Mama’s coming to visit pasta

So, my mama was coming to visit and I like to try to impress her with lots of different dishes that are easy to make. She’s a real “meat and potatoes” kind of girl who likes plain things, so if I make something spicy or complicated, it had better taste good. Because….well, don’t we all aim to please our mothers a bit? Don’t we want them to be proud and take a bite and say, “Well, look at what a little chef you turned out to be?” Yeah, well, I do.

So, I made this:

Cooks 8 hours on LOW; serves about  8 hungry mouths.

What you’ll need to impress your mama:
2 (19 0z.) cans of white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped and seeded
1 red pepper, chopped and seeded
1 medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon vegetable base dissolved in 8 oz. boiling water
7 oz. homemade pesto
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ziti pasta
shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

How to cook it:
1. Place all ingredients EXCEPT PESTO AND PASTA in slow cooker.
2. Go ahead and cook your pasta in boiling water and a sprinkle of salt on the stove for about 15 minutes. Remove pasta from boiling water and set aside. (In fridge.)
3. Cover crock pot and cook all other ingredients EXCEPT PESTO AND PASTA on LOW overnight, or about 8 hours.
4. In the morning, while crock pot contents are still hot, stir in the pesto and pasta to crock pot ingredients.
5. Sprinkle with handful of cheese on each serving.

End Result:
My mama liked it. She even asked for it again the following day. I didn’t say anything, but I felt flattered. And my heart did a little jump for joy.

A little bit of pesto in my life:

• Cilantro Pesto Pasta with Chicken (newlywedgreggs.wordpress.com)
• Chilled Feta Artichoke Pesto Pasta (recipebookandmore.wordpress.com)
• Frugal Kale Pesto Pasta (produceonparade.com)