Butternut Squash, Italian Sausage and Sage Pasta

One of the things that I like about the fall is that I always seem to have some leftover squash or squash puree around. It is really easy to use this leftover squash to cook up some quick and tasty meals. One way of using squash that I never seem to tire or is with pasta. In addition to having some leftover squash I had some extra Italian sausage and I thought that a pasta with tender sweet squash cubes and crumbled spicy Italian sausage would be nice. The squash and sage combo is so good that I did not even think about not adding the sage. I could not resist adding some greens and my current favorite is Swiss chard so I added some of that. Now that I had a nicely rounded pasta dish all that was left was to cook it. Normally I would roast the butternut squash cubes but this time I decided that it would be easier to just simmer them with the sauce until they were nice and tender. This pasta dish came together quite easily and quickly. The butternut squash, Italian sausage and sage pasta turned out great and best of all there was enough leftovers for lunches during the week. The sweetness of the squash went well with the heat of the sausage and the creaminess of the sauce and cheese balanced everything out nicely. While I was eating the pasta I was thinking that next time it would be nice to use turkey sausage and if I did, I could make it more of a holiday pasta by adding some dried cranberries.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic chopped)
red chili pepper flakes to taste
2 tablespoons sage (chopped)
2 links Italian sausage (casings removed and crumbled)
1 splash white wine (optional)
1 cup chicken stock
1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 bunch Swiss chard (optional, rinsed and cut into bit sized pieces)
1 pound pasta
1 splash heavy cream (optional)
parmigiano reggiano to taste (grated)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and sage and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the sausage and saute until cooked, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
6. Add the chicken stock, squash and and chard simmer until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
7. Cook your pasta.
8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce along with a splash of heavy cream and remove from heat.
9. Plate and garnish with parmigiano reggiano.

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Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Ravioli in Sage and Butter Sauce
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Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna
Roasted Butternut Squash Farro Salad
Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin