Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers (cut into 1/2 inch strips)

2 zucchini (quartered lenghtwise and cut into 1 inch cubes)

2 summer squash (quartered lenghtwise and cut into 1 inch cubes)

8 mushrooms (halved)

1 yellow onion (cut into 1/2 inch strips)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt (divided)

1 teaspoon pepper (divided)

1 tablespoon dried italian seasonings

1 pound whole wheat penne pasta

3 cups marinara sauce

1 1⁄2 cups frozen peas (thawed)

1 1⁄2 cups fontina, mozarella, and parmesan cheese blend (shredded)

Instructions

1. Chop all the veggies and preheat your oven to 450 degrees

2. On a baking sheet (or in a casserole dish/large pan), toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander.

4. Once the veggies are done, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, cheeses, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If you used a large casserole dish/pan to roast the veggies in, you can just dump all of the additional ingredients (pasta etc.) into that pan to mix everything together (that’s what I’d recommend!). Using a wooden spoon, gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.

5. Top the pasta with the remaining cheese (about 1/3 cup).

6. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.