I took a few of my favorite things and made them into dinner tonight:) We’ve been going quite grain free these last few weeks so a meal with some “pasta” was a real treat! I think this will also be great with spaghetti squash for those days when we want to return to going grain free.

Let’s talk about hearty. Like giving yourself a cozy autumn hug.

I love roasted butternut squash and to find it during these months, often on sale, and roasting it in batches is a great thing to have on hand. I’ve told you all about the local sausage I tend to buy when I’m using any type of sausage in my meals. It’s call Sadonis and it’s free of a lot of the yuck that sneaks into sausage like MSG, HFCS, and such.

When we sat down for dinner, I had this as two separate courses, if you will. I made a simple arugula salad with olive oil and a squirt of lemon and a quick shake of S&P. As I was eating my salad, I stopped and combined my spaghetti mixture with my salad and the rest is history.

A Crunch of fresh arugula, creamy sweet butternut squash, nutty pecans, and salty pork is the perfect autumn meal with a variety of texture and flavor. Mhmmmm!

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, cut into small cubes (about 2 cups)
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, crumbled
2 shallots, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pecans
spaghetti of choice (pictured is brown rice spaghetti, spaghetti squash for grain free)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
Sage leaves

Arugula and Dressing
12 ounces arugula
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice (about 1/4 of lemon juiced)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scatter the cubed butternut squash in a baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the butternut squash. Sprinkle the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Roast butternut squash in the oven for 45 minutes, turning once.
2. Cook spaghetti according to directions.
3. Cook Italian sausage crumbles in a large skillet until brown. Remove from skillet and set aside.
4. In the same skillet with the oil from the sausage, cook the shallot and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add sage leaves and salt and pepper.
5. Return the sausage to the skillet and cooked spaghetti. Toss all together.
6. In a large bowl, place arugula and drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on top. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper if desired.
7. Toss the spaghetti, sausage, and vegetable mixture into the arugula. Sprinkle with pecans and enjoy!