Quick cheesy pasta

A quick and adaptable pasta in cheese sauce. I got the basic idea for this recipe from someone I used to work with. The recipe as given serves 1-2.

Ingredients:

• 80-110g/3-4oz pasta per person. I tend to use Fusilli (twists) because they hold the sauce in the spiral, but you can use any pasta that you like.
• one 200g pack of soft cheese. Full fat makes a better sauce, but low fat works too. You can also use cheeses with seasoning added (eg. garlic & herb), supermarket own brand work fine.
• meat (optional!) - smokey flavours seem to go well with cheese. I like to use either smoked bacon (a couple of rashers per person) or smoked sausages (frankfurter-type, again a couple each)
• one onion, pepper and whatever other veg you like. Brocolli works well, as do courgettes, sugar peas or baby sweetcorn.
• splash of milk
• splash of oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil)
• seasoning - this is where you can really "make" this dish. Depending on your personal preference you can add any or all of the following: garlic, ground black pepper, herbs ("italian seasoning" or "mediteranean mixed herbs" are convenient or add oregano, basil, parsley and your own favourites), a little strong grated cheese (eg. cheddar or parmesan) helps the cheesiness along, as does a bit of dried parmesan powder - I usually add some of nearly all these to season the dish.

Instructions:

Roughly chop the vegetables (and meat, if used), and put a pan of water on to boil for the pasta (or boil a kettle, it's quicker). Fry the onion (with the garlic and/or meat if used) in a wok or large frying pan until it is translucent, then add the other vegetables and stir-fry for a minute or two. Turn down the heat on the frying pan / wok, add a splash of water and any dried herbs that you are using, stir then cover with a lid and leave on the low heat to simmer and cook the vegetables in the steam for 5mins. Now is a good time to measure out the pasta and get it in the pan of boiling water - check the cooking time on the packet, and keep testing to see if it is done.

Once the vegetables have cooked (test one of the larger pieces) add the soft cheese and stir until it has melted in. Add any remaining seasoning, and thin the sauce with a splash of milk if it has become very thick (dried parmesan in particular will thicken the sauce). Stir until well heated through, then add the drained cooked pasta and stir until the pasta is well coated in sauce. Serve onto hot plates and enjoy!