Pesto Pasta Salad

This is a light Italian style pasta salad, which, in my opinion, is better at room temperature than chilled, but it is tasty either way!

8 oz. uncooked rotelle or spiral pasta
4 cups broccoli florets (I used frozen)
1 pkg. Knorr pesto pasta sauce mix
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Cook pasta w/ package directions; add broccoli in the last 5 minutes. (I gradually added the frozen broccoli so that the water still boiled.) Drain and rinse with cold water until cool.

In bowl, combine sauce mix, oil and vinegar. Add pasta with broccoli, tomoatoes, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Toss.

Suggestions: add 1-1/2 c diced cooked chicken or 6 oz. cooked shrimp or 1 cup diced cooked ham.

**The hardest part of this recipe was finding th Knorr package. It is probably next to the pasta and pasta sauces.

Pesto Chango 2

A while back Caren posted some ideas for using Pesto. I had a Rachel Ray moment this week and thought I'd share because it turned out "Yum-mo"!

Sun dried Tomato Pesto Chicken & Pasta w/ Feta

Store bought Sun dried Tomato Pesto (I bought mine in the refridgerated pasta case but you can get it in the canned tomato aisle too.
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Tenders
1/2 Box Mini - Penne Pasta
Feta Cheese, crumbled

Cover the chicken with a few tablespoons (eye-balled) of the pesto and marinate for an hour or two. Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cook the pasta according to package then toss with a few more tablespoons (eye-balled) of pesto.
Place pasta in baking dish and put chicken on top. Sprinkle chicken with feta cheese and bake for 10 minutes to warm the cheese.

I made this for just Patrick and I so if you're cooking for more than adjust the quantities to your liking. Also you can use chicken breasts or a different kind of pasta, too.