I found this one in Cooking Light years ago. It’s a perfect dinner for spring, or when you’re just really dying for the creamy comfort of mac ‘n’ cheese but feel too much self-loathing to ingest that much fat for dinner. Even better: It requires almost zero effort.

Note: I actually loathe cottage cheese, but it functions brilliantly here.

Pasta with Creamy Basil Sauce and Peas
(adapted from Cooking Light)

2 cloves garlic
1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
2 tbsp plain yogurt or light sour cream
1 tbsp nice olive oil
1 cup basil leaves (or if you do as I do and freeze it in ice trays, 2 or 3 cubes of basil puree)
large handful of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
salt and pepper
several large handfuls of sugar snap peas (the best!), snow peas, frozen peas, or a mix, trimmed
1 pound short pasta

Set a pot of well-salted water to boil. In a food processor, combine the garlic and cottage cheese and blend until smooth. Add the yogurt, oil, basil, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste, and blend again until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl.

When your water is boiling, cook the pasta until it’s nearly al dente. Toss in your peas, allow them to cook about a minute, then drain. Add your hot pasta with the peas to your serving bowl, mix well, and eat.