Pasta & Veggie Bake

Have you guys seen those Philadelphia Cooking Cremes? I recently got a coupon for one so I bought it and it's been sitting in my fridge. While I was nursing my baby I was reading through my What's Cooking mag that came in the mail today and there were several ads with recipes for these various sauces. One of them was a bake with squash and pasta. I thought to myself, 'I have one of those sauces in my fridge and a bunch of cut up squash from making baby food a few days earlier; maybe I could pull this off!'

So I opened my fridge and pulled out the sauce - a different one from the recipe - but I was not discouraged; I would make my own healthier pasta bake. In fact the only actual ingredients from the recipe I had were squash, a pasta, a sauce, an onion and olive oil. I pulled out the squash, an onion, a zucchini, mushrooms and a red pepper. I was excited.

Have you ever had small amounts of uncooked pasta left sitting in a bag or box? Such small amounts that you can't really cook them for a meal because it's never enough to feed anyone? Well those would come in handy today. My pasta bake had rigatoni, fusilli, and penne.

This recipe is great for cleaning out your fridge and cupboards - that's what I was able to do today.

As I'm typing this I can smell the aroma wafting from the oven and I can't wait to try this out!

INGREDIENTS

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 onion, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 package (227g) of sliced mushrooms
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp (approx) olive oil
5 cups uncooked short pasta
1 tub Philadelphia Tomato & Basil Cooking Creme
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine the vegetables, paprika and olive oil in a large baking dish or casserole dish, making sure the veggies are coated with the oil and paprika.

Bake 45 minutes or until the squash is tender. Mix the cheeses together and set aside.
Meanwhile cook the pasta in unsalted boiling water. Drain the pasta, saving about 1/2-3/4 cup cooking water. Add the pasta to the veggies as well as the cooking creme, cooking water and half of the cheese mixture. Mix it together. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.
Bake for another 20 minutes, until it is heated through, the cheese is melted and the cheese on top has browned.

This will make 6-8 servings.

It turned out really nice. The cheese on top was nicely browned and had a good crunch to it. It was also a very filling dish. It would pair well with a salad for a great dinner! Next time I make it I will definitely put more sauce. As I poured the tub I had a feeling there wasn't enough sauce and I was right; I'd definitely use another half a tub if not another whole one. You can really use any sauce and I think this would turn out great. My husband suggested a nice meaty tomato sauce, which would add some more substance to your dish. I think any jarred sauce or homemade sauce would be great. I personally love creamy sauces and the creaminess adds well to the roasted squash and other veggies. What sauce would you use? If you tried a different sauce, let us know how it turned out in the comments below!