Pumpkin Week: Pumpkin Mac-n-Cheese for Dinner {Naptime Everyday}
What’s Going on Today: Crafting for daughter’s homemade Halloween costume, writing, fall cleaning.
Naptime Goals: Let glue dry on costume, compose Pumpkin Mac-n-Cheese to bake later.
Tonight’s Menu: Pumpkin Mac-n-Cheese, Green Salad, White Wine
Naptime Chef Pumpkin Week!: Don’t forget this week’s challenge to cook or bake at least one awesome dish with pumpkin this week. See official Pumpkin Challenge rules below and enter to win the awesome King Arthur Flour Halloween baking kit giveaway!
This year my daughter is going to be a pink lollipop for Halloween. It is a fitting ode to her favorite treat and a nice imaginative costume, I think. For better or worse, this also means that I have to make her costume this year. Some people seemed surprised when they hear I am not a crafty person. But I am not lying when I say I can barely sew a button. All this is to say that on this particular fall day it was especially important I make a simple meal ahead of time so I could dedicate the afternoon while she was at school to making her costume.
I’ve always loved stirring butternut squash into mac-n-cheese so substituting pumpkin seemed like a natural fit. I decided to take the route of create a luxurious sauce and baking it with freshly cooked pasta. Since I like a nice crunchy topping on mac-n-cheese I also made sure to add a Parmesan crust. (Isn’t everything better with a Parmesan crust?)
I assembled the whole thing during the day and refrigerated it until dinner. Then I slipped it in the oven the bake right before we were ready to eat. Since the pasta was pre-cooked it only took a few minutes to warm up before it was set to be served. The creamy pumpkin sauce had melted around each bit of pasta and made for a most decadent meal. To balance it out I added a tossed green salad as our side dish and, of course, some tasty wine. It was the perfect restorative meal for Mom after a very long afternoon of crafting!
Rules for Pumpkin Challenge Week Giveaway:
1. Leave a comment sharing what you plan cook or bake with pumpkin this week.
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7. 6 Extra Entries: Write a blog post between now and next Saturday October 22nd at 7:00am about what delicious pumpkin dish you’ve cooked up and tell your readers about this post with a link back to it. You will be listed in The Naptime Chef newsletter as an official sponsor.
8. Contest will run from October 17th at 7:00am through Sunday, October 23rd at 7:00pm ET. Winner will be announced on Monday October 24th at 7:00am. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn. Winner be selected by random.org.
9. Giveaway items can only be mailed within the continental US.
*Giveaway items generously donated by King Arthur Flour
Recipe
Pumpkin Mac-n-Cheese
Ingredients
| 1 | pound short pasta, like penne |
| 1 | 15 ounces can pumpkin puree, or 15 ounces fresh pumpkin puree |
| 1 ¾ | cups 2% milk |
| 1 | cup shredded Gruyere |
| ½ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
| 2 | teaspoons freshly chopped thyme leaves |
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Cook the pasta until just al dente and drain. Set aside in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin and milk until completely smooth. Then add a pinch of salt and pepper, the thyme, and the gruyere cheese. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the pasta and mix well.
4. Pour the pasta into a 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle the parmesan over the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is browned and the pasta is heated through.
Naptime Notes
Naptime Recipe Serving ideas
This is a decidedly luxurious mac-n-cheese dish. Pair it with a great big green vegetable course!
Naptime Stopwatch
20 minutes prep time, 15 minutes baking time
Naptime Reviews
This was a hit with everyone, including my daughter. I think it would be great for a party and serving guests!
Definitely going to make the pumpkin mac & cheese. What a great way to get some good nutrients into this comfort food! Also making pumpkin-cottage cheese pancakes, and pumpkin inside-out cookies and pumpkin-chai lattes for me.
Thanks Kelsey! I’m going to try this with my favorite Moosewood Low Fat Mac ‘n Cheese—if you don’t know that recipe, it made me give up all my other ones because it’s uncooked pasta mixed with buttermilk, cottage cheese (puree those two together), shredded cheddar, a bit of mustard and whatever else you like for spices. (one lb. pasta with about 5-6 cups pureed liquid, very flexible). Unbelievably easy and my kids’ friends are always after me to make a batch for them. I think I’ll add some pumpkin puree to the liquid and change the cheese to swiss/gruyere this time. I like Trader Joe’s fried onions mixed with bread crumbs on top of mine. Yum, yum….
Yum! Mac and cheese is my favorite comfort food.
Amazing! This looks so good! I have a ton of pumpkin stockpiled in my kitchen right now and plan on making pumpkin chili this weekend! 🙂
I just “liked” you on FB! 🙂
Pumpkin muffins 🙂
thanks
It isn’t too innovative, but I have some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge that’s just begging to be turned into a good ban-umpkin oatmeal tomorrow morning!
This dish looks truly glorious. And while I’m running around this week I’m going to live vicariously through others who are doing this wonderful challenge!
[…] “Luxurious” and “decadent” are two words you might not normally associate with pumpkin, but Kelsey Banfield’s recipe for Mac and Cheese with a creamy pumpkin sauce might just change your mind about your favorite holiday gourd. I’m glad to see that she calls for canned pumpkin puree, so prep time is only 20 minutes. (The Naptime Chef) […]
[…] to Molly, the winner of the Pumpkin Week Challenge! Be sure to tune in next month for another fun naptime cooking challenge and great giveaway! […]
[…] For a unique fall recipe check out this pumpkin mac and […]
pumpkin cookies!
I plan to cook pumpkin cookies, bread, pancakes, and I’ll make some baby food for my little guy. We have a lot of pumpkin. lol
This was super delicious! Hubby complimented: Best new dish he has had in months! Thank you!
Hi Farrah,
I am thrilled you enjoyed it! Have a great weekend.