Rotini Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

I go a little pumpkin-crazy in the fall.  Maybe it's the nostalgia of Halloween and pumpkin patches, but it's probably my favorite thing about fall!  Normally people think of pumpkin as belonging in sweets like pie and muffins--which they definitely do--but I wanted to try making a savory pumpkin dish.  I've heard of pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli and thought, why not pumpkin pasta sauce?  I tried to keep it relatively healthy, so I only added one tablespoon of cream cheese; adding another would probably make it even better!


Ingredients (for 2 servings):
-1/3 cup chopped carrots
-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
-2 tsp olive oil
-2/3 cup chicken stock, divided
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-8 dashes hot sauce (or more, to taste)
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tbsp cream cheese
-Cooked rotini pasta


Start by heating the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the bell pepper and carrots, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and cook until tender.  (Now would be a good time to boil water for pasta)  Transfer the cooked carrots and pepper to a food processor, add 1/3 cup of chicken stock, and puree.  Put the puree back into the saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin, remaining chicken stock, hot sauce, nutmeg, salt, and cream cheese.  You want the sauce to simmer, but not boil, so keep an eye on the heat.  If it looks too thick, add a touch more chicken stock.  Whenever you make your own sauces, it's always a good idea to save a bit of the pasta cooking water in case you need to loosen the sauce as you toss the pasta in it.  When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then put it right in with the sauce.  Toss and enjoy!