Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pumpkin Pasta recipe is a keeper!!!

It's Autumn and what better way to celebrate then with a pumpkin pasta dish that the whole family will love! It's a recipe of medium difficulty but definitely on the healthy side with some substitutes of your normal cream sauce! There are lots of ingredients that can be changed or added to suit your likes and dislikes. It can also be made vegetarian!


Ingredients


1 box wheat pasta
1 package chicken sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
15 oz. pumpkin puree
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bag of baby spinach
1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
Sprinkle of brown sugar


Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Slice sausage links in half, then into 1-inch
pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook sausage until browned. Add
onion and cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add broth, milk, pumpkin,spices, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low, allowing liquid to thicken slightly. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Sprinkle with brown sugar and mix in sour cream just before removing from heat.Toss pasta with sauce and serve.



NOTES: I used unsweetened soy milk and tofutti cream cheese instead of evaporated milk and sour cream and it came out just as good as it did when I made it with the original ingredients.I also added diced apples at the onion stage the most recent time I made this and it was a GREAT addition! Also add some other ingredients such as white beans to make a heartier dish!!