Happy New Year, everyone! Wait….what? I’m 9 days too late?

Yeah. I has been a while since I last posted, hasn’t it? Unfortunately, I’ve been holed up with the stomach flu since Friday night.

Trust me, the last thing you want to do when you have the stomach flu is update your food blog. Bleh.

Thankfully, I’m now fully recovered and eager to share some recipes I’ve been stockpiling over the past few days. My illness actually came at a really appropriate time. Heading into 2013, I had decided my theme for the year is “Transformation” part of this including living a more healthy lifestyle. And now that I’ve spent the first week of 2013 in sickness, I am better ready to appreciate the health.So when I came across this recipe for pumpkin fettuccine alfredo, I immediately thought of two things. 1) Yes! A lightened up version of my absolute favorite food! 2) Wow, I really don’t know how to spell fettuccine.

When my elementary school teachers were compiling spelling lists, they clearly didn’t think I would ever need to know how to correctly spell fettuccine. Thank goodness for computers with spell check.

But back to the fettuccine. This is the perfect way to start out a New Year’s resolution to live more mindfully. The creaminess of the “alfredo” doesn’t come from cream and butter, but from pumpkin and a bit of goat cheese.

And for all you goat cheese haters out there, don’t panic. You really can’t taste it. With the fresh herbs and spices thrown in, the sauce tastes more like a creamy pumpkin bisque than anything goaty.

Ingredients (adapted from Cookie + kate):

• one package of whole wheat fettuccine
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1 tsp. chopped thyme
• 2 cups skim milk
• 3 oz. goat cheese cheese, cut into big chunks
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• fresh ground cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente, following the instructions on your pasta package.

2. While the water is boiling (because that always takes forever!), heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the butter. Once it’s melted, whisk in flour and stir to create a roux, until bubbly and golden, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until lightly browned. Next, add the milk and thyme, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5-6 minutes. It will still be pretty runny at this point, but don’t worry, the creaminess is on its way.

4. Add in the goat cheese, pumpkin, cinnamon, and salt and pepper. Gently whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta to pan and toss to combine.