Don’t you just love it when a creation of yours that you make from your pantry with no forethought works? Works well enough to want to save the recipe? Well this was one of those days. It is basically a variation on macaroni and cheese and you could certainly use any kind of pasta you wanted with this. I just used what we had 
. This was somewhat inspired by Rachael Ray and her shows from the past week. I have become somewhat addicted to her show and she made a few bechamel based pasta dishes.
(serves 2- 4)
2T olive oil
2 hot Italian sausages
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 sprigs of celery, diced
2C of milk
2T butter
2T flour
1C grated Parmesan or Romano or both, grated
pasta, cooked
1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium. Remove the casings from the sausage and crumble into the pan. Stir to brown evenly.
2. When the sausage is more or a less done move to the sides of the pan and add the veggies cooking until soft but with a remaining bite. In the meantime make the bechamel.
3. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat and whisk in the flour. Allow to cook for a few minutes whisking frequently. (Make a roux!). Slowly whisk in the milk. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, continue whisking. You are waiting until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
4. When the sausage and veggies are done as well as the bechamel add the bechamel to the skillet and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Toss in a 1/3C of your cheese and stir to blend.
5. Mix sauce with pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
6. Bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes and follow with 5 minutes of broiling to crisp up the top. (Don’t forget to watch carefully when broiling, it can burn easily.) Serve and enjoy.
