Dinner Deconstructed: Basil Cream Cheese Penne

Hello lovely readers. It seems that this has been a week of recipe posts.  Today, I'm introducing a new post series that I plan to do on a regular basis, 30does, dinner. 

I'm hopeful that over the next few months you will come along with me as I make some changes to my blog, the post quality, variety of post topics, and hopefully design.  I have lofty goals for this blog, but it's an evolving process. 

This recipe comes from my collection of vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks.  Collecting vintage cookbooks and home keeping manuals are a little hobby of mine; this little collection is from my mother-in-law and from a local library purchased for $.25.

What I love about vintage cookbooks is the dated vocabulary, ingredients (such as lard, MSG, and many pre-made "name-brand" goods), and interesting descriptions.  It's really a little piece of cultural history.  Often many of the recipes are not my thing, but every once in while, I come across a real goodie.

This "Green Sauce" is so quick, easy, and tasty that it has become a staple in my house when I'm "fresh out of dinner ideas".

Note: You can use fresh herbs; although the recipe calls for dried.  Also, I usually use whole wheat penne and add sauteed seasonal vegetables and crumpled, crispy pancetta. 

So, you seriously just mix everything together until cream cheese is melted and toss the cheese sauce with freshly drained, warm pasta.

For this version, I added farm-fresh zucchini sauteed with shallot in olive oil, a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes from our backyard, and of course the crispy pancetta. 

Delicious.

Sharing at: 

Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou