PUMPKIN LASAGNA WITH SAUSAGE

Pumpkin Lasagna with Sausage image

This recipe was inspired by Rachel Ray's Rigatoni with Pumpkin and Sausage. On the night that I was craving this, my pantry offerings were limited. I didn't have any cream or rigatoni. I didn't have any wine. I only had a four-year old box of lasagna noodles. Cheddar-jack would not have been my first choice -- but that's...

Provided by Tiffany Pennington

Time 1h20m

Number Of Ingredients 16

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Ingredients

1 1/2 lb bulk italian sausage
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 tsp dried sage
29 oz pumpkin, canned
2 to 3 c mashed sweet potato
1 qt chicken stock
1/4 c maple syrup (or brown sugar)
2 oz cream cheese
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
To Taste salt & pepper
1 c grated cheese, pecorino romano
1 c parmigiano-reggiano, grated
2 c cheddar-jack, shredded blend
1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked

Steps:

1. In a skillet, cook the bulk italian sausage, diced onions and sage together on medium-high heat. The onions should be very tender and the sausage should develop some browning. Set aside to be added to the sauce later.
2. In a large 5-quart pot on medium high heat, add pumpkin, sweet potato and chicken stock and stir well to blend ingredients thoroughly. Continue to add cream cheese, syrup/sugar, balsamic vinegar and spices and stir well. Taste sauce for seasoning and add salt/pepper if desired. Stir frequently until mixture starts to simmer and remove from heat. Add meat mixture to the sauce and stir together.
3. Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions. (I do this stove-top step last and I place the noodles in cold water so they don't stick together during the assembly of the lasagna.)
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a lasagna pan (a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan is not quite large enough - but if you don't mind leftover noodles and sauce, it'll do just fine.)
5. Drop a layer of the pumpkin-sausage sauce in the bottom of the lasagna pan. Cover with a single layer of noodles. Ladle another layer of sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle on a quarter-cup of parmigian, a quarter-cup of romano and about a half cup of cheddar-jack cheeses over the sauce.
6. Continue layering noodles, sauce and cheese until the pan is full or you run out of ingredients. Place the lasagna pan on a baking sheet (to catch any spills or bubble-overs) and cook on the center rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes. Cheeses should be fully melted, edges should be bubbling. Remove lasagna from oven and let set for 5-10 minutes before serving.