Baked Caprese Pasta

By Redvettchick

From Heatherlikesfood.com

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 C chicken broth
• 1 1/2 C milk (Fat content lower than 1% not recommended)
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/3 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb penne pasta, cooked
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 C mozzarella, cubed
• 1/2 C fresh basil, chopped
• 1 (8 oz) box Mozzarella Sticks

Preparation

Step 1

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Melt butter in a medium-sized sauce pan and add garlic. Let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute and stir in flour, cooking an additional minute.
3.Whisk in broth and milk, stirring constantly until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in salt and red pepper.
4.In a 9x13" casserole dish, place 1/2 of the pasta into the bottom and top with 1/2 of the tomatoes, and basil, and all of the mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining pasta, tomatoes and basil.
5.Pour garlic sauce evenly over the pasta.
6.Cut each mozzarella stick into a several pieces and place across the pasta in an even layer. Cover with foil.
7.Bake for 20 minutes, uncover, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the mozzarella sticks are melted and crisp and the sauce is bubbling.