A new--sorta--recipe

I just had a wonderful dish that is reminiscent of some power entrees in restaurants. Mine had no meat in it, but it could tolerate chicken, tuna or shrimp if you want.

This is fast, easy and very tasty and took about 45 minutes tops to make. You can also add or subtract some of the ingredients to suit your taste.

A pound of pasta (it doesn't matter what shape you prefer--I used Ziti, but Rotelle, Shells, Bowtie or other would be fine, too) parboiled (if its finishing time is 12 minutes, cook it for about 6-7 minutes)

A jar of Creamy Alfredo (I used Classico--you can, of course, make your own if you want)

Two cans of vegetables, drained--I used one can of peas and carrots and another can of just peas. You can change them however you want. I also used the "no salt" kind for myself. You can also use frozen vegetables in the recipe, but I'm not sure if they will cook through for the end product.

Meat, poultry or fish (To me, it's optional, but it needs to be cooked before adding)

Milk
Water
Pepper (I used the mixed medley peppermill myself)

Use a glass casserole dish if you have one. Once the pasta is partially cooked, pour some of the sauce into the pan and add some milk--just enough to make it a little less thick. Pour the pasta in and stir really well. Then add the vegetables, draining them first. Stir well. Add more of the sauce and milk. If you are adding meat or fish of some kind, now is when you would add it as well. If it's not cooked, you're going to end up with the pasta overcooked to make up for the meat or fish, so make sure it is cooked. Use some water (about 1/4 cup) to rinse out the jar of sauce, and add to the casserole. Stir well. Make sure that all the pasta is covered by the sauce mixture. Add pepper to the top, and add whatever other things you might wish to add, like cheese over top, bread crumbs or whatever.

Cook at 325 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. It was very tasty, and simple, and probably will feed a herd.

:)