Bacon, Tomato and Vegetable Pasta Bake (with Spooky Eyeballs) …
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Ingredients …
  • 250g spiral pasta (or macaroni or other pasta shape)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 12 pieces shortcut bacon, roughly chopped
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 sticks celery, chopped
  • 1 small red capsicum, finely diced
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and grated
  • 1 x 400g can corn kernels, drained
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
  • 2 x 400g cans diced/crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 1½ cups grated cheese
  • ¼ cup parmesan
  • Bocconcini Balls
  • Shallot slices (or green bean slices or black olive slices)
Method …
  1. Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced). Cook pasta in pot of boiling water until just cooked. Strain in a colander and set aside.
  2. Place onion, bacon and garlic in a frypan and saute gently until onion is transparent. There should be no need to add extra oil as the bacon should provide enough for cooking.
  3. Add celery, capsicum, carrot, corn and cherry tomatoes and saute gently for 3 – 4 minutes.
  4. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, pasta and basil and stir until combined.
  5. Spoon mixture into a large casserole dish or several smaller dishes to create individual serves. Sprinkle with grated cheese and parmesan and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and browned slightly.
  6. For a Halloween version, chop bocconcini balls in half and place randomly around top of pasta bake. Top each “eyeball” with a slice of shallot, green bean or sliced black olive to complete the eye.
Recipe by Mrs Organised at http://www.mrsorganised.com.au/2014/11/08/bacon-tomato-and-vegetable-pasta-bake-with-spooky-eyeballs/