Creamy Caprese Pasta

Yum-o. Like this if you wish you had time to cook delicious meals.

Can I tell you something?? With this recipe, you can! I love easy, scrumptious, mouth-watering recipes. I can’t stand when I find a fantastic picture of something and I get excited and then as I start reading I see then big bold letters that say PREPARE A DAY AHEAD. Noooooo! But hey, I can always count on other recipes- hence is one. That I’ll be posting. Kudos to How Sweet It Is..again. Don’t hate me…

So, here it is. My hubby loved it, I loved it AND most importantly, my 16 month old kept nom noming it. Literally, when he eats, he makes those noises. It makes me chuckle.

Enjoy!

Creamy Caprese Pasta

1 pound whole wheat pasta (noodles such as penne work best)

1 cup of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce

1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for garnish

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 pint of grape tomatoes (I cut some in half and left some whole)

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil water and cook pasta according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan. Once pasta is done cooking, drain and dump into the sauce, mixing to coat and turning off heat. Fold in mozzarella cubes and tomatoes, then chop 3-4 fresh basil leaves and add them in too. Once combined, spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire pasta mixture into the dish. Top with fresh mozzarella rounds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Top with additional fresh basil and grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread. You can also add in chicken, steak or seafood for some protein.