Happy Thanksgiving to the US!  I hope you are having a great Thursday.  Remember yesterday I shared with you a quick sundried tomato pesto and I promised you I would show you a simple little dish to use some leftover pesto?  In case you didn’t eat it all directly from the bowl or on some homemade beer bread, this post is dedicated to a pesto pasta dish.

I am a a huge fan of pasta.  I tend to try and eat whole wheat pasta when I can but in this particular instance Mom just had traditional white flour pasta.  No big deal and still tasted great.  I basically just followed my normal pasta cooking rules that i spoke about a while ago and prepared that first.  I then went ahead and prepped my extras… cooked chicken I had leftover, some mushrooms and a zucchini.

It was a simple dish that was ready as soon as the pasta was cooked.  How do you like your pasta cooked? Al dente?  There is something about overcooked pasta that really turns me off.  I find it tastes like mush if you leave it in the water too long.  Below is the ingredients I used and the few steps I took to make this dish.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Spaghetti Noodles
• 1/2 Cup Sundried Tomato Pesto
• Grape Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Mushrooms
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta; cook according to directions.
2. Preheat a saute pan over medium heat and add olive oil.
3. Add mushrooms and cook down for 3-4 minutes
4. Add chicken and zucchini and cook for another couple of minutes



5. Once the pasta is cooked, add the pesto and stir through.



6. Take the chicken and mushroom mixture and add to pasta
7. Toss to coat.



8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I like to add the mushrooms first as they will release moisture and burn off.  Otherwise, the moisture can cause the chicken and zucchini to almost poach and taste awful.

Today should be a fairly quiet day at the office since most of my clients are US based.  I am excited for that.  I have a bunch of reports I need to get caught up on and a few things to do regarding the house.  Time is going by so fast I cannot believe that December 10th will be here before you know it.   So with that I should keep moving along here and keep working.  I hope you enjoy this simple and quick pasta dish that you can whip up anytime – weekday or weekend.

Let me know if you have any questions about the preparation or the ingredients and I will try to help.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

As I write this post – I am pretty excited.  I just got back from the house and I am so impressed at the progress the builders made with the upstairs baseboard.  Great work guys!  Also, we received a delivery for the post in the middle of the main floor and we had to check it out.  It looks awesome!  I am getting excited -  can you tell?  OK  sorry for getting off topic.

On To The Food

Who loves Pesto? Pick me pick me!  I am a huge fan of pesto, however I never made sundried tomato pesto before.  My only experience has been with the traditional basil pesto.   On Sunday I thought I would give this a try and see how it turned out.  It was a huge success!  I found it a little strong but I really enjoyed the flavor overall.

Below are the simple ingredients and steps to make it happen.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 Cup pine nuts
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Small bunch parsley
• 1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Puree everything together in a food processor until smooth.
2. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I like to let the pesto sit out for about 20-30 minutes to let the flavors come together. If you are putting the pesto on pasta there is no need to reheat it – just toss it in with the warm noodles and serve.  It is also great as a sandwich condiment.

I am just watching an awesome episode of Criminal Minds.  I am addicted to that show.  What is your favorite TV show?

I hope you have a great Wednesday.  I will talk to you tomorrow and share with you a quick dish using the pesto.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty