.  He did eat everything I gave him (I may have bribed him with these for dessert).  

Here are a few pictures from our Halloween.  My 6 year old was Perry the Platypus from Phineus and Ferb.  He was quite the hit with the teenagers who were answering the doors.

Pumpkin and Sausage Baked Pasta
Slightly adapted from I was Born to Cook

Printable Recipe

1 lb Italian Turkey sausage
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon dried sage
Salt
1/3 cup heavy cream (half and half or 2 % milk will work too)

1 box penne pasta, cooked
½ cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In a large pan brown sausage, until cooked through.  Remove from pan and drain over paper towel.  Set aside.

Using any oil (up to 2 Tbls) from the sausage, sauté onion, garlic and crushed red pepper until soft.  Stir in pumpkin, chicken stock and sage.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt.

Stir in heavy cream and sausage.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce comes together and thickens slightly.  Remove from heat, and add pasta.  Toss everything together. 

Place mixture in a casserole dish sprayed with non stick spray.  Top with Parmesan Cheese.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Steph's Virtual Bridal Shower - Risotto and Cupcakes!

Have you heard?  Steph from Steph's Bite by Bite is getting married!  October 29^th is her big day!  Kita from Pass the Sushi had the wonderful idea of having a Virtual Bridal Shower for Steph to celebrate.  So today we get to share some of our romantic meals with Steph.  After 10 years of marriage I would like to think I know a little bit about romantic meals.  Today I am giving you my Sausage and Mushroom Risotto with Red Velvet Cupcakes for dessert. 

My husband and I had this risotto 6 years ago at my sister in law’s rehearsal dinner.  It was so good; I had to try to make it at home.  It isn’t quite the same, but it is rich, creamy, and delicious.  Serve with a glass of wine, and you have a romantic dinner, perfect for a cool night.  But you have to have dessert too, right?  Anything red just says sexy to me, so Red Velvet Cupcakes fit the bill.  Plus they are cute and little, so you don’t get too full.

Congrats Steph!  I hope you and Lucas have a long and happy life together!  I can’t wait to see pictures from your special day.

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

Printable Recipe

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups beef stock

2 Tbls olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz Shitaki Mushrooms

½ tsp thyme

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 Tbls butter

Salt and pepper

2 cups Arborio Rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Combine Chicken and Beef stock in a sauce pan.  Warm over low heat. 

In a separate skillet, sauté mushrooms and the thyme together.  Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper once lightly browned.  Set aside. 

In another skillet brown the sausage.  Discard the fat, and set aside. 

In a large skillet heat 2 Tbls oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and coat well with the oil.  Lightly toast the rice, about 2 minutes.  Stir in wine, and cook until it is almost evaporated.  Ladle about 1 cup of warm stock into the rice and stir.  Once it is mostly absorbed add in more stock (1 ladle full each time).  Continue this process until the rice is cooked through and nice and creamy.  You might have a little stock left over, but not much. 

Once cooked through, add mushrooms and sausage to the pan.  Stir in the Parmesan Cheese and butter.  Top with additional cheese if desired. 

For the Red Velvet Cupcakes go to Dessert For Two for the recipe!  The recipe makes 4 cupcakes - how perfect is that!