Pumpkin Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pasta

 

I was waiting to get my haircut by my sister at her salon, and I happened upon a recipe in a magazine that incorporated pumpkin and spinach in a pasta dish.  I'm always looking to increase our veggie intake at every meal, so I took the overall idea and made it into a processed free pasta dish that is creamy and delicious.  You could easily make this vegetarian too just by eliminating the sausage.  Let's here it for the power of pumpkin!

 

2 cups (6 oz.) whole wheat pasta (ziti, rigatoni, penne, etc.)

1/2 a can of pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling - should have no sugar!)

1 Tbsp. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup dry milk

2 fully cooked Italian-seasoned chicken sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices

2-3 cup baby spinach

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (real, not the green can)

 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and grease a 2 quart baking dish with coconut oil.  Prepare your pasta to just slightly aldente (undercooked) and remember to add some salt to the water right before you add the pasta.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water and after the pasta is drained, return it to the cooking pot. 

 

Combine the pumpkin, flour, garlic powder, salt, and nutmeg in a skillet over medium heat.  In a separate container mix the water and dry milk until it's smooth.  Add 3/4 cup of this mixture and discard the rest (sorry about the waste of those 2 oz.) and slowly stir this into the pumpkin mixture until it has thickened and is smooth.  Combine this with the pasta, pasta water, and sliced sausage.  Spread half of this into your baking dish and top it with the spinach.  Add the remaining half of the pasta.  Place a piece of foil loosely on top and bake for 20 minutes.  Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan in a bowl and after the 20 minutes are up, remove the foil and sprinkle this on top.  Bake for another 5 minutes uncovered or until the cheese is melted.



 

 

This was creamy without any cream and full of veggies and whole grains.  My kids love pasta, so this recipe did double duty as a noodle dish and vegetable delivery system.  Score as a mom!