recipejournal

pumpkin ginger muffins.

12 tablespoons butter, melted
2.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
3 large eggs

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger and salt.  in a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter and eggs; add flour mixture and stir until just combined.

spoon into muffin pan and bake for 15-18 minutes.

a different take on your typical autumn pumpkin recipe.  there's no nutmeg or cinnamon here, thankyouverymuch.  ginger takes center stage in these muffins.  a great something different when you tire of the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  if that's even possible.

pasta with pumpkin and sausage.

1 pound bulk sweet sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
4 leaves fresh sage
1 cup dry white wine
1 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 pinches ground cinnamon
3 pinches ground nutmeg
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked

brown sausage in a bit of extra virgin olive oil.  remove to paper towel lined plate to drain and return pan to heat.  add additional oil to pan and saute onion and garlic five minutes.  add bay leaf, sage and wine to pot.  reduce wine for two minutes.  add broth and pumpkin and combine, stirring sauce until it begins to bubble.  return sausage to pan, reduce heat and stir in cream.  season with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  simmer an additional five minutes.

to serve, return drained, cooked pasta to the pot it was cooked in.  remove bay leaf from sauce and pour over pasta.  toss pasta and sauce over low eat for two additional minutes to allow flavors to combine.

surprisingly not sweet, just a nice warm tingle.  a perfect autumn dish and a great pasta variation instead of a typical white or red sauce.