Creamy Pesto Pasta

This quick and easy pasta dish is ready in 15 minutes.

"Mom, this dinner is the best!" ... "One of my absolute favourites!"

Those are lines you don't hear my children speak often around the dinner hour at my house. It's like music to the ears! A moment when you feel like rejoicing and dancing a jig because for once you have won the dinner war against the picky eaters. Many parents will understand this exhausting battle that I speak of.

A meal that has been in our weekly rotation as of late has been a Creamy Pesto Pasta. This is a meal that pairs great with grilled chicken.

Whether you choose to serve this dish hot or cold, it's the ultimate 15-minute dinner recipe to prepare on a warm summer day when the last thing you want to do is be confined to the kitchen for longer than you need to be.

Ingredients

2.5 cups macaroni or other tubular or short pasta
284ml can of cream of mushroom and garlic soup (if you don't have access to this soup you can sub with a can of cream of mushroom and a 1-2 minced cloves of fresh garlic)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/4 tsp Club House Garlic Powder Plus (plain ol' garlic powder will do just fine!)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta until al dente.

In a skillet, add cream of mushroom and garlic soup, milk, pesto and spices. Bring to a light simmer for a few minutes, and set temperature to medium low until pasta is finished cooking.

Drain pasta and add to creamy pesto sauce. Let stand for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Kick this recipe up a notch:

Add a drained can of flaked tuna to the pasta, transfer the pasta to a casserole dish, and top with a light coating of parmesan. Place casserole dish under broiler and broil until the cheese is bubbly.