Super Easy Summer Pasta

The green chunks are tomatoes too, a variety called Green Zebra

This is an easy pasta to whip up in under 5 minutes with a few ingredients in your fridge. It uses delicious summer tomatoes, barely cooked to preserve their fresh flavor, and pesto sauce. Mix them with leftover pasta and some mozzarella cheese, heat up a little, and you have a tasty summer dinner.

Ripe Green Zebra tomatoes in my garden. It's been a good year for tomatoes!

Fresh ripe tomatoes in summer are a special treat and I used tomatoes from my garden. I particularly like a variety called Green Zebra which ripens to yellow with green stripes. If you can't find summer ripe tomatoes, chopped up cherry tomatoes anytime of year are your next best choice.

You can use plain ole mozzarella cheese, like what you use on pizza. Or to elevate this to incredible, use fresh mozzarella (which is quite a bit more expensive).

This recipe illustrates how easy it is to take some basic ingredients and make something delicious, really fast. We all have busy lives and if you can throw together simple yet tasty meals on the fly, you're a great cook!

Quick Tomato Pasta
(serves 1, costs $2.80)

1 ½ cups cooked pasta
1 cup of chopped fresh ripe tomatoes
1 ounce of cubed or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons pesto sauce (homemade or supermarket)
salt and pepper
olive oil

In a microwaveable bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, cheese, and pesto sauce. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Microwave on high for 1 minutes and serve. Microwave for about another minute until the pasta is hot and the tomatoes are soft. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Drizzle with a little olive oil, if desired.