I had a bunch of leftover “cheese” sauce from my improv creation of grilled cheese sandwiches earlier this week. I decided that rather than making plain ol’ mac and cheese, I should be a little more creative. The baby needs calcium, after all, so I should add some more nutrition… um, like spinach. Hence, you have today’s recipe.

Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake

• 1 box penne pasta
• 1 frozen bag or box of chopped spinach
• 1 small can of mushrooms, whole or sliced
• 1 15-oz can of canned tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin pieces
• olive oil
• about 2-3 cups vegan cheese sauce
• salt to taste
• nutritional yeast flakes to taste

Boil water for the pasta and drizzle a little olive oil in it to keep pasta from sticking together once you add it to the water. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté onion slices in a little olive oil in a skillet. Add mushrooms, spinach, and tomato and continue sautéing until spinach is thawed and vegetables are combined well. Preheat oven to 375°.

Drain pasta, and then mix in cheese sauce, vegetable mixture, salt to taste, and nutritional yeast flakes to taste.

Pour into greased casserole dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until pasta is just starting to brown a little bit on top.

Serves 8-10 people.