Homemade Pesto, Storebought Pasta

OK, OK... I made this meal at the end of the summer in an effort to gather and use the leaves of my basil plant before it died.

I find that jarred pestos often have a weird fake taste to them, and it was great to make my own (using Helen Rennie's recipe as posted on her blog — my god, she must think I am a stalker!) to top some quickie Buitoni 3-Cheese Tortellini. As much as I try to make all of my meals from scratch, there are (at least) two nights a week where I give in to at least partially prepared dinners.


I have actually been having a difficult time finding the refrigerated Buitoni pasta in my local grocery stores. Stop & Shop has replaced it with their own (nasty) brand, and Price Chopper no longer carries it. We recently tried the Barilla (dry) Porcini Mushroom Tortellini in its place (below, with a quick buttery cream sauce with peas), and found the filling texture to be gritty and weird. Ew. Maybe we need to try frozen?