Its that time again, kids! Yep, Uncle Joey has another tasty meatless recipe that is sure to excite! Tonight's recipe was Pasta Bean Casserole.I will spare you the details of our 2012 plan to go meatless on Mondays. We're not pushing the vegetarian lifestyle (I make my love of bacon known quite often), nor pushing any sort of green agenda on anyone (for many reasons, meatless Mondays are good for the environment) -- Erin and I mostly started this to see if we could (1) do it and (2) maintain it. So far, so good!
First, here is what you will need:
(1) box of penne pasta (about 16oz)
(2) can of diced tomatoes (about 14oz)
(3) two cans of kidney beans (about 32oz total)
(4) jar/can pasta sauce (about 26oz)
(5) 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
(6) broccoli
(7) 1 small onion
Preheat the oven to 375 and also put water on to boil for the pasta. You will want to go ahead and drain the kidney beans and rinse them and set them aside. Boil the pasta as directed, strain and rinse, return to the pot. Once in the pot, add the tomatoes, pasta sauce, kidney beans, broccoli and onions (chopped up of course). Pour all of that into a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes.
You could serve with bread and butter (a staple in our home) or salad, but its a hearty meal on its own. The girls seemed to enjoy it. Well, Jordan ate every last bite, anyhow. Madison is Madison. Both ate and neither complained. Erin and I enjoyed it quite a bit as well. The beans are a great protein source, and a good substitute for meat (not in taste, of course). However, with the veggies and beans, you won't miss meat. Its quite tasty. We used Italian diced tomatoes (that is what I prefer) which adds some garlic,etc. The casserole is almost on par with a vegetable lasagne, and I think you could add zucchini or summer squash, as well as mushrooms for added depth and nutrients.
Give it a try! Actually, it would go very well with the breaded eggplant I made last week. If you make it, let me know how you liked it!
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