Creamy Pasta Bake

This is cheesy, creamy and surprisingly low in points. A nice alternative to tomato based pasta dishes. I serve it with salad and maybe a little reduced fat garlic bread, although the portions are substantial enough to eat alone. Bacon medallions are available from most supermarkets and are ½ point each. You could leave these out for a vegetarian version.

Creamy Pasta Bake
Serves 6 – 4.5 points each

2 leeks finely chopped
200g sliced button mushrooms
1 pint skimmed milk
8 smoked bacon medallions
330g dried pasta
2 chicken (or vegetable) stock cubes
6 low fat cheese spread triangles
20 g grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Put the leeks and mushrooms into a pan and add the milk. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Add the cheese triangles and the parmesan stirring well to ensure that it is all combined into a smooth sauce. Taste and season as required but remember the bacon will add more saltiness. Make up the stock cubes and use the liquid to cook the pasta. This should only be part cooked as it will finish off in the oven. Grill the bacon until crisp and cut into bite size portions. Add the part cooked pasta, sauce and bacon to an oven proof dish and stir to combine the ingredients ensuring that the pasta is well coated in the sauce. The sauce will appear runny at this stage but some will be absorbed by the pasta and the heat of the oven will evaporate more liquid.

Put into a preheated oven at 150 degrees and cook for 30 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce reduced. Remove form the oven and allow to stand for a further 10 minutes. This will allow the cheese to set a little and thicken the sauce further.