Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables

I love this dish. It is one of my favorite ways to sneak vegetables to my family. Roasting them makes them sweet, and adding them to pasta with sauce is a great disguise. Any combination of vegetables works great. Besides the ones listed below, I've also used carrots, celery, broccoli, mushrooms, a few unidentified green things from the bottom of the veggie drawer....

ready-to-roast vegetables

Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
(4 servings)**

1 small zucchini
1 small summer squash (a.k.a. yellow zucchini)
1 medium onion
1 green or red pepper
4 Roma tomatoes (or small regular tomatoes)
4-5 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried Italian herb mix
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound (8-oz) rigatoni pasta
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (use your favorite store-bought)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Prepare veggies (except garlic) by cutting into 1-inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt, pepper and Italian herbs and toss to coat all veggies. Roast vegetables until tender (about 15 minutes). Remove from oven, add minced garlic clove and lightly toss veggies. Set aside.

Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.

Boil pasta in a large pot of salted water for about 8 minutes, until almost done. Don't fully cook pasta because it will finish softening when the dish is baked in the oven later. Drain pasta and return to large pot. Add roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Gently mix until everything is combined. Taste to see if it needs a bit more salt or pepper for your taste.

Pour mixture into a baking dish (this fits in an 8x11 size). Top with the rest of the cheeses. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and pasta is warmed through.

**note: This dish is easily doubled. Double the veggies, use 1 lb of pasta, 3 cups sauce and double the cheeses. Should fit into a 9x13 pan. Baking time will increase by 10 minutes or so.