Penne with Spinach, Cranberries and Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Cooking for a Crowd, Recipes, Worknight Dinners October 15, 2016

Organic penne pasta with a pumpkin cream sauce tossed with warm fresh spinach and dried cranberries. Made entirely with O Organics® ingredients.

Our new apartment has a pantry. A really, really nice pantry with vintage built in drawers and cabinets and shelves on shelves on shelves.

Not only does having a pantry mean that I can stock it full of spices, sauces, canned goods, snacks, bakeware, cookware and linens, it means that I can shop in bulk, shop sales and cook dinner with the ingredients available in said pantry.

When I cook at home, I’m all about knowing that I’ve used the best possible ingredients. Jewel-Osco’s O Organics line incorporates fresh fruits and vegetables, wholesome dairy and meats, cereals, snacks and more. Going organic doesn’t have to be a long and expensive process and incorporating select organic items into your diet, doesn’t take a lot of time, money or effort — it can be easier than you think! With the wide variety of products offered by O Organics, there are so many easy ways to incorporate organic foods into meals.

Last week I joined Jewel-Osco at Kendall College Culinary School in Chicago to celebrate its O Organics product line. The ‘Organic for All™’ event included dining, cooking, recipe demonstrations, shopping and yoga.

I’m not going to lie, if I could find a way to make this my agenda every day, I think I would.

I mean, just look how excited grocery shopping makes me. #CrazyHairDontCare.

I get my O Organics products at Jewel-Osco, but if you are outside of the Chicago area, O Organics products are available at Albertsons Companies stores across the country, including Albertsons, ACME Markets, Vons, Safeway, Shaw’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Pavilions and Star Market.

During the day with O Organics, the group had the opportunity to pair off into small groups and create from-scratch recipes with O Organics products. There were a lot of wonderful dishes created — I paired off with Kristy from The Wicked Noodle and Martha from A Family Feast to create a fall inspired vegetarian three bean chili topped with cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt.

Elsewhere in the kitchen, my friends Lauren from Lakeshore Lady and Kit Graham from The Kittchen made a beautiful butternut squash and spinach dish topped with caramelized onions and goat cheese. I won’t lie, I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.

After a business trip this week, I raided our freshly stocked, much beloved pantry and concocted a pasta dish for dinner that was so simple to make, took all of 20 minutes hands on time, if even that. After a busy week of flights and meetings and more flights, all I wanted was simple comfort food.

I happened to have some of my favorite goodies in the pantry:

O Organics Pumpkin
O Organics Fresh Spinach
O Organics Garlic Herb Goat Cheese
O Organics Penne Rigate
O Organics Minced Garlic
O Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then I’m thinking penne pasta, fresh spinach and pumpkin cream sauce. At the ‘Organic for All^TM’ event I had the opportunity to work with a vast selection of O Organics products, but please check your local Albertsons family store to see what’s available in your area.

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Penne with Spinach and Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Author: Maris Callahan

Recipe type: Weeknight Dinner

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

12 ounces penne rigate (ridged), or other short pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup whole milk
1½ cup pumpkin puree
⅓ cup grated Parmesan
Generous pinch of salt
5 ounces wilted spinach
⅓ cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon

Instructions

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, then add pumpkin puree, whole milk, Parmesan. Stir sauce until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add pasta to sauce, and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add some more milk.
Add spinach and cranberries to the skillet and cook until wilted. Season generously with salt. Serve pasta sprinkled with rosemary and tarragon, and more cranberries if desired.

Thank you to Jewel-Osco for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

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easy dinner recipe easy recipe jewel osco o organics worknight dinner

Written by

Maris Callahan

Maris Callahan has been blogging about cooking, dining and entertaining since 2008. A public relations director by day, Maris is also a brand spokesperson, freelance writer and media relations expert with more than 10 years experience working with consumer brands. She lives in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood with her boyfriend Brad, chihuahua Henry and a very well-stocked pantry.

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