Speedy Pasta Bake

Pasta is my go to dinner item- whenever I don't know what to eat or didn't plan for a specific meal, I turn to pasta. It's quick, goes with just about anything and did I mention it's quick?

A few weeks ago, it was shaping up to be just another pasta and red sauce night when I thought- why not make a pasta bake to use up some of the leftover veggies in the fridge? (I don't know if this happens to you, but I always seem to end up with a quarter of an eggplant, half a bell pepper or 3 button mushrooms left over-- amounts too weird to use for much of anything). I started the water boiling and then chopped up the vegetables and satueed them in a bit of olive oil and herbs de provance for a change from the regular basil and oregano taste. Then I added some leftover red sauce and, since there wasn't quite enough of it, added some diced tomatoes with their juice. I mixed in the pasta and decided it needed just one more color and since I didn't have frozen peas, mixed in some baby spinach.

I poured the pasta mix into a casserole and topped it off with a low-fat 4 cheese blend (also leftover from another project- I'm not usually one for low fat cheese) and a bit of grated parmesan as I was afraid the low-fat cheese might not melt well. The whole thing went into a 400F oven for about 25 minutes and came out golden brown and quite delicious-- definitely a great dish to clear the fridge out with...