Gluten Free Walnut Pesto Pasta

As the summer ends and the school year creeps upon me I am coming to terms that I am going to have less time for cooking and need more time for grading papers.  Especially with the kitchen torn apart and  some serious construction coming our way.  Drywall, anyone?:)  Today as I was working on my calendar for the upcoming year, I kept thinking about what I was going to make for dinner on little time and almost no space.  I try to make dinner with a healthy amount of protein in it as I have been running a lot and my husband comes home from work and immediately puts sweat equity in to our house.  Since I had no time nor space to make meat tonight, I tried to think of an alternative.  Since I had a large jar of pesto in my fridge that I needed to use, I thought it might be fun to see if toasted walnuts tasted good with the pesto and pasta.

Walnuts have a lot health benefits.  Research has shown that eating just a few walnuts per day can lower your levels LDL (Bad) cholesterol and improve the blood flow for people with Type 2 Diabetes. They are also a good source of fiber, vitamins B and E, and they act as a natural anti-inflammatory, which really benefits people with autoimmune diseases.

The recipe I made tonight is super-easy to make and really tasty.  All you need is:

• 1 box of your favorite gluten-free pasta
• 1/4 lb walnuts 
• 3 tablespoons Summer Pesto (click link for recipe)
• Salt to taste
• Parmesan to taste (optional)

Toasting walnuts is really easy.  Heat up a dry pan over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the walnuts.  Toast for about 3-5 minutes or until you start to smell the toasted taste.  Remove them from the heat.  Cook your pasta as instructed and then add the pesto and walnuts, stirring until the walnuts and pasta are covered.  Top with parmesan and enjoy!

As you can tell, we love parmesan!

Any quick, gluten-free meals?  Share in the comments section!