Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

Ally, Emily & Luke are at school & Lyla is still asleep so I'm taking a few minutes for myself this morning.  :)

One of my goals for 2010 was to learn to cook more meals for my family and to cook better meals for my family.  Less prepackaged food & especially less run through the drive through spend a small fortune food.  My favorite kinds of meals are the throw it all in one dish & go meals.  Casseroles especially and preferably less than a 30 minute prep time.  I've never been a good cook or even enjoyed cooing so this one is a good goal for me.  Honestly I am a very slow cook because a 30 minute prep time means at least 60 minutes for me.  Don't know why, I'm sure it's because I'm not comfortable cooking and I read and reread every step to make sure I'm doing it right.  Even recipes I've done for years still have to be carefully prepared.  Maybe I'm a little OCD.

Anyway, I'd love for ANYONE to send me some simple and tasty recipes for a family of picky eaters.  My husband is the King of Pickyness but he's knows I'm trying hard to improve so he's a little more relaxed about trying new things.

I'm going to try posting recipes that I have and that worked for us.  Now, I've seen other blogs that post recipes with pictures of every step along the way.  Well....I'm just not that good of a blogger or a cook!  Don't expect that here but I will show some pics of the final product.  I'm also making a cook book for myself so I have all of my recipes in one easy to find location.  I'm going to have pictures to show what the food actually looked like, it's never the same as in the cook books.  My plan is to keep it up over the years and have something to give my kids when they are out on their own.  (Yes, I am already starting to think about that, ha ha)

The first time I tried this recipe, I thought it was going to be the last.  There were WAY too many steps for me and it too WAY too long to make.  Then while sitting at the table everyone starting saying they liked it...everyone!  I was shocked because this never happens.  Then the kids started taking seconds.  I was blown away.  So now it's a family favorite and I'll just have to work on making it faster.

Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper, chopped
3 cups quartered mushrooms (1 - 4oz can sliced)
2 zucchini, diced (sometimes I use 3)
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup parsley
2 Tbsp basil
5 cups penne pasta
3&1/2 cups meatless spaghetti sauce
(I use a jar of Chunky Rago - Garden Combination)
3&1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. In a large shallow pan, toss together the red & yellow peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic & oil. Spread out and roast in 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until softened, stirring once or twice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1/3 cup parsley and basil.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender but firm. Drain well and let cool. Gently combine pasta in a large bowl with spaghetti sauce, vegetables, mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan. Transfer back to original baking dish.

3. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and parsley. (Pasta can be prepared to this point, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day, or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before heating.)

4. Bake, covered with greased foil, in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly.

OK so maybe there aren't THAT many steps but as I said before, I'm very slow in the kitchen. 
 

Here's the final product.  We added more mozzarella cheese to the top.  Everything tastes better with cheese.

TIPS:

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  This is a perfect vegetarian dish.
  
  
  
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  The recipe in the book does say to add 1 small eggplant, diced.  I've never touched an eggplant before and had not idea how it would go over with the family so I opted out on that one.
  
  
  
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  It also says to use 1/2 tsp of rosemary but L.J. refused to let me put that in.  (The King of Pickyness, remember)
  
  
  
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  Another ingredient we chose not to include was 2 cups diced Fontina cheese.  It was very hard to find and then realized it was $6 for a small amount.  We never missed it.