I questioned whether I should really post this recipe or not. For one, I've seen like a bazillion pumpkin pasta recipes in just the last three days alone. However, I'll have you know that I made this like a week ago, okay!? And second, I adapted it from...Rachael Ray. Disgust. Apparently my distaste for Rachael knows no bounds. That, and I couldn't get any good photos. Yes, the odds were definitely against me on this one, but this pasta was much too delicious not to share! It'd be a crime, and rather selfish. Plus, I wanted to share photos from our first ski of the Winter with you! There's currently no snow around here, so we had to go seek it out in the mountains.
And we were not disappointed. Alaskan beauty at it's finest! Winter is the best time of the year. You can see those photos below the recipe, but first, it's pumpkin time!
I said, "It's pumpkin time!" This pasta is creamy, cheesy and packed with pumpkiny goodness. The sage lends depth and the sausage...well, you have to have some vegan sausage right? Yes.
Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage
Inspired by Food Network
Serves 4-6
- 18 oz. penne pasta, dry
- 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple and Sage Grain Sausages, sliced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella, shredded
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, minced
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.
[gallery type="rectangular" ids="2484,2483"]
Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent and the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add the remaining ingredients to the onion and garlic, excluding the sage and sausage. Whisk well to combine and allow to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add additional cornstarch as is needed.
Once thickened, add to the pasta and toss to coat, along with the sausage slices.
Serve hot, with additional sage and cheese to top it off!
Now onto those Alaskan Winter photos I promised!
I'm listening to Wild Child – Crazy Bird
[yumprint-recipe id='23']
These easy rolls are layered with pumpkin pie spice instead of regular ol' cinnamon and the Autumnal (yea it's a word) icing is infused with pumpkin puree and topped with finishing salt. Oh so snobby! After Todd and I split one, I turned to him and said, "Well that was one of the dumbest things I've ever done." Next time I think I'll just make cookies or something...
Lightly flour your work surface again and when the dough is done rising, punch it down once or twice and then roll it out into a large, medium-thin rectangle. 
Brush evenly with the melted butter, then sprinkle on the pumpkin pie spice, followed by the sugar. Make sure it's scattered evenly across the entire rectangle. 
Coat a 8 in. x 8 in. clear baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray. Wait to preheat oven. Gently and evenly roll up the dough into a long log.
Using a serrated knife, gently cut it into 9 even slices. Then, place each slice into the greased baking dish and cover with saran wrap. Okay, now preheat the the oven to 350 F and place the dish on that spot on your stove where the heat from the oven likes to emit. It's where I have exploded a can of Pam, and most recently where Todd melted a purple onion shaped onion keeper. You know the spot. Let the dish sit there while the oven preheats.
Once the oven has reached temperature, unwrap the dish and place in the oven to bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls are just barely golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before glazing. 
If the icing begins to harden by the time the cinnamon rolls are ready, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls and finish with flake salt.
Enjoy! Horde them all yourself or be super nice and share like I did.
