Cheese, Capsicum & Broccoli Bake

Cheese, Capsicum & Broccoli Bake

300g macaroni
2 heads broccoli, broken (or chopped) into small florets
250g cottage cheese
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
200g char-grilled capsicum slices, drained
grated tasty cheese

Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan forced).
Cook pasta until slightly firm, (about 7 minutes) then add the broccoli and cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes, until pasta is al dente.
Mix together all the other ingredients except the grated cheese.
Pour sauce into cooked, drained pasta, and place in a casserole dish. Cover with cheese.
Cook for 20-25 minutes or until cheese has melted and gone golden.

(Adapted from a low-fat recipe in the latest (August) issue of Recipes+)

This was a no brainer. Really simple to make, fairly cheap (except the capsicum) and very filling. The kids loved it, but then, I think I could almost serve dog food with broccoli and they'd eat it. Well, they'd pick the broccoli out and eat that most likely. So ok, the kids liked this for more than the broccoli. But it's hard to go wrong with a cheesy pasta dish really. The original recipe, apart from using all low-fat alternatives, called for 1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, but I didn't have any so I substituted the tarragon instead. I also used garlic salt instead of fresh garlic, simply because I was running so late, and I don't have a crusher.

See Miss Two attempting to steal mine while I took the photo?

So there you have it... by popular demand, the most requested recipe on my blog ever!