This is the first weekend I’ve wanted to rip my hair out in quite some time. Little people and cold temperatures can be quite the experiment in parenting. I’m not a patient person. At all, whatsoever. Turning a trip to the grocery store into an experience (thank you, fish tanks) and riding the $0.01 pony at the front of the store for the 8 billionth time…desperate times call for desperate measures.
I had lots of help making baked donuts on Saturday morning. They were engrossed in the entire process, beginning to end. It helps that donuts baking in less than 10 minutes and are best served warm. I can bribe the patience right into them.
The afternoon was spent at the park, working out, and trying to get organized for the busy week ahead.
I took the girls ice-skating, too. Upside: Piper didn’t cry. Downside: I left with a sore back and sweating profusely. I hadn’t planned a workout, so I guess that’s an upside/downside.
Dinner was leftovers of this Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Sage Sausage – a hit among all. My efforts to include pumpkin in everything have really slacked off this year, so this one just really felt like the right thing to do. There’s something about pumpkin, sage, and sausage that definitely works.
- 1 lb dry ziti or rigatoni
- 20 oz (5 links) sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sage leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dry rubbed sage)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- pinch of cinnamon
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- ¾ tsp salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 oz (1/2 cup) shredded Asiago
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 7-9 minutes or until al dente.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, brown the sausage in an over-safe (cast iron) skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the sage, crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper to taste. Cook one more minute.
- Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock and stir in the pumpkin puree. Mix until everything is incorporated; remove bay leaf.
- Mix the pasta with the pumpkin-sausage sauce and return mixture to the oven-safe skillet. Top with shredded Asiago and baking for 25-35 minutes or until bubbly and beginning to brown. Serve hot.
Weekly Menu: November 17th – 21st
- Sunday: Bourbon Chili
- Monday: Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
- Tuesday: Fish Florentine with mashed potatoes
- Wednesday: leftovers
- Thursday: TBD – traveling
Be well,
