Pumpkin Sausage Pasta

I survived the 60 mile walk without any injury and barely any soreness in the days after. Yeah! It was an amazing experience and I look forward to doing it again in the future. For now, I'm back home and trying to get settled back in. We've had a busy week with our car in the shop but I've still managed to make some yummy and not too time consuming meals for dinner. This one would have been pretty quick to make if I used regular canned pumpkin, but off course I usually like to do most from scratch and roasted the pumpkin while cooking the sausage and boiling the pasta. Here's to multitasking! This recipe sounds kind of odd, but it was really good. The hubby even really enjoyed it!

Pumpkin Sausage Pasta From Simply in Season
1 pound penne pasta (or other chunky pasta)
1 pound bulk sweet sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 T fresh sage, cut in thin strips
1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 cup pumpkin or winter squash, cooked and pureed
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
coarse salt and pepper

Cook pasta, drain and set aside. In large deep frypan coated with cooking spray, brown sausage over medium-high heat. When cooked, remove meat and set aside. Drain fat from frypan and return pan to stove. Add onion and garlic to frypan and saute until soft, 3-5 minutes. Add bay leaf, sage and white wine or broth and cook until half of the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Mix in remaining broth and pumpkin. Continue stirring until sauce starts to bubble. Add sausage and reduce heat. Stir in milk. Add remaining seasonings and simmer 5-10 minutes to thicken. Remove bay leaf. Pour sauce over cooked pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.