I bought cannelloni beans awhile back, thinking that someday I would make them into a bean spread, since they are a good source of calcium, iron, and protein.  Alas, they sat on the shelf of my pantry for months.  So last night, when I had some left over Pesto in my fridge, and I needed a side for the dinner that I was making, I thought, let’s try those cannelloni beans.  Originally, I made it sans pasta, and then decided that the pesto and the beans needed some dilution, so I added elbow macaroni.  Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

1/2 pint of grape tomatoes, washed and halved

Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1 can of white cannelloni beans, drained

Olive oil

Splash of Canola Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Crowd-Pleasing Pesto (about 1/2 a cup of paste-like consistency)

1/2 package of whole wheat elbow macaroni, cooked al dente

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in bowl.  Refrigerate.  Enjoy with your meal and for leftovers!