The original recipe calls this Macaroni and Cheese, I call it casserole. I think macaroni and cheese is just that, mac and cheese. There no veggies and it’s not baked. Casseroles are baked, as is this.

Back to start - this was soooo good. So incredibly good. Not very filling though, but so good. Would you believe that I wasn’t the one in my family who made this? Yep. My husband made it from beginning to end. When I came home, he already had it in the oven. I’m such a lucky girl!

My husband used whatever veggies we had, which happened to be broccoli, onions, and peppers. Next time, I’d love to add lots of mushrooms too. That’s the beauty about casseroles, you can add whatever you want and it’ll be a wonderfully tasting “belle melange”.

We also rarely have elbow macaroni in our house, so he used whole-wheat penne that was stashed somewhere in the back of our cupboards. Who knew that whole-wheat penne could taste this good? It didn’t taste “healthy” at all!

One thing before you run to make this - this requires cooked noodles, so give yourself extra time. This is also great when you have way too much left-over noodles, which always happens to me. Always.

It may not look pretty, but it sure is tasty.

Baked Pasta Casserole
(Original recipe from The Chef and Photographer)
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
3/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 cup non fat or low fat milk
2 TBS grated onion (we used chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 cups (8 oz) grated cheese- you can use all cheddar or your favorite cheese or a combination whatever you have on hand
4 cups elbow noodles cooked (8oz uncooked)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tbs melted butter or olive oil
pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika

Directions:
Pre heat the oven to 350. In a bowl mix the egg through the ground pepper until mixed. Add in the cheese and mix, then fold in the cooked noodles. Spread into a greased 2 quart casserole pan and pat down to evenly fill the pan. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, butter and salt, pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle over the pasta and cover the pan with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and uncover and bake another five minutes or until the bread crumbs brown.

*Feel free to add in anything you want along with the pasta. You could fold in some ham or broccoli, or maybe some roasted poblanos and use pepper jack cheese along with the cheddar cheese.

I really really didn’t plan tonight’s dinner. Andy offered to pick up food on his way home and, honestly, I felt so tempted to agree. I really didn’t have energy to cook or any idea of what I wanted to make. So I suggested the first thing that came to my mind – pasta. So pasta I made!

Once I got home, I looked through my fridge and kind of freaked out. I had no tomatoes, no sauce, no idea what to make with the pasta. I found some scallions that were close to being extremely gross and found a recipe for scallion sauce online. The only requirement was that the sauce had to be quick and easy. It was. I used angel hair pasta that cooked incredibly fast and the whole meal took less than 30 minutes to make. Lovely. I added some other veggies to the pasta and Andy added some sliced chicken sausage to his.

(forewarning – I barely followed the recipe and used it primarily as a guide)

Spaghetti with Scallion Sauce
(epicurious)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta of your choice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 cups chopped scallions (from 4 bunches)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped*
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)

*I found this a tiny bit bland. I recommend adding a lot more garlic and, maybe, some heat (?)

Directions:

Cook spaghetti in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente.

While pasta cooks, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until scallions are softened and garlic begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes.

Transfer scallion mixture to a blender and add zest, salt, pepper, remaining olive oil, and 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then purée until smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids.)

Drain pasta in a colander and return to pot.

Toss pasta with scallion purée, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat until pasta is well coated.