Vegetable Pasta Bake

I have been trying to plan out a big meal at the start of the week to make lunches easier and prepare for those evenings that get to hectic to cook. This vegetable pasta bake has been my go-to dish for the past few weeks as there are so many ways to mix and match sauces and vegetables. This week I kept it simple with green beans and a creamy red sauce.

Creamy Tomato Sauce:

• Butter (2 T)
• Flour (2 T)
• Milk (1 1/2 cups)
• Tomato sauce (14 oz can)
• Diced tomatoes (14 oz can, mostly drained)
• Basil (2 T)
• Oregano (1 T)
• Garlic powder (2 t)
• onion powder (2 t)
• red pepper flakes (dash)
• salt (1/2- 1 t)
• pepper (to taste)

Pasta:

• Whole wheat penne pasta (1 box)
• Green beans (2 handfuls with ends picked and broken into pasta sized pieces)
• Cheese (1 cup, I had ricotta on hand, but mozzarella or Parmesan would be great too)

Tools:

• large pot/wok for sauce
• large pot for cooking pasta
• whisk/fork
• wooden spoon
• 9x13 baking dish
• Colander

Directions:
Fill a large pot with water to boil your pasta, season the water with 1 t salt. Once your pasta water is boiling, toss the pasta in and cook according to the directions. 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add the green beans to the boiling water to get them cooked a bit too. Once your pasta is ready, strain the pasta and beans in a colander.

The base of the sauce is a roux. Which is a fancy term for a butter and flour paste. Put the butter in the pan and wait for it to melt, add in the flour one tablespoon at a time whisking it together to remove all lumps. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to keep out the clumps. Have the heat at med to med-high and keep stirring the mixture as you add all of the seasonings. Once the sauce thickens, pour in the can of sauce and tomatoes and stir to combine. Keep warm while pasta finishes cooking.

Dump the cooked pasta and beans into the sauce and stir it all up. Dump everything into a 9x13 glass dish and top with some cheese if you like. Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes.