Recipe of the Week!

Sausage and Pumpkin Lasagna

I know this might sound a little too weird for some of you but it's DELICIOUS!!!! I watched Rachael Ray make this last week and decided to try it this week. It was amazing and the perfect fall dish. The boys also loved it which always makes momma happy :) I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin and made a spinach salad as the side with some crusty garlic bread.

Ingredients
2 pounds butternut squash or pumpkin halved and seeded
EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for liberal drizzling
Salt and pepper
Freshy grated nutmeg
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons honey
2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 quart whole milk
10-12 leaves fresh sage, very thinly sliced
2 boxes no boil, flat edged lasagna sheets
2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Drizzle squash with a little EVOO and season with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Roast cut-side down until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool enough to handle, then scoop flesh out of skin and add to food processor. Puree squash with stock and honey, in 2 batches if necessary, and reserve.
Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage, crumbling it into very small bits as it cooks, about 7-8 minutes.

While the sausage cooks, heat a pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute then whisk in milk. Season with salt, pepper, a little freshly grated nutmeg and sage. Cook until thickened, about 7-8 minutes, whisking occasionally.
Dot some pumpkin puree in the bottom of a casserole dish then add a layer of pasta. Top with 1/3 of the cooked sausage and cover lightly with pumpkin puree. Cover with another layer of pasta, 1/3 of the béchamel sauce and 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending each with béchamel sauce and using all of the remaining cheese for the top layer. Sprinkle parsley across the top, cover and bake lasagna 30 minutes. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more to brown the top.