California Medley Casserole

Every couple of months I have had the chance to share with you some fun new recipes as part of the Country Crock Casserole Club. For as long as I can remember, Country Crock has adorned our family’s dinner table and it has been fun to literally make up recipes which have all become staples in our meal plan.  This month’s casserole was no different – taking a few basic ingredients and creating a side dish that I have literally made three times since.

The inspiration for the California Medley Casserole began with the Thanksgiving Family Fave Veggie Casserole from the Country Crock website.  I wanted to make it as low calorie as possible so I tweaked a few things, including using Country Crock Light, leaving out the cheese, and throwing in some whole wheat pasta.  The result is a delicious, flavorful dish that my whole family enjoyed. This is a great dish for holidays as well as potluck meals because it is simple and inexpensive to make – even enough for a crowd.  Try it out – I hope you love it as much as we do.

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California Medley Casserole

Ingredients

• 1/2 c Country Crock Light Spread , divided
• 2 tsp garlic salt , divided
• 1 package (approx 8 cups) California Vegetable Medley, thawed
• 1 medium onion , diced
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 cups whole wheat rotini pasta , cooked
• 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Melt 1/4 cup Country Crock Light® Spread over medium-high heat in large nonstick skillet and cook onion and one tsp garlic salt, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes; remove to bowl.
2. Melt remaining 1/4 cup Spread in same skillet and add vegetables, cooked pasta, and remaining garlic salt; toss to coat. Pour 1/2 into shallow 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 of the crumb mixture. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. Bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.