Baked Veggie Pasta with White Sauce

This recipe, created by random stuff in my refrigerator (sometimes dinner is like an episode of Chopped in my house), turned out amazing. If you don't like pasta with "red sauce" as my mom calls it, you will absolutely love this. It is mixed with fresh veggies and has a creamy Parmesan sauce baked on top!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
4 mini sweet red peppers, finely chopped
4 c. packed spinach
1 small onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme
1 bag Impastable Pasta, Fettucine (or normal fettuccine), cooked and drained
1/2 c. shredded Romano cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a quiche pan or pie dish with non stick cooking spray. In a large pan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add in the mini red peppers, spinach, and onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally for about 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent. Scrape the veggies into a large mixing bowl and place the pan back on the heat. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add in the minced garlic and let cook stirring frequently for one minute or less until the garlic is a golden brown. Scrape the garlic into the same bowl as the veggies and return the pan again to the heat.

"White" sauce ingredients:

3 Tbs. margarine
3/4 c. heavy cream
1 c. grated Parmesan
2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. fresh grated pepper

Add the margarine to the pan that is on medium heat. As it starts to melt, add in the heavy cream, Parmesan and seasonings. Whisk repeatedly until the grated cheese is no longer grainy and you are left with a white creamy sauce. Remove from the heat and let sit while assembling the rest of the dish.

In the large bowl with the cooked veggies, add int he pasta and stir everything together. Pour out into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing down to have one flat surface as you go.

Pour the white sauce on top and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with the thyme and shredded Romano cheese. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool sightly before cutting and serving. I added a poached egg, and a tomato salad which consisted of cherry tomatoes, fresh parsley, pepper and garlic salt. I also added a small amount of more shredded Romano cheese.