Classico Traditional Basil Pesto

I once made quarts and quarts of fresh pesto from basil, pine nuts, olive oil, s&p. Everything gets thrown into a cuisinart and pureed. Then you can freeze it. I think it lasts a while. I forget how long. I think months. Anyway, I've seen variations of pestos combined with other ingredients such as sun-dried tomatoes. I don't know. I kinda like my pesto straight up. But I like it with either pine nuts or walnuts. Pre-roasted. So, last night, I made a light pasta dish using Classico's traditional basil pesto.

I boiled up some Ronzoni Healthy Harvest whole wheat blend egg noodles. (Cholesterol-free; Yolk Free.) After I poured the cooked egg noodles into the colander, I put the same big pot back on the stove at high heat. To it, I added a little Progresso chicken stock and threw in a bag of frozen Bird's Eye Peas. Then the Classico Pesto gets thrown in and I let it come to a simmer and heat the peas through. When the peas were warmed and the liquid had reduced a bit, I threw in the drained egg noodles. I added some salt & pepper. Then I used a huge, metal spoon to toss around all that goodness. And voila! A light dinner was served. Freshly grated romano cheese accented this dish. And I have to add, it was a pretty dish. The two different greens (darker pesto & lighter peas) looked pretty together clinging to the wavy egg noodles.

The verdict. It was not bad, not bad at all. I've had Classico pesto many times and I like it. No complaints from me. So yeah, it was pretty good and it was a one-pot meal. Easy to make & easy to clean. (Though I haven't quite gotten around to cleaning it. My bad?) I worried about adding the chicken stock. Worried that the pesto sauce would get too thin. But I needed something to heat the peas in and I wanted to keep this a one-pot meal. Thankfully, there's enough olive oil in Classico's pesto to coat the pasta nicely. It was just the right amount of oil. Could've gone heavier but it was fine just the way it was. The peas played a beautiful role in this dish. Steve absolutely loves peas. The Ronzoni healthy harvest pasta was not bad at all. We've had this brand before - but we had it as a thin spaghetti. Steve & I were pleasantly surprised by it. So I took a chance and got a different shape and it worked out. So we were sorta healthy last night. Sorta. I had a normal sized portion too. For me anyway, it would still be at least two servings according to the RDA or whatever. Whether you're trying to eat right or eat light. This one keeps it easy. And you can Eat Something Good!