Garden Pesto Tortellini

This pasta dish has a lot of my favorite flavors in it - pesto, cheese and pasta, sundried tomatoes...so I knew I would love it! Since you are not heating or doing anything to the pesto, I highly recommend making your own - it will taste so much fresher and add a great taste to the dish. You can use the recipe Ellie suggests here.

I did not use the spinach leaves the original recipe suggests, although I may if I make this again. Another option would be to include some roasted red peppers or artichokes in there as well - yum!

Garden Pesto Tortellini

from Vintage Victuals

Makes 3-4 servings

1 package of refrigerated cheese tortellini

12-15 spears of asparagus, bias-cut into 1" pieces

2 handfuls of baby spinach, coarsely chopped (I omitted)

1/3 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

options: 1/3 cup roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 cup basil pesto

1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, cook tortellini until al dente according to package directions. With 3 minutes left to boil, throw all vegetables (except roasted red peppers) into the water with the tortellini.

Drain and return to pot. Add chicken (red peppers if using) and pesto, tossing to coat. You can serve immediately or this is also delicious chill and serve as a pasta salad.