PUMPKIN ALFREDO PASTA WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND HAM
Pasta is combined with sausage and ham and bathed in a creamy pumpkin Alfredo sauce for a wonderful Fall meal
Ingredients
- 2 links sweet Italian sausage
- 2 big slices spiral sliced ham [use your leftover holiday ham!]
- 8 oz. penne rigatoni, or any tubular pasta
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 cream or heavy cream divided
- 1 cup canned pumpkin [not pumpkin pie filling]
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- 4 oz. freshly grated Parmesan or Italian blend cheese, divided
Instructions
- Remove casing from sausage and brown, crumble and drain.
- Saute onion in reserved sausage drippings and 1 T butter. When onion has caramelized, after 15-20 minutes, add ham and cook for a few minutes.
- Add sausage back to skillet and set aside.
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water until just barely done. Drain and put into a greased 2 quart baking dish.
- Top with meat mixture.
- Using the same skillet you cooked the onion and meats, combine pumpkin, chicken broth and 3/4 cup cream. Simmer over medium low heat, stirring to combine.
- Add cinnamon and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Add half of the cheese and stir to melt.
- Stir most of the remaining cheese into meat and pasta mixture, reserving some cheese for garnish after baking
- Pour sauce over pasta and meat in casserole and gently toss to combine. Drizzle with reserved 1/2 and 1/2.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to two days. Bake covered at 300 for one hour. Garnish with remaining cheese. Serves 6.
Notes
There are lots of opportunities to change this up, eliminate the meat for a meatless version, use ham or sausage only, or this would be a great dish to make with leftover turkey too! The pumpkin sauce is dreamy divine~