Because we do eat...

I haven't shared a recipe in so long. There are a few reasons for that... 1) I was really battling with how to cook for my family the Weight Watchers way and have anyone enjoy it. 2) I haven't been buying much in the way of "fancy" for meals - we've been doing a lot of pasta and chicken to keep costs low. snoozeville. But, sometimes you do what you gotta. 3) It was so flaming hot for so long - cooking was miserable.

Today it's gray and cool and gusty outside and I'm loving every second. My children slept until 8:41am and it's been a leisurely day at home. It reminded me of a day we had last week where I tried a new recipe - and,  loved it. I plan to put this back on the menu in the next few months as we enter AUTUMN! You'll see why.

Fettuccine with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

16oz fettuccine

12oz can evaporated milk

1 T. cornstarch

2 T. butter

15oz can pumpkin puree

1 t. onion powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. dried sage

Parm for sprinkling

shelled pumpkin seeds {optional}

1) Cook the pasta, drain, and keep warm.
2) In a med. saucepan, whisk the milk and cornstarch together. When cornstarch dissolves, place on the stove over medium heat and add 3/4 c. water, the butter, and the pumpkin. Stir.
3) When the pumpkin has smoothed and mixed in well, add the onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and sage. Stir until mixture comes to a low boil and has thickened to your liking (think...Alfredo). If it's too thin add one more T of cornstarch dissolved in a little water.
4) Toss sauce with fettuccine or ladle it over the noodles. Sprinkle with cheese and seeds if you choose.

*I almost always double the amount of garlic and whatever spice - in this case, sage. I just LOVE some savory seasoning and... I don't think it's possible to over sage things. :)
*I did not use pumpkin seeds because they are million dollars for a tiny packet. Bah. I did, however sprinkle white kidney beans on top - apparently grains and legumes make a great healthy pairing. :)
*the sauce is a great light orange color. If this scares your family - I would throw in some green salad next to it, or even some steamed broccoli. My kids loved the savory, buttery, pumpkiny flavor of the sauce so we were good.

Ah, loved this meal. So good. So fallish!
And now back to summer foods until September, at least. Don't wanna rush things, ya know!