Autumn-Spiced Pumpkin and Applesauce Chicken with Gluten-Free Corn Pasta

Homemade pureed roasted pumpkin or butternut squash, and homemade applesauce is what I use. If you choose to make homemade, you will need to do that in advance. Instructions are below.

Cook your pasta according to package instructions. You should take about two minutes off of the normal cook time, because you will finish cooking it in the sauce. Also, make sure you liberally salt the water.

Sprinkle washed free-range boneless chicken breasts with half of the seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, turmeric, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg). I just sprinkle until they look evenly coated.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with half the oil and all of the butter. Once melted add the chicken and start to cook it, only turning once per side to get a nice searing on the meat. Cook for roughly 5-6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken. When done remove chicken from skillet and set aside on a plate to let the meat rest.

In the same skillet, saute onions and carrots in the other half of the vegetable oil. Cook until caramelized and add the remaining spices that you put on the chicken. Then add the lemon juice into the skillet with the vegetables and stir to de-glaze the pan. The juice will brighten the flavors and take away some of the heaviness in the flavor.

Now here’s the fun part: Add the pumpkin puree and applesauce into the vegetable mixture. This makes the best sauce ever. Oh, and add the four fresh basil leaves at this time as well. I cut them in a chiffonade style by rolling them, then slicing cross-wise.

Add the chicken back into the pan and coat with the mixture. The pasta should just about be done by now, so turn down the heat to low and put a lid on it until it’s done.

Once the pasta is finished cooking, don’t drain it! Just pull the pan up alongside the chicken skillet and with a slotted spoon, scoop out the pasta and add it into the skillet. Once that is done add about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water into the chicken skillet. The starch from the pasta water will act as a thickener and make this sauce heavenly!

Now just put the lid back on, and set the timer for 15 minutes. Bon appetit!

For the applesauce:
Put apples in a saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in a food processor.

For the pumpkin puree: Clean, peel and chop the pumpkin into large pieces. Roast on a cookie sheet at 375 F for one hour. Puree in a food processor.