Penne Pasta with vegetables in garlic infused white sauce

Now,if the name,didn’t make you go,wowwwwww…and make you drool,this picture definitely would.

And this is just the picture of the veggies..:)
The white sauce recipe was shared by a cousin,when I was may be 17-18 and since then,it has been a family favorite.My dad who doesn’t care much for noodles-foodle,pasta-wasta(his words not mine!),actually took a bite,to make me happy the second or third time-well he didn’t have a choice,when my sister and I bullied him:D And he asked for seconds..Since then,this is the only pasta dish,he eats and relishes.As for my sister and best friend,any pasta/veg in white sauce,is good only if it tastes like mine..and coming from two VERY fussy eaters,this is a compliment.
DH loves it too,and fortunately,so does the little one.

(Not a very good picture..)
Here’s my Penne Pasta with vegetables in garlic infused white sauce:
You need-
400 gms of Penne Pasta( you can replace Penne with Fusili or Macaroni as well)
1 whole Red Capsicum,diced
1-2 carrot-diced
6-7 green beans-diced
1/2 cup cauliflower or brocolli florets
1 medium sized onion diced.
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
For the Sauce-
2 tsp butter(I used olive oil spread)
1 cup milk( I used low fat milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup grated parmasaen cheese
2 garlic cloves,crushed.

Preparation:

* Prepare the Pasta,as per the instructions on the pack.Toss it with a tsp of olive oil and keep aside.Save a little water,from the pasta,in a separate bowl.
* Saute’ the vegetables and keep aside.
* To prepare the sauce-
(Start with a fresh pan,to get the perfect white color) Take some butter in a pan and when it starts to sizzle,add the crushed garlic cloves.Pick up the pan and shake it gently,so that all the butter,gets the garlic flavor.Lower the flame.Remove the garlic,after a minute and add the all purpose flour.Keep stirring,so that the flour or the butter don’t burn.This is the most important step,if you want the right color.Keep the flame low.
When the flour turns slightly yellow,add the milk and water.Stir/whisk vigorously,to avoid lumps. When this mixture,starts bubbling,add the grated cheese and stir again.Make sure,you maintain medium heat,till all the cheese melts.Add salt to taste.You can also add pepper if you like.

*Once your Sauce is ready,toss in the veggies and the pasta and the water saved from boiling pasta.Mix it well and serve hot.You can garnish it with some cheese if you like.

Serving Suggestions- Serve hot with Garlic Bread and crisp green salad.

This is the first post on Project Lunchbox! I packed this yummy pasta along with some garlic bread and told him to sprinkle some water on the pasta,before heating it..(which I know he is not going to do!)