Tuscan Pasta With Tomato-Basil Cream

This recipe looked super yummy to me from the second I saw it, but it took me a while to make because my husband is a total carnivore and the recipe doesn't actually call for any form of meat. Then my sister told me that she had made it and just added chicken to it. Right. Duh. Easy enough. Anyway, here's the recipe- (also found here)

Ingredients

• 1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
• 1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnish: fresh basil strips

Preparation

1. 1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. 2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
3. *1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
4. **1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.
5. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce.

I took the advice of my sister and added chicken to it to make it more hearty - I just lightly seasoned a couple chicken breasts (with Montreal Steak Seasoning, but I'm sure whatever seasoning you choose would work fine.... you really don't even need to season the chicken if you don't want to- the sauce has plenty of flavor) and baked them. Then I cut it up into little pieces and added it to the sauce mixture while it was on the stove.

Super yummy!!! I LOVED the sauce. (I used the Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce that they recommended in the recipe). I made a lot, and there wasn't much left over. The chicken definitely made it more 'man-friendly,' so if you're cooking for a hungry male, (or a few of them) or if you like meat yourself, I think that that's the way to go. This recipe is a keeper.

*I know I'm not a very good food photographer. This looks kind of gross, but I promise it wasn't! :-)