Pesto Tortellini Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella

While I was making the pesto for this recipe my boys were goofing around the in kitchen throwing shoes in the air, cracking eachother up. At first I found this amusing. That is until I got a flip flop to the head! Even more reason to make something like this that I can have again the  next day, saving me from the dinner time headache.  My Pesto Tortellini Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella is good either warm or chilled.

Here's What You Need:
9oz fresh tortellini (like Buitoni's Spinach Tortellini)
1/2 cup pesto*
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
40z fresh mozzarella, cubed
3/4-1 cup chopped tomatoes
Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Here's What You Do:
Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain and set aside in a large pasta bowl. Add in the pesto, tomatoes, peppers, and mozzarella. Dress with parmesan and salt and pepper. *I made Giada's spinach pesto from this post, but I subbed 3/4 cup of basil for spinach since basil is in season. You could also use good refrigerated pesto to really make this an easy, fast recipe. It is also good with grilled chicken to round out the meal.

Kid Tip:
My kids love green pasta. It is a huge request at our house, so I simply made the pesto and saved some of it to add to regular penne for my kids. They tend to like penne more than tortellini. Also, kids tend to like warm versus cold pasta better, so if you are serving this as a pasta salad you might want to microwave it for them.

Check out all the great changes at www.skinnymommy.com!