In our house I make the Vegetarian dishes for our daughter. It is always a challenge to think of new things that she will like and are healthy and tasty….. My daughter found this recipe and I’ve kind of tweaked it to our liking. The Walnuts,spinach and “veggie chicken” patty provides protein for the dish. The pesto is rich and nutty in flavor and can be used with whatever pasta type you like. Also you can use a wheat variety. I use a pre-made Basil Pesto for time saving in the week, but you may use fresh basil leaves instead. Also a quick tip the Magic Bullet is one of the most used appliances in my kitchen close runner up to the Electric Kettle! I use it in this recipe to blend the sauce.

Ingredients.

1/3 cup toasted walnuts

3 Tablespoons Pre-made Basil Pesto (I use Prego brand but whatever you like)

1 Garlic Clove

1 Lemon wedge squeeze juice into blender

About 1/4 cup Olive oil or Grapeseed oil

1/2 Cup heavy cream

2 cups Bowtie Pasta

1/2 cup spinach leaves

Parmesan cheese

Optional – cubed meatless “Chicken Patty”

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Blend all ingredients until Smooth. Sometimes I add a few crushed walnuts after for a little texture.

Boil Pasta for 8-10 minutes. Al dente-people! What is Al dente? Means pasta is cooked so as to be still firm when bitten not soft and mushy! Once the pasta is cooked, combine the pasta with the sauce until the pasta is evenly coated if the sauce is too thick I usually add a little bit of heavy cream or water to thin it out. Add the spinach leaves and stir until wilted and combined. Moms this is a good way to sneak good stuff into tasty food (or blend it in the sauce) Then I add the cut up meatless chicken patty and serve. Add garlic bread and or a salad for a complete meal. Enjoy!