Cheesy Baked Pasta Casserole with Grilled Vegetables

One of the many things I like about warm weather is that I can grow my own herbs in the garden and don't have to pay a zillion bucks for a couple of dull looking sprigs packaged in plastic boxes. My personal preference when it comes to gardening is to grow just herbs and flowering plants (anything that looks pretty) !! Well, going into dreamland for a second here, my dream house would have this beautiful herb garden right next to my outdoor photography studio besides a humongous but functional kitchen with a walk-in pantry with umpteen shelves. As my Pinterest boards get bigger and bigger, my plans for the ultimate dream house becomes more stronger :)

This summer has been really busy, with my husband starting his school and my daughter getting busy with her extra curricular activities, and talking about gardening, I am not a person gifted with a superior green thumb at all. But I am glad to say that I did manage to survive with the bare minimum - Basil, Rosemary, Curry leaf and Mint. I am just so glad they survived me!!!

A few months ago, I had posted this recipe for home-made Roasted TomatoPasta Sauce. This rich and flavorful sauce is used atleast once a week in my kitchen. It freezes well and I make it in bulk during the weekends to freeze it for use during the busy work weeks. One of the dishes that I prepare frequently with this sauce is this 'Grilled Vegetable Pasta Casserole'. It is scrumptious enough to satisfy my carnivorous husband who didn't mind the absence of meat in this dish :). Sometimes when I am pressed for time I just skip grilling the vegetables but it is in no way less delectable, thanks to this sauce and the addition of cream cheese and some fresh Basil to touch it up a notch.

 
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
3 Cups - Pasta
2 Cups - Homemade roasted tomato pasta sauce (Click for recipe) or any pasta sauce
3 - Squash or Zucchini (yellow or green)
3 - Heads of Broccoli
2 - Ears of Corn, husked
6 oz - Cream cheese, room temperature
4 cups - Cheese, grated (I used Cheddar, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano)
6 - Basil leaves, chopped
1/2 Cup - Bread crumbs 
1 tablespoon - Flaxseed meal (optional)
Salt per taste
Pepper

Directions

• Cook the pasta as per package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, add a splash of oil to the squash, zucchini, broccoli and corn. Season with salt and pepper and grill them on an outdoor or indoor grill. You can do this in the oven too.
• Cut the corn kernels off the cob with a sharp knife
• In a large bowl add the pasta sauce and cream cheese and whisk to combine
• Add the grilled vegetables, cooked and drained pasta, 2 cups of grated cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mix all ingredients
• Transfer the ingredients to a baking dish (9*13)
• Add the remaining 2 cups of grated cheese, bread crumbs and flax seed meal to the top and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. 
• Broil the dish for 2-5 minutes to brown the cheese topping

Notes and Tips

• You can very well adjust the amount of cream cheese and grated cheese to you preference.
• You can skip grilling the vegetables. Just bake the dish for another 15-20 minutes to cook the veggies with the pasta.
• You can use any kind of pasta you have in your pantry. I used Rotini 

Ever since I have started blogging I have been addicted to food photography. I wish I had more time to practice and improve my skills.
I totally admire and adore blogs with good photos and Rosa's blog is one of them. Do check her blog out for inspirational photography and scrumptious recipes. Inspired by her monochrome photos, I tried a few clicks and here they are.