Two recipes worth making

I recently made some recipes that I loved and wanted to share. Aunt Tracy if you are reading this, I actually thought you might like them, so that is why I am going to post them. Brad and I both loved them!

PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA
Ingredients
· 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
· 1 1/2 pounds bulk sweet Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey, whatever you like), casings removed
· 1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into small pieces
· 1 medium onion, chopped
· 2 garlic cloves, grated
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 3 tablespoons butter
· 3 tablespoons flour
· 3 cups milk (eyeball it)
· 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
· Few dashes fresh nutmeg
· 1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
· 1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
· Yields: 4-6 servings
· Preparation
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about two turns of the pan. Add the sausage and cook until golden brown, breaking the meat up as it cooks with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the eggplant, onion and garlic. Cook 7-8 minutes, until tender, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
While the veggies are cooking, place a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into roux, breaking up any clumps. Bring the mixture to a bubble and add the pumpkin puree and nutmeg. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper, reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Spread about 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 13 x 9" casserole dish. Layer three lasagna noodles over the sauce, then top them with about 1 cup of the meat mixture, a cup or so of the sauce and a palmful of cheese. Repeat these layers two times, topping the casserole with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over the noodles, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbling and pasta is baked through, about 45 minutes.
During the last ten minutes of baking, remove the aluminum foil to brown the cheese. Once out of the oven, allow the dish to rest a few minutes before serving.

This lasagna recipe sounds weird, but it was really really good!

Sausage-and-Wild Rice Casserole
Prep: 20 min., Cook: 30 min., Bake: 1 hr., Stand: 5 min. You can assemble this dish the night before through Step 4 (do not add broth), and refrigerate. Stir in broth just before baking.
Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 (1-lb.) package sage ground pork sausage 1 tablespoon butter 1 large onion, chopped 1 cup chopped celery 2 (6-oz.) packages long-grain and wild rice mix 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Preparation
1. Heat 1/2 cup chopped pecans in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove toasted pecans from skillet.
2. Brown sausage in same skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove sausage from skillet using a slotted spoon; reserve drippings in skillet.
3. Melt butter in hot drippings over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and sauté 10 to 15 minutes or until celery is tender.
4. Remove 1 seasoning packet from rice mixes; reserve for another use. Combine sausage, vegetable mixture, remaining seasoning packet, rice, and next 3 ingredients in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Stir in chicken broth until well blended.
5. Bake, covered, at 325° for 1 hour or until liquid is almost absorbed. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top.
Yield
Makes 8 to 10 servings