Cheddar & Vegetable Pasta Bake

Submitted by Jezski

"Soooo good! I found this in a Sargento Cheese Ad sometime in 1996. It tastes like veggie lasagna, could be a vegetarian main dish or a side for dinner. Or a Lenten specialty. I did have to thin the cream sauce out before I baked it because the dish thickens up quite a lot in the oven. You can use penne or other pasta but the bowties are really pretty. You can find a picture on the Sargento web site."

 

• Ready In: 42mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons flour
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated skim milk
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional) or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, THAWED (cauliflower, red bell peppers, broccoli)
• 3 cups bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

directions

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Add milk, salt and pepper sauce. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup cheese until melted.
2. Add sauce and vegetables to pasta; toss well. Transfer to a greased medium baking dish or oval casserole. Cover with foil; bake in preheated 375°F oven 15 minutes or until hot.
3. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 2 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Reviews

[iPlayFlonkerton]

Awesome! I modified it to make it gluten-free for a gluten-intolerant family member by using corn pasta, and I used 1/2 tsp xanthan gum instead of flour, and it worked great! I also couldn't find a frozen broccoli/cauliflower/pepper mix, so I used a broccoli/pepper/mushroom mix. I'll definitely make it again, but next time I think I'll only use 1 clove of garlic. I love garlic, but it was just a liiiiitle too much.

 

[Roxygirl in Colorado]

This was really fast to make. I used fresh veggie mix (caulif., broccoli, carrots), that I cooked with the pasta. I used rigatoni since that's what I had. This dish collected some good compliments from my teens, "looks good" and "tasty," so I'll be making this again. Thanks Jezski, for posting. Roxygirl

 

[The Veganista]

Absolutely delicious! I made a few substitutions because I'm Vegan. I used Earth Balance (vegan margarine), Veggie Shreds (vegan cheese), and instead of using milk, I used dairy-free Walden Farms Ranch dressing. I also added more salt because I'm a salt girl. Mmm...I could have added more garlic too but next round I will. I think the vegetables could be cooked beforehand so it won't have to bake for 15 min. But overall, it was great!