Pumpkins and maple leaves, in deep autumn red and cream, with the cheddar cheese mix already in the bag. It is the dinner that makes a Tuesday in October feel like it was planned, and it takes milk, butter and about ten minutes to get there.

Twelve ounces is family size, four to six servings printed on the bag, which is a table of kids or a side dish for a bigger crowd. Put it out at a harvest party next to the cider, send it to school in a thermos, or keep a couple of bags back for the week between Halloween and Thanksgiving when nobody wants to cook. The shapes hold up in the pot, so the pumpkins are still pumpkins on the plate.

Ingredients: Enriched Durum Wheat Flour (Contains Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Iron, Folic Acid), Tomato Powder, Beet Powder, Cheese Mix {Whey, Enriched Wheat Flour (Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Cheddar Cheese* (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Food Starch-modified (Corn), Contains 2% or Less of: Silicon Dioxide to Reduce Caking, Citric Acid, Soybean Oil to Reduce Dusting, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Butter*, Sodium Phosphate, Non-fat Dry Milk, Sodium Caseinate. *dehydrated) Allergen information: Contains Wheat and Milk. Pastabilities also notes that its mac and cheese and seasoning mixes are made in a separate facility that processes other allergens.