Our favorite pumpkin pasta recipe ❤️

My Favorite Pumpkin Pasta Recipe…thanks to Rachel Ray!

I can’t say that this is “my” recipe. It belongs to the great Rachel Ray. I tweak it just a little to suit my own taste. This is my tried and true family favorite recipe.

Really friends, this is delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pasta (I use Penne or Rigatoni)
• 1 pound turkey sausage (in my opinion, the taste of pork sausage is too strong for this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 finely chopped shallots
• 3-4 minced garlic cloves
• 2 cups chicken stock (truth be told, I use 1 c. stock and 1 c. white wine but either is fine)
• ½ cup cream 
• 1 can pumpkin puree (NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING PLEASE)
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
• ½ teaspoon ground or fresh nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 
• Salt and Pepper
• Grated Parmigiano-Romano cheese

Directions:

• Add 1 tbl. olive oil to deep, hot skillet. Add sausage and brown. Drain any fat and set cooked sausage aside
• Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil, shallots and garlic to the same pan and saute for 3-5 minutes until soft. 
• If using white wine, add it now and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes
• Add chicken stock, pumpkin, brown sugar and all spices. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Return sausage back to pan, add cream and a handful of grated cheeseNote: this is when I boil the pasta
• Simmer for 10 minutes until sauce has thickened
• TASTE, TASTE, TASTE, add more spice, sugar, cream, whatever your heart desires. Make it YOUR recipe.
• Toss the cooked pasta into sauce, add grated cheese and enjoy.
• Personal preference, I prefer spicy turkey sausage but of course, you can use mild. 
• I also garnish with fresh sage…it just looks so good!