ITALIAN VEGGIE BAKE (and a Halloween heads up)

This is one of my favorite things to eat on the nights that hubby has opted to be carnivorous. It is a recipe big on flavor, veggies and cheese; my favorites are mushrooms, red peppers, onions, zucchini, beans, carrots, pasta, ricotta and Monterrey Jack cheese. It makes the BEST lunch on day two!!

In my world, bacon doesn't count as a meat, it is a flavor!!

½ cup onion chopped
½ cup celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped red pepper
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup black beans
1 clove garlic minced
(1) 12 ounce can tomato paste
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry sweet basil
1 teaspoon fennel seed
scant ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 cups small pasta cooked
ricotta cheese
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese (grated)
2 tablespoon butter

In a large, deep pan, saute the onion, celery and garlic (in the butter) until the are sweet, then scoot them to one side of the pan. In the same pan, saute the rest of the raw veggies until they start to wilt. Add everything else (except the pasta and cheeses) and simmer slowly, for about an hour (without a lid so the sauce will thicken up). After an hour, stir in the cooked pasta and 1 cup of cheese.

To assemble this dish, pour half of the veggie mixture into a greased baking dish and top with small dollops of ricotta cheese (randomly over the mixture...but not a solid layer). Top with the other half of the veggie mixture and cover with shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

NOTE: You can use any combination of veggies that your family likes in this dish.
NOTE: Any small pasta will work, just make sure that when it is cooked, it is bite size or the same size as the chopped veggies.

HALLOWEEN HEADS UP: A great blogger named Peggy at Peggy's Pantry, has the cutest idea for a kids halloween party, or school party. It is SO CUTE, I wanted you to take a look (click here).