Fancy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

I'm changing the name of this recipe a bit, but it comes from Aggieland Mommy Cooks blog. Really it's called Pasta with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce (a Kraft recipe). Honestly, it's more like mac and cheese with a bit of pumpkin. Regardless, it's super yummy! I think each of us could have eaten the entire pound of pasta individually!  The nice thing about this recipe is that it does include some vegetable in it. I'm finding that in order to get our youngest son to eat anything other than broccoli as a vegetable, it needs to be well hidden in his meal. So, recipes like this are great! I'm not sure if you'd lose some of the flavor of the pumpkin or not, but I'm betting you could also add some pureed sweet potato and carrot to add a bit more of the good stuff to it, while not messing with the original color of the recipe. Think I'll try that next time and see how it goes over. You could also decrease the amount of fat and calories by using Neufachel cheese (or fat free cream cheese). I chose the middle ground and used the 1/3 less fat and it was fantastic, but I don't think you would lose too much in flavor with the fat free. This is great as either a side or a main dish.

16 oz penne, uncooked
8 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c butter (I use margarine-- specifically Smart Balance)
1/2 c milk
1 c canned pumpkin
1/2 t ground red pepper [I used about half of this so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids-- perfect!]
ground nutmeg [I used about about the same amount as I did for the red pepper... didn't want it too overpowering. I think it was also a perfect amount]

1. Cook pasta as directed.
2. Meanwhile, place cream cheese, parmesan, butter, and milk in large saucepan; cook on low heat until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently.
3. Add pumpkin & spices; cook until thoroughly heated; stirring frequently.
4. Add pasta & toss lightly. Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese if desired