Fall Pasta

Fall is here! There is a crisp in the air, I am wearing a zip-up hoodie, my windows are open, and I've been burning my pumpkin scented candles. I am thoroughly enjoying my favorite season.

I made one of my staple fall dishes for dinner last night. I've never shared this recipe on my blog before so I figured I should now.

It's called Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta by Rachel Ray. Now, I know it sounds weird to use pumpkin in a pasta but it is so yummy, don't turn your nose up until you've tried it. An added benefit is that pumpkin is high in fiber, just 1 cup of canned pumpkin provides 7.1 g of fiber.

source: foodnetwork

*My side notes:

I omit the hot sauce, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I have tried using cinnamon and nutmeg in it before but it isn't savory enough for me with those two spices in it. Unlike the recipe, I just use dried sage (heavy handedly because I love sage) in the sauce mixture rather than fresh sage as a garnish at the end. In addition to the sauteed garlic, I add a little dried garlic powder into the sauce mixture as well because I can never have enough garlic. Also, I take some of the "wise" out of the recipe because I don't use whole-wheat pasta. The texture of whole-wheat pasta is odd to me, so I go with the regular stuff.  I also like to experiment with different shapes. Last night I used half cellentani and half penne pasta. I also used freshly grated asiago cheese (similar to parmesan) in and on the pasta. I can't leave recipes alone, I always cater to my liking. 

Cellentani Pasta