creamy pumpkin pasta

I made this pasta last week and it was SO good. It was delicious, wonderful comfort food. The whole family ate it up. The amount of actual cream and sour cream is not as much as it would be in a real cream sauce because the pumpkin also makes it creamy. Plus pumpkin is really good for you. So that’s another plus. I didn’t have turkey sausage so I used regular and didn’t take it out of it’s casing. I just browned it and then sliced it up (it’s way easier to pick out that way…I don’t like sausage – but Kevin and the Bean LOVE it). You must make this – it’s creamy goodness. I found it originally on New Nostalgia’s pumpkin post. She posted a bunch of yummy pumpkin recipes. I want to try them all.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound package of Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage (removed from its casing)
2/3 cup to 2 cups pumpkin puree (depending on your personal taste)
1 can chicken broth
¼ cup half & half
½ cup sour cream (low-fat or fat free)
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sage
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
¼ cup Romano Cheese, shredded
1 pound penne or rotini pasta

In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook until no longer pink, breaking the meat up with your spoon as you cook it. Remove turkey sausage and garlic from the skillet. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and deglaze the pan using a wire whisk, to bring up all of the flavors stuck to the pan. Whisk in the half and half, sour cream, pumpkin, and seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and stir into the pumpkin mixture along with the turkey sausage, simmering for another three minutes or until the sauce thickens and hugs the pasta. Stir in parsley and garnish with Romano and more parsley.

Side Note- If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little addition of chicken broth until you get it to the right consistency.

The top picture is the one from momadvice.com and looks much yummier than my picture below. But, I promise – mine was delicious! I only added about a cup and a half of pumpkin instead of two – maybe that’s why her’s is more orange.