How to make 6 people happy? Serve pasta.
January 6, 2012
That seems to be the answer in our little world. I rarely go wrong with pasta, and with four kids, that is saying a lot. I have turned pasta meals into an art! We do pasta bars on a regular basis. The kids can choose their sauce and toppings, but we are still all eating the same meal (sort of). And since I regularly serve a child who loves their pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Parmesan, pesto and olives, as well as a child who prefers plain pasta with butter and salt, being flexible and creative is a necessity.
The other night I made up a baked pasta and was happy with the results. 2 kids had seconds, 1 finished their first serving with no complaining, and 1 had some issues with the broccoli but was fine with the rest. Even the big boy was happy! Always a plus.
Remember, I made this for 6, so feel free to shrink it down!
2 16 oz packages of pasta (I used penne)
1 package of provolone chopped into pieces (I can’t find provolone unsliced, so I just bought it sliced and chopped it up. You could use shredded mozzarella or swiss, too.)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
bread crumbs
About 2 cups of small broccoli florets. I made them super small in hopes to make it more child friendly.
Cook pasta according to package. Meanwhile, make white sauce. Feel free to follow a recipe for this from any cookbook. I’ve made it so many times that I sorta do it by instinct now, so I know this might not be super easy to follow.
Melt 4 TB Butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add 2-3 TB of Flour and stir to make a paste. Add 1 TB of minced garlic (you can use garlic salt too) then slowly begin adding milk. Start by adding about 1/2 cup and mix together with the paste. When it seems like most of the lumps are dissolved, begin adding more milk. Altogether, you should add about 2 cups of milk to the flour/butter mixture. Stir constantly while cooking over medium to high heat. It should begin to thicken after a few minutes. If it does not thicken, add more flour. Once it is to a point where it seems thick enough, remove it from the heat. Oh, and make sure you do all of this with a wooden spoon.
Pour sauce over cooked drained noodles and stir. Add cheddar cheese, provolone (reserve about 1/2 cup) and broccoli and mix together. Sprinkle in some salt, too. Pour half of noodles in the bottom of a baking dish. Layer with remainder of provolone. Top with remainder of noodles. Sprinkle bread crumbs across the top in a thin layer and dot with butter.
Bake at 350 until heated through, about 20 minutes or so.
