Black Bean and Veggie Pasta

I seriously LOVE Southwestern/Mexican/Tex-Mex flavors. Especially when they are loaded full of veggies and beans, and minus the meat. A little over a month ago, I had a craving for such a meal, but we didn't have any tortillas. Using pasta instead, I put together a quick and easy dinner that wound up being something pretty great. I took some pictures, but like most throw-together type pasta dishes, they weren't anything special and I decided not to blog about it.

A few days ago, I was deleting a bunch of old pictures off the computer (so Sage wouldn't be able to give me a hard time for having more pictures of food on my laptop than our child,) and I came across the ones from that pasta dish and remembered how delicious it was.

Yesterday, we were coming home from a friend's house, and I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. It had to be 1) Quick- Sage was starving, and 2) Meatless- I had nothing defrosted. I decided to revisit that meal, and share it this time.

The original had green pepper, only yellow squash, a scant amount of cheese and was topped with light sour cream (or maybe greek yogurt, I can't remember.) This time, I used a orange pepper, added zucchini, increased the cheese, and topped it with diced avocado. Both, delicious, filling, and quick and easy- great for a week night.

Black Bean and Veggie Pasta

3 cups uncooked wheat or multi-grain rotini

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 medium bell pepper, any color, diced

2 yellow squash, diced

1 zucchini, diced

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tsp ground coriander

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14 oz.) can of diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

3/4 cup frozen corn, rinsed under water to partially defrost

2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, cut into pieces

3/4 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese

sour cream/yogurt, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, etc., for serving

Cook pasta until just al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and saute for a couple of minutes. Add squash and zucchini and season with salt, pepper and coriander, cooking for 3-4 minutes or until squash and zucchini are becoming tender.

Stir in black beans, tomatoes with chilies, and corn. Scatter in pieces of cream cheese, and stir until cream cheese is melted throughout. Combine with cooked rotini.

Top with shredded cheese, cover skillet and turn off heat OR transfer into a casserole dish, top with cheese, and place under preheated broiler for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with desired accompaniments.