Baked Rigatoni with Chicken Sausage

Um...so what happened to October? Is my favorite month of the year nearly over?? NOOOO. I'm pretty sure I just made pumpkin pancakes last week, not two and a half weeks ago, and why have I not been consuming all things pumpkin every day since? I'll have to get on that.

Though I am a sucker for soups and stews when it cools down outside, I gotta say, I love baked pasta. I especially love this baked pasta. I first had this dish when I visited home last year during the Chinese new year, and have been aching to make it ever since. I bought gorgeous pesto chicken sausage from Findlay Market specifically for occasion. It did not disappoint. 

An added bonus about this recipe is that it yields two separate casseroles, and one can be put in the freezer to bake later on...MAJOR perk for a doctoral student. The dish in the photos are of the second batch that was frozen. I didn't read the directions very well and went ahead and baked it, then froze it, which you're not supposed to do. It was just a little more crunchy on top, so if you make this, it'll look a little different. It was of course still delicious. 

Ugh, this is putting my current dinner to shame. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup vodka (optional)

1 28-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half

1 pound rigatoni

10 ounces frozen spinach (excess liquid removed)

12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces cut into 1/2 inch cubes and 2 ounces coarsely grated

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Remove from heat; add vodka, if desired, and return to heat cooking until almost evaporated, about 1 minutes

Stir in tomatoes and oregano, and cook until tomatoes are falling apart, about 10 minutes. While that's simmering away, squeeze excess liquid from spinach and add to the pot. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add cream, and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and return contents to pot.

Add tomato sauce, sausage, and cubed mozzarella to the pot, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide evenly between two shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dishes. 

Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until browned and edges are crisp, 20-30 minutes. 

Freezer friendly: like I said above, one of the dishes can be frozen for up to 3 months! If you plan on freezing, stop once you put the pasta/tomato mixture in the baking dish. This means do not add the grated cheese yet. Allow the dish to cool, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer. Once ready to eat, remove from the freezer, add the grated cheese, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 400F for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. Remove foil, and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until browned. Do not thaw before baking. 

Recipe Source: adapted from Martha Stewart

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

Pumpkin and cinnamon. I think those are my two very favorite fall flavors, and this morning, they came together to create a totally stellar breakfast. When I woke up this morning, my original plan was to attempt a pumpkin spice latte (coming soon!). However, the second that can of pumpkin came open, I changed my mind. I wanted to eat something with pumpkin instead of putting it in my coffee.  The problem though, is that I didn't have maple syrup. Then, it occurred to me that I pinned something on Pinterest a while back about cinnamon syrup, and I was on it. Minutes later, I was scarffing down these beautiful, hearty pancakes, with this incredible syrup. Thankfully the syrup made A LOT, so I'll have some to add to my leftover pancakes, or even ice cream. Doesn't that sound good...mmm.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

Ingredients

Pancakes

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup water

Directions

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. 

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides.

While the pancakes are cooking, prepare the syrup. Stir all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir occasionally until boiling. Let it boil for a few minutes while stirring until it thickens. Remove from heat and drizzle over pancakes. NUM.

Yields 6 large pancakes (I made 9 smaller ones).

Recipe Source: Love to Cook

Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

I have a very special place in my heart for this soup. When I was playing in the symphony up in Kalamazoo, Michigan (yes, it's a real place!) this was the first meal I had with my host Nancy. Nancy loves to cook, and I'm sure that if she were of my generation, she would likely be a food blogger as well. She rarely repeats a recipe, and staying with her inspired me to branch out of my comfort zone and try new things in the kitchen as well. Nearly every trip to Kalamazoo, I stayed with her, and we would always cook and look at the new Cooking Light magazine together.

I have made this soup several times since I first had it three years ago in her kitchen. I made some adaptations until I found the perfect balance of flavors. You would think the soup would be sweet, but it's not. Serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich or some bruschetta, and you have what I think is the perfect meal.

Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, divided 

1 cup chopped onion 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

4 3/4 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds) 

3 cups chopped carrot (about 1 pound) 

1 small apple, peeled, cored, and chopped 

2 1/2 cups water 

4 cups veggie or chicken broth 

1/4 cup half-and-half 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream 

Directions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Move onion mixture to side of pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, water, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place half of soup mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup mixture. Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls, and top each serving with about 2 teaspoons sour cream.

Recipe Source: Cooking Light-November 2009