Vegetable & Goat Cheese Baked Pasta

Hey everyone!  I hope you're having a fantastic Friday.  If not, give this site a visit:  The Sleep Talkin' Man.  My sister shared it with me and I was crying laughing while listening to the ridiculous clips earlier today.

Does anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?  I'm running in a 5K race tomorrow morning and going to brunch with my friend afterward.  Tomorrow night is my sister's second birthday celebration, so I'm betting tomorrow will be a fun, food filled day!  No plans that I can think of for Sunday other than spin class, so I'm looking forward to some quiet reading time and probably a few naps. 

Last night, I made a delicious version of baked pasta that I wanted to share with you!  I even dabbled in making my own tomato sauce for the dish and it turned out absolutely fantastic.  I hope you'll enjoy it!

Vegetable & Goat Cheese Baked Pasta
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients: 
(for the dish)
8oz (1/2 a box) bowtie pasta
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 large vidalia onion
3 cloves garlic
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
5 small sweet peppers
8oz sliced white mushrooms
8oz goat cheese log 

(for homemade tomato sauce)
4 large, ripe tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dried oregano 
2 tsp salt
1tsp pepper 

Instructions:

1. {If you are making your own sauce, do this first, otherwise skip steps 1-3} Quarter tomatoes and place in blender with garlic cloves.  Blend until pureed. 
2. Combine puree and spices in a medium pot.  Bring to boil. 
3. Reduce heat to medium high and allow to simmer on a low boil while you prepare the rest of the dish, stirring occasionally.  Don't forget about it while you go about preparing everything else!
4. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Boil a large pot of water.  Use to cook pasta according to directions on box.
6. Bring olive oil in a large skillet to medium heat.
7. Mince garlic, add to pan. 
8. Chop onion and peppers, add to pan. 
9. Slice zucchini and squash, add to pan. 
10. Stir vegetables a bit and after two or three minutes, add your mushrooms.
11. Three to five minutes after adding the mushrooms, your vegetables will have cooked down a bit and will have released some water.  Once this occurs, turn off stove and remove skillet from heat.
12. By now, your pasta should be done.  Drain pasta and place to the side. 
13. Prepare a large baking dish with cooking spray and add a layer of pasta to the bottom.  Cover with vegetables.
14. Crumble goat cheese log and use about half the crumbles on top of your vegetables. 
15. Spoon about half of your pasta sauce on top. 
16. Place another layer of pasta, then vegetables, then cheese, then pasta sauce.  Place any remaining pasta on top of the dish.
    
    
17. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.  If you want any crunch pasta pieces (which I love!) bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. 
18. Enjoy!!

This originally was going to be veggie lasagna, but I actually really loved it with the bowtie (farfalle) noodles.  If you want to use lasagna noodles, feel free!  This dish would be tasty and delicious either way. 

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!  Can't wait to check back in on Monday with my first week of training and my meal plan for next week.  Before you go, tell me...

Do you like baked pasta? 
Have you ever made your own pasta sauce?
What are a few healthy things you've got planned for the weekend?  I'm really excited about my 5K and getting back to spin class over the weekend.