Creamy Spinach White Bean Pasta Bake

 
At the end of the month we typically have a lot of random things left over in the house and not a whole lot of cash left in the grocery budget. This has caused me to get creative before, but this month probably takes the cake. After searching allrecipes.com and not finding anything that really excite me, I decided to whip something up myself and see how it went.

Ingredients:
1 package of pasta - I usually use whole wheat, but anything you have is fine
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded parmsean cheese, divided
2 cups white beans, cooked
1 cup fresh spinach
1 head of roasted garlic

Cook the pasta according to the package, drain, and set aside in a greased 8x8" pan.

Cook butter, corn starch, and milk on a skillet on medium. Stir continuously until combined.

Add 1 1/2 cups of cheese and combine, stirring until melted. Add spinach and cook down. Add beans and garlic. Simmer, season as you prefer, and cover for 10 minutes.

Pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

 This actually turned out surprisingly well. I made two 8" rounds - one that was gluten free and one that was with whole wheat pasta. Jarrod seemed to like it and never mentioned that there wasn't meat in it... :-) Definitely a win!