Pasta and Sun-dried Tomatoes in a Pesto Sauce

Nothing goes better with pesto sauce than sun-dried tomatoes. Toss with whatever pasta you have on hand and add a little bit of cream cheese for extra richness and creaminess and you have a delicious, simple meal for lunch or dinner. As of right now, I use Knorr powdered pesto mix. One day when my basil plant produces enough leaves, I will prepare my own homemade pesto sauce.

Shell pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese in a pesto sauce.

Ingredients:

1 package Knorr pesto mix
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup water
2 servings of the pasta of your choice
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon low fat cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Directions:

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside.

Whisk the pesto mix, olive oil and water in a sauce pan. Bring to boil while constantly stirring.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss pasta with the sauce. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cream cheese.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza

Eric needs to have pizza for dinner at least once a week--frozen pizza, Hungry Howie's pizza (with garlic butter and Cajun crust), Little Caesar's Hot and Ready pizza, homemade pizza, it doesn't matter. If he had his way, we'd eat it almost every night, only punctuated with orange chicken from Panda Express. I, on the other hand, would be happy with pizza just once a month. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza, but it's not so kind to the waistline. Eric possesses a metabolism that would make a supermodel jealous. I, however, certainly do not, especially not now that I'm in my 30s. This is why I like homemade pizza best. Half the pizza can be mozzarella, tomato sauce and pepperoni and the other half can be ricotta, basil and sun-dried tomatoes!

The old versus the old:

Eric is a pizza traditionalist--mozzarella , pepperonis and that's it. I like mixing things up.

Ingredients:

1 package Jiffy pizza dough mix (you could also use a pre-made crust)
3-4 gloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
(I use my own homemade sun-dried tomatoes)
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
5-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
½ cup red onions, sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-inch pizza pan.

Prepare Jiffy mix. In a medium bowl, add pizza dough mix and ½ cup hot tap water. Stir until well combined. Cover with a towel and let set for five minutes in a warm place. Knead the dough several times on a floured board. Grease your fingers and press dough on the bottom and sides of your pan. Bake dough for 2 to 3 minutes before adding toppings. 

Mix ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan together in a bowl; set aside. 

Scatter your garlic and sun-dried tomatoes evenly across the crust. Spread the cheese mixture over top (if you put your sun-dried tomatoes on top of the cheese, they’ll burn). Sprinkle basil leaves and red onions over the top of the pizza. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

~Krissy