Rigatoni with Sausage, Squash, and Tomato

Feb 3

Rigatoni with Sausage, Pumpkin, and Tomato Sauce (Rachael Ray)

Serves 6

salt and pepper
1 lb. rigatoni
1 cup chicken stock
generous pinch of saffron (20-24 threads)
2 tbls. EVOO
1 lb. sweet or hot sausage (I used sweet since I'm not a fan of spicy foods)
1 lb. pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into small dice (I used half butternut, half squash for variety but  won't do that again because the pumpkin cooked faster than the butternut so it's a bit mushy - sorry about that!)
1 onion chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used minced)
1 fresno chile pepper, thinly sliced, or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper instead, because I didn't want it to be spicy - I figured people who like spice could always add spice, but you can't take spice out!)
1 can (28-32 oz) san marzano tomatoes (I only used half a can per recipe, because it seemed like a lot of tomatoes!)

grated pecorino-romano, served at the table

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
• While the pasta is working, in a small saucepan, heat the stock and saffron.  Keep warm.
• In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat.  Crumble in the sausage and cook until browned.  Add the pumpkin (or squash), onion, garlic, and chile;  season with salt and pepper.  Partially cover and cook for 7 minutes.  Stir in the saffron stock and tomatoes.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced, 15 minutes.
• Add the pasta and reserved cooking water to the sauce and toss.  Serve in bowls and top with the cheese.

For the freezer meals:  I have never frozen this before, but a website I looked at had a very similar meal listed as a successful freezer meal, so I'm hoping it works!  I tried to cook the noodles a bit less than it called for because I've heard they can get a bit soggy - so I am hoping the noodles hold up!  Everything is cooked, so the meal will only need to be reheated.  You can either pop it in the oven and bake it, or drop it in a pan on the stove.  Enjoy!