Harvest Pasta with Sausage

Today is one of those days when a whole bunch of things fell into place to result in a delicious meal.

First, I made a batch of Cheesy Buttercup Squash a couple days ago.  And it wasn’t very good.  Typically, the squash is smooth and a bit sweet.  This one, for whatever reason, was bland and stringy.  I ate it for dinner, but was not looking forward to the leftovers.  I was trying to think of how I could salvage the recipe, short of adding a ridiculous amount of cheese and I was coming up blank.

Then today, Dude inadvertently helped me out.  He wanted to be chef of the day and he wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs.  Aha!

Bland cheesy squash as the base to my meat sauce?  Perfect!

I set to helping Dude doctor up our boring squash.  A bit of tomato sauce, Italian spices PLUS my favorite fall flavors: sage and sausage!

It was a fun fall twist on a favorite! 

Here’s Dude:

I liked that my mom put sausage instead of hamburger.  

Harvest Pasta with Sausage

1 lb country-style sausage

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups leftover cheesy butternut squash

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried sage

¼ tsp dried marjoram

12 oz tri-color rotini, cooked al dente

Grated parmesan, to garnish

Place the sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook, breaking up the sausage, until the onions are softened and the sausage is cooked through.

*optional* If the leftover squash is lumpy or stringy, place the squash & tomato sauce into a food processor and process until smooth.  Skip this step if the squash is already pureed smoothly.

Pour the squash, tomato sauce, and spices over the cooked sausage mixture.  Cook until heated through, adjusting seasonings as desired. 

Stir in the cooked pasta and serve topping with grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 4-6