Whenever we hit winter, I have this urge to cook baked meals. This comes in handy as well I suppose because then I cook in larger than normal quantities, freezing the meals. Comes in very handy on nights when I return home late.
I love creamy and cheesy pastas. The only thing is that I rarely order them in a restaurant because I know how bad they are for us. I'm thinking horror horror-calories and fat and the length of them I need to run in the next COLD winter morning to get rid of it. However, I tend to use reduced fat cheese and 98.5% fat free evaporated milk for the creamy sauce, allowing me to still enjoy a small portion of it without the guilt. The use of lean bacon is perhaps a little more expensive but worth it because it allow me to taste the salty savory cured meat that I miss!
Cheesy Baked Pasta with Bacon, Mushrooms and Peas (Serves 4-6)
250grams of penne pasta
180grams of lean bacon diced
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 cup of peas
2 cups of baby spinach
Sauce
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of reduced fat spread
1 can of 98.5% fat free evaporated milk
1 cup of cheddar cheese
extra 1/2 cup of cheese
Cook pasta according to instructions. Drain and set aside. Toss bacon, mushrooms, peas and spinach with pasta.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 C.
To make cheese sauce, melt spread and add flour. Stir till the mixture becomes golden brown. Add milk. Whisk till it thickens and become creamy. Add cheese mixture. Stir till it melts. (Adjust by adding more milk of mixture turns too thick). Season.
Pour sauce on pasta. Toss with pasta. Spoon in baking dish. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake for 35 minutes or so. Serve HOT!
Sharing this with my friends at Presto Pasta founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week, it is hosted by psychgrad from Equal Opportunity.
I just submitted my prawn noodles to Presto Pasta Night. :)
ReplyDeleteI never used to be into casserole dishes until I moved to the midwest where the casserole is king.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a similar dish I made last winter (and they last a loooong time in Minnesota!) Yummy.
Little Inbox- YUMMY!!!
ReplyDeleteAmy- We never had such dishes in Singapore because it is too warm to have it.. but I'm making use of the cold in Perth, Aus =)
Wow I love this, so cheesy and yummy looking.
ReplyDeletewahhhh look absolutely delicious!!!! i want to tryyyy and i want a casserole dish T_T
ReplyDeletei actually missing this since im back in m'sia..dont get much baked cheesy meals here..
ReplyDeletei loved such one dish meal :D very easy to prepare wid minimal cleaning. most importantly it has pasta and cheese, my boiboi's fave hahaha
ReplyDeleteLittle corner- hahaha.. Thanks!!! Cheese does wonders I think. LOL
ReplyDeleteRita- hehe, Get one!
Joe- Ya, but malaysia is soo hot!
Babe_kl- hehee, Ya, i think pasta and cheese are kids favourites!
so cheesy, I like! So hot here but I still crave for this type of meals now and then, haha
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ReplyDeleteOops...I posted a comment for Val here -- too many blogs open at one time. I meant to comment on her site. So, I'm deleting the previous comment. It was me.
ReplyDeleteNot that I want summer to end...but this is one dish worth hurrying the seasons for. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night and one I'm definitely bookmarking.
ReplyDeleteI would like to cook Cheesy Baked pasta but I would like put some generic viagra because I think that these food missing some great ingredients.
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