Baked Orzo with Vegetables and Mozzarella

This was a super easy recipe thanks to all the leftover grilled vegetables I had from the Grilled Caponata Salad with Cheesy Toast recipe. I made that first dish two days before Hurricane Sandy was coming and then as the weather reports got worse, I figured I should cook up all of the leftover grilled veggies in advance of the storm. So viola - I present baked orzo with vegetables and mozzarella. A great way to get an abundant dose of vegetables in your pasta.


Baked Orzo with Vegetables and Mozzarella

Ingredients
leftover grilled vegetables from Grilled Caponata Salad recipe
8 ounces orzo
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1.5 cups vegetable stock
a few tablespoons of oregano, or other Italian seasonings
shredded mozzarella cheese (a handful or two; or however much you like)
grated Parmesan cheese (again, however much you like for topping after its baked)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Heat a large frying pan over; add in the orzo and tomato paste and cook for a few minutes. Mix in the stock and warm for another 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the oregano (or other Italian seasonings), mozzarella, Parmesan and grilled vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon each). 

pretty, delicious, and colorful vegetables....

Transfer mixture to an 8x11 ovenproof baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and then bake for another 20 minutes without the foil. Let rest a few minutes before serving.