Baked Pasta Florentine
Ingredients
- 16 ounce dry pasta, such as penne or ziti
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into strips
- 2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cup milk
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Serves 12. Cook pasta according to package, cooking only 7 minutes. Drain and spoon into 2 greased 13X9 baking dishes. Melt butter in large skillet and saute garlic briefly, then add zucchini, peppers, mushrooms and onions. Season well with salt and pepper and fresh herbs if you like. Cook about 3 or 4 minutes and add tomatoes. Heat through and spoon vegetables over pasta. Whisk flour into drippings in skillet and whisk in milk, then broth. Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Add spinach and cheese. Pour sauce over vegetables. (Can freeze now). Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 40 minutes until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted (longer if frozen).