Cara's Pumpkin Pasta | Beantown Baker

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Cara’s Pumpkin Pasta

It seems like every blogger out there has made this recipe. It was only time until I made it myself. What better time to than A Week of Pumpkin to make Cara’s famous Pumpkin Pasta. If you don’t know about Cara’s blog, be sure to check it out. She’s definitely a pumpkin princess. She puts pumpkin in things that I would never think to put pumpkin in.

I know most people have made this with penne, but I got bowtie pasta because I love bowtie pasta. Hubby and I rarely have pasta in the house. We just don’t eat it that much. I don’t think the shape of the pasta had a negative impact on the dish at all.

I doubled Cara’s recipe so that I could freeze some of it for Hubby and I to take in our lunches next week. With my doubled recipe I got 6 servings. Four of which went straight into the freezer. I would never think that I would enjoy pumpkin pasta, but I tell you what, this stuff is delicious. I love the colors of the pumpkin and spinach together on the plate. Goat cheese went really well with this dish as well.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

8 oz bowtie pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
~2 tsp sage
4 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 can pumpkin puree
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
10 oz torn spinach, thick stems removed
crumbled goat cheese, optional

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 10-minutes, until softened. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

In a blender, combine combine pumpkin and cottage cheese. Blend until no lumps are present. Add to sausage mixture in skillet and continue to cook over low heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture and baby spinach, and toss together. Cover for a few minutes to let the spinach wilt. Serve with goat cheese, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Cara's Cravings

And don’t forget about my Power of Pink Challenge going on all month.

Check out my week of pumpkin here.

Main Meal, Poultry

6 comments »

17 Responses to “Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and How to Freeze Cinnamon Rolls”

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Megan — January 10, 2011 at 5:20 pm

I think it’s very interesting that KAF has you freeze after baking. With most yeast things, you can pop them in the freezer before the second rise, and then take them out the night before, let them have a slow rise in the fridge, and then leave them out until they are proofed and then bake. It seems so much easier to just partially bake them. Interesting.

All the flavors sound incredible!
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Lauren — January 10, 2011 at 5:23 pm

1. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls are fabulous, and these look great!
2. I love the tip about pre-baking the rolls before freezing. I will definitely be employing that technique :).
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Boston Food Diary — January 10, 2011 at 5:30 pm

These sound AMAZING! I’ve been fearful of making cinnamon rolls- both for the baking and having them around- this is great to know though! Thanks!
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Bridget — January 10, 2011 at 5:42 pm

No fair using my recipe and then making prettier cinnamon rolls than me. Hmph!

Oh well, I suppose it’s worth it to find about this great freezing trick!
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Anonymous — January 10, 2011 at 6:03 pm

Wow, do those look and sound delicious! Thanks for the info on how to freeze the rolls. I think I’ll attempt yeast soon.
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Fun and Fearless in Beantown — January 10, 2011 at 6:04 pm

Thanks for sharing the tip on freezing cinnamon rolls. I seriously love KAF’s helpful hints on their blog and website!
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stephchows — January 10, 2011 at 6:09 pm

ok what a brilliant idea!! I love making pumpkin cinnamon rolls, I just made a batch last weekend 🙂
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Rhondi — January 10, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Oh YUM! Thanks for the freezing tips. I wanted to make my kids homemade cinnamon rolls this weekend, but like you, didn’t want them sitting around to tempt me! Does the pumpkin make the rolls really moist? I’m saving this recipe.
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Jen — January 10, 2011 at 6:20 pm

Rhondi – I found the dough to be similar to other cinnamon roll dough as far as the moistness goes.
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Christina — January 10, 2011 at 7:31 pm

I haven’t had cinnamon rolls in such a long time! I can’t wait to try these.
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In and Around Town — January 10, 2011 at 7:40 pm

These look great – the pumpkin is such a nice touch. Love the freezing tips!
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EliFla — January 10, 2011 at 9:47 pm

Hello as I am sure you know here in Italy we use the yeast in very many recipes. To freeze some dough leavened with baking powder (such as croissants or Daddy), some experts have advised me after giving shape to freeze before the final rise, then remove from freezer the night before putting in the oven thawing, and morning turn on the oven and cook as usual. I must tell you that I tried and the result was perfect.
Ciao Flavia
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innochkaskitchen — January 11, 2011 at 12:25 am

Yum! I LOVE cinnamon rolls and pumpkin cinnamon rolls are definitely a nice change-up from the usual plain cinnamon rolls. Great recipe!
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Michael - Innkeeper — January 11, 2011 at 1:29 am

pumpkin cinnamon rolls!? get out of town!? these look ah-mazing!!!!
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Kerstin — January 12, 2011 at 3:29 am

I love your freezing tip! I actually haven’t tried making cinnamon rolls yet, but will soon! It’s nice to know you can make them the night before too and then just finish baking in the morning.
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Torviewtoronto — January 12, 2011 at 4:27 pm

delicious a favourite I make similar
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Tiffany @ Triple Crème Decadence — February 20, 2014 at 2:56 pm

I never knew pumpkin cinnamon rolls existed until now. Looks and sounds divine!