Pesto Pasta (The Healthy Way)

Tidbits: Typical pesto sauce has pine nuts in it, but I find them hard to come by, and expensive when I do. So one day I didn’t have any and made it regardless, and I couldn’t taste a difference…so add them if you want, if not, that’s cool too.  I add sautéed veggies like broccoli and onion usually. I like adding extra garlic too. Also, you can use ravioli, tortellini, or  gnocchi also.

Ingredients:
16 oz of your favorite pasta (fettuccine, penne, etc)

½ cup part skim ricotta

2 tbsp. parmesan

2 oz. fresh basil

1 oz. fresh parsley

1/4 cup pine nuts (optional, tastes the same to me either way)

2 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper (freshly ground, not that shaker stuff!)

Directions:

1.      Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta as directed

2.      In the meantime, combine the rest of the ingredients in a food processor (a blender will work also)

3.      Season the pesto to taste, adding more of any of the above ingredients until it’s just the way you like it

4.      Drain the pasta, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta water if you want to “thin out” the pesto. However, if you like the sauce          thicker this won’t be necessary.

5.      Put the pasta back in the warm pot and add the pesto (and water if desired).

6.      Mix well and serve!