I was trying to decide on what to make for dinner tonight, thinking through what I had just purchased at the store. Without an exact recipe in mind, I asked Tom if he wanted some “cheesy pasta deliciousness” – and got a pretty favorable response. Next step: defining what that meant. I have a rough recipe I’ve used for a while to make what I call “Veggie Pasta Bake” – which is essentially mac & cheese with veggies, baked in the oven. I decided to make a version of that tonight, though with some slightly different vegetables than normal. I typically will put broccoli and bell peppers in there, but I’m going to save those for some other recipes. Instead, I combined onions, tomatoes, spinach and asparagus. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups uncooked seashell pasta
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
- ½ bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1-inch segments
- 1/3 cup white onion, diced
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- Ground black pepper
- Garlic
- Paprika
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir flour into butter until combined. Add milk and seasoning to taste. Heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Toss cheese with pasta. Stir in vegetables and place in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs over top. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
