I was in the mood for a casserole. February is just too dark and cold sometimes, and you want to curl up with something warm and comforting. Martha has a recipe in Feb Living for Broccoli and Pasta Casseroles. Just the thing, I thought.

You cook your broc and your pasta (I used penne). Then you make a bechamel sauce with onion, milk, flour and ground mustard. Once the sauce thickens, you add ricotta and parmesan cheese to it.

Snore. Yes, it looked good and smelled good, but it was bland. Very bland. As in, when I heat up the leftovers I’m going to have to do something to it to jazz it up. Very disappointing.