Pesto Pasta

          This was a pretty hectic week so I went to the freezer to see what I could scrounge up.  A nice stash of frozen basil pesto made for a super simple and quick dinner.  My garden produced an amazing amount of basil over the summer and I didn't want it to go to waste so I cut it all down before winter and made tons of pesto to save for a rainy day.  Filling ice trays with pesto creates perfect single servings that keep for several months covered in the freezer and defrost nicely in the microwave in about 20 seconds.  I like to use Mark Bittman's pesto recipe from How to Cook Everything with whole wheat pasta, mushrooms and grape tomatoes.  

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb package dried whole wheat pasta, any variety
• 2 C loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 cloves of garlic; 1 whole, 1 minced
• 2 T pine nuts
• ½ C + 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ C grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz sliced portobello  mushrooms
• 1½ C cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1.   Cook pasta as directed on package.

2.  Combine the basil with ½ tsp of salt, 1 garlic clove (whole), pine nuts, and  ¼ C olive oil in a food processor.  Pulse, slopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl and add another ¼ C olive oil slowly until you reach desired consistency.

3.  Saute mushrooms over medium heat with 1 T of olive oil and 1 clove garlic, minced stirring frequently - about 10 mins. 

4.  Drain the pasta and toss with pesto, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Nutritional Information:
Serving size: 1 C 

Calories:  374

Fat:  20.8 g total fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat

Carbohydrates:  38.5 g

Protein:  11.3 g

Fiber:  7.2 g

Sodium:  220.2 mg

Cholesterol:  5.5 mg

          While this recipe does contain 20 g of fat per serving, the majority is unsaturated fat which is heart healthy and can lower LDL or the bad cholesterol.