Friday Photos And Pumpkin Pasta!

Good Friday morning, my friends! How was your week? Our week was gloriously ordinary and ordinarily glorious. Flynn and I did homeschool, Steve ran errands, made phone calls, and worked on the list of things he never had time to do before. We cooked a delicious meal with produce from the farmer's market and played our favorite Halloween game. 

Guess who ended up with the Old Mummy ??

Mocha is proud to be our middle school mascot.

Breakfast one day this week: Cheddar cheese on baguette bread and fresh fruit. 

Something that made me happy this week? Getting these photos from my girls. They continued our pumpkin patch tradition! Even though Peyton grew her own perfect pumpkins, they went and had a blast! Afterward, they went to Peyton's for dinner. She made pumpkin stuffed shells, homemade dinner rolls, and this fantastic pie...

Another thing that made me happy this week was talking to this wonderful woman I am blessed to call Mom. Thanks to my sister Margie, who goes every day at dinnertime and calls me while she's there, I can talk to her every day. I love her so much.

Finally, my blog friend Ginny, who writes HERE, asked about the recipe for Madison's delicious-looking pasta I posted the other day. I texted Madison, and she was so happy to share. 

• 1 box of rigatoni 
• drizzle of olive oil
• 4 ounces of prosciutto sliced thin
• dried or fresh thyme
• 1 shallot, diced
• splash of white wine or chicken broth
• 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
• salt and pepper 
• 1/2 cup of goat cheese crumbles plus more for serving (can also use Parmesan)
• chopped chives
• 1 - 2 cups of reserved pasta water

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, and cook the pasta. Once cooked, ladle out some pasta water and set it aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat up a drizzle of olive oil in a pot on medium-low heat. (I used my Dutch oven.) Add prosciutto and stir often. Cook until it is crispy, and set it aside on a plate. 
3. In the same pot, add the diced shallot and thyme. (You may need to add a bit more olive oil.) Cook until the shallot is translucent. Deglaze the pot with a splash of white wine, chicken broth, or even just a bit of water. Use whatever you have! 
4. Add the can of pumpkin, half and half, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk continuously until it begins to simmer. Depending on how thick the sauce is, add some pasta water along with the goat cheese and whisk until combined. 
5. Add the strained pasta to the pot and toss it in the sauce. Add more pasta water if the sauce is still too thick. (It should be similar to the consistency of a tomato sauce but not too watery.) Allow the pasta to cook a minute or two more in the sauce. 
6. Spoon the pasta onto a plate and top with goat cheese crumbles, chopped chives, and crispy prosciutto. Add salt and pepper if you'd like, but remember that the prosciutto is already quite salty! 

I hope you have a lovely October weekend. I am patiently waiting for the leaves to change color here, and I hope they will soon! Thanks for visiting. I am always thankful you do!

BillieJo