Pesto Pasta Salad (WFPBNO)

This is my new favorite pasta salad. It has minimal ingredients and is delicious. I make oil free pesto during the summer, freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen crack it out into freezer ziplock baggies and keep in the freezer. When you need pesto just pop out how ever many cubes you need and let it thaw. That made this salad super easy to toss together. Feel free to add the veggies and items you and your family love. It's so good and it makes a lot so you may want to cut the recipe in half. 

• 1 16-ounce bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
• 2 servings tempeh bacon, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (should be bite-sized)
• 1 smallish red onion, diced
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered, I then cut each quart in half 
• 1/2 cup olives, I used halved kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
• 3/4 cup pesto, can be homemade or store-bought but shoot for no oil

I made my tempeh bacon a day in advance. Start the water to cook your pasta before you being or earlier in the day. While my pasta cooked I mixed all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Once the pasta is ready drain and rinse with cold water.

Add the cooled pasta and the pesto to the bowl of veggies. Take you time and stir until everything is coated with the pesto. This took a bit but be patient. 

Sorry my pic is so blurry, not sure what happened. But this is so good and would be perfect served at any cookout.

Enjoy!

Lemon Basil Pesto

 One of my favorite things to do with Pesto is make a big bowl of mixed veggies. Toss them in a grill basket and grill until there is some char on them. Cook pasta, toss with pesto, top with veggies and then nutritional yeast. Yummy! I made this pesto yesterday and froze most of it but kept enough to have this very dish for dinner tonight. I typically use zucchini, yellow squash, sweet onion, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and whatever else is in the frig. Let's make some pesto!

• 3 cups packed basil
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces
• 1 heaping tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• water to thin (thin to the consistency you like)

Add all ingredients to a food processor.

Blend until it's totally mixed together. Add water as needed to get the consistency you enjoy.

I like to freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen pop out of the tray and store cubes in a freezer bag. I  normally take out 3 cubes for 2 servings.

Enjoy!