Pork & Pumpkin Noodle Bowl

Forget all of your pre-conceived notions of what recipes pumpkin should be put in. It's not just pumpkin chocolate chip cookies anymore. I tried this new recipe- the Pork & Pumpkin Noodle Bowl- last night, and it was AMAZING. Pretty healthy and fairly simple. And don't you dare leave out the blue cheese- DON'T. YOU. DARE. It adds so much flavor. Embrace the concept of blue cheese, red onions, fresh sage and canned pumpkin, and you will be so happy. I guarantee it.

Pork & Pumpkin Noodle Bowl
Serves 4

8 oz whole wheat linguine
1 small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 lb pork loin (or pork tenderloin), cut in 1/2 inch thick slices
3 Tb reduced-sodium soy sauce
12 fresh sage leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1+ cup canned pureed pumpkin (you can never have enough)
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, adding onion during last 5 minutes of cooking time. Drain and cover with towel to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet heat 1 Tb olive oil. Brush pork with 1 Tb soy sauce and generously sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper. Cook sage leaves in hot oil until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

3. Add pork to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes each side or until done. Remove pork from skillet; cover with towel to keep warm.

4. In same skillet combine remaining 2 Tb of soy sauce, garlic, 1/2 cup pumpkin (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup of pumpkin, but adding more makes the sauce thicker and more pumpkin-y), and 1 cup of water. Bring to boiling and reduce sauce slightly (this step takes roughly 2-5 minutes). Add pasta and onion to skillet; heat through.

5. In a small skillet, heat remaining pumpkin over medium heat. Divide pasta among bowls. Top pasta with pork, then pumpkin, then sage leaves, then blue cheese.

Each serving (rough estimate depending on your portion of meat, noodles, and type-low-fat/full-fat- and amount of blue cheese):
414 calories
9 g of fat (2 g saturated fat)
645 mg sodium
51 g carbohydrates
2 g fiber
34 g protein