Penne with ricotta pesto

During my Gestational Diabetes days I discovered that I could still cook homemade dishes and we could still eat the food we love the most without the carbs and sugars that I was banned from. I found the original recipe for the penne on a diabetes website. I tweaked it to our liking and it is definitely one of my faves.

Ingredients:
1 lb whole wheat penne rigate
1 C small curd, low fat cottage cheese (substitute ricotta here, if you choose)
splash of skim milk or fat free half & half
1 C baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 C fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled roughly chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1/3 C pine nuts or walnuts
salt & pepper to taste
fresh grated parmesan

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook penne until al dente. Reserve at least 1 Cup of cooking liquid before draining.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, over low heat toaste nuts - stir frequently and watch carefully. Remove from heat.
Combine spinach, basil, garlic, parmesan (to taste), salt & pepper (to taste) in food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are small and equal in size. Hold down chop button and slowly add olive oil to emulsify, until you have a thickish paste.
Combine cottage cheese and milk. Add pesto, mixing until fully incorporated. Add hot, drained penne and serve, topped with fresh grated parmesan and garlic crostini.

Variations: any kind of pesto can be used, such as parsley pesto, basil pesto, sun dried tomato pesto.