Veggie Pasta in white sauce

Pasta is such a versatile dish! There are in numerous delicious possibilities with it. The best thing I love about it is, you can make the sauces (White, Red or Green) before hand and just toss some boiled pasta, your favorite veggies or meat into 'em  and there you go! Dinner is ready in a jiffy! Most of our busy days, we do this for dinner and it is so convenient! Also, not to forget, it goes so well with wines, so even your everyday mundane dinner routine can be turned into a lovely romantic evening :)

Ingredients:

Penne pasta - 2 cups, cooked in salted water.

Broccoli , Red bell peppers cut into bite size and boiled - 1 cup

White onions - 1 small, cubed

Garlic bread - 2 pieces (optional)

Butter - 2 tbsp

Minced garlic - 2 tbsp

Italian seasoning (Oregano,rosemary mix) - 2 tbsp

Salt, pepper - to taste

Parsely - 2tb sp chopped finely.

Parmesan cheese for topping.

For the white sauce:

Butter - 2 tbsp

All purpose flour - 4 tbsp

Whole milk - 1 cup

Water - as required, to thin the sauce

Salt n Pepper - to taste

Method:

To make the sauce:

 - Heat the butter in a sauce pan and add the all purpose flour.

- Saute for a minute till raw smell is gone

- Add milk little by little, stirring continuously, making sure there are no lumps

- Add salt and pepper.

- Now, stir continuously till it starts boiling. Add water if it thickens too much and set aside.

To make the pasta:

- Heat the butter in a wide deep pan and add the minced garlic.

- Add the onions and saute till slightly translucent.

- Add rest of the veggies and saute for a minute.

- Add the sauce (add water it has thickened too much)

- Add the pasta, salt , pepper and Italian seasoning.

- Top it off with parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.

- Serve accompanied with Garlic bread and White wine.

Tips:

- As I said before, you can make this sauce in bulk and refrigerate it or even freeze it. Its a great idea for quick dinners

- If you like chicken or sausage, you can add it instead of or along with the veggies to make it a nice meat pasta.

- You can use other kinds of pasta too if you like.

- You can use other veggies like thinly sliced carrots, cabbage etc.

Healthy twist:

- Use whole wheat or multi grain pasta.

- Substitute the butter with extra virgin olive oil.

- Skip the cheese topping.