Pumpkin Sauced Penne

Not the prettiest picture but it sure does taste great.

The original recipe I gleaned this from is from a twitter post from Kitchen Monki and can be found HERE.  

Penne in a Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients

16  ounces whole wheat penne 

1 T olive oil

1 T minced garlic 

1⁄4 cup Toasted Pine Nuts, optional

Crushed red pepper (amount as desired)

1⁄2 t Salt

1 teaspoon Dried Ground Sage

1 teaspoon Onion Powder

Freshly ground black pepper

1 can Canned Pumpkin, (15 ounces) solid pack

1 can Fat-free Evaporated Milk, (12 ounces)

1 can black or white beans (15 oz) 

1⁄4 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Sliver of butter (optional)

Couple large handfuls of fresh chopped spinach

3/4 C frozen peas (or so)

1. Cook Penne to al dente then add the frozen peas directly to the pasta pot. Allow peas to defrost then add chopped spinach and let cook until wilted. Drain pasta, peas, and spinach in a colander.
2. Meanwhile, add oil to a sauce pot on medium. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and pine nuts to pot and let become fragrant. 
3. Add evaporated milk, pumpkin, sage, salt, onion powder, and black pepper to pot and whisk together.
4. Allow to simmer for a few minutes* then stir in beans, parmesan cheese and sliver of butter.
5. Combine pasta and sauce and enjoy.

*Note - I also added a couple sprinkles of tarragon, thyme, and rosemary to the sauce along with a splash of red wine and then I allowed the sauce to cook that flavor in before adding the cheese (which was a combination of parmesan, romano, and asiago because that's what I had). This step is not necessary but I liked the taste of it. 

In Pictures 

Saute garlic, crushed pepper, and pine nuts.

Evaporated milk, pumpkin, and all spices added in:

Everything added to the sauce:

Thanks Popeye!

Add peas and spinach directly to pasta pot.

Drain everything together.

  Combine pasta, veggies, sauce:

Again not a great picture but my battery died after the first three tries. 

It tasted really good. It doesn't have any meat it in and Brett still had a bowl. That's saying a lot.

What I learned:

1. Don't allow sauce that had dairy in it to cook too hot for too long. It still tastes good but tends to separate and changes the consistency.