Pasta with Pesto Sauce and Vegetables

It was another work-outside day. The beans and spinach are up in the garden, so I planted the zucchini and cucumber plants which I had started last month and then had to do some extensive fence repair. I think that bunny rabbits are adorable, but not when they're in my garden!

I went for a run mid-day to energize myself (oddly, it seems to work) and found that, since my run last Thursday, the bazillions of blackberry bushes in our fields have burst into flower. What a fragrance! Not as sweet as the wild honeysuckle, which peaked last week, but still very intoxicating.

By the time 6pm rolled around, I was tired and decided to rely on pasta to build a quick dinner around. The asparagus patch is still producing quantities, and I had some frozen pesto sauce, so I put those together with some other veggies which were in the refrigerator. All told, it took about 20 minutes to make dinner and it was really good.

Because pesto sauce is high in fat (although it's mostly the good, monosaturated kind) I blended 2 tablespoons with a quarter cup of milk to make a creamy sauce, and I added some extra fresh basil to pump up the basil taste. Now, for my pasta dishes I allow portion control to slip a little. Jack thinks that 2 ounces of dried pasta per serving is ridiculous, so he gets 4! So I suppose that this recipe actually makes 3 servings if you're being "good". ;)




* Exported from MasterCook *

Pasta with Pesto Sauce and Vegetables

Recipe By: Vicci
Servings: 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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5 ounces whole wheat pasta
6 ounces asparagus
4 ounces red bell pepper
4 ounces zucchini
2 tablespoons drained pesto sauce
1/4 cup milk
1 ounce parmesan cheese -- grated

Prepare pasta as directed, omitting oil.

Using a large nonstick saute pan, stir-fry the vegetables until crisp-tender.

Stir pesto sauce and milk together until combined. Add to vegetables. Add drained pasta and stir until all is heated through. Stir in fresh herbs, if desired.

Divide among serving bowls. Sprinkle with cheese and s&p to taste.


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Per serving: 360 Calories (kcal); 7g Total Fat; (15% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 62g Carbohydrate; 15mg Cholesterol; 288mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 3 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Note: I didn't give instructions on how to cut the vegetables because it depends on the shape of the pasta being used. Linguine would require longer, thinner juliennes while small shells need to be paired with veggies chopped into smallish pieces.