Bravo, Classico. (Right Stuff).

It's dinnertime. You're in a hurry. What to do?

For many of us, the foolproof solution is to open a jar of spaghetti sauce and toss a salad while waiting for the pasta to boil. But the usual tomato-based sauce can seem humdrum after a while. And alternatives like Alfredo and pesto can double the calories and artery-clogging fat you'd get in a tomato sauce.

Classico Creations Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce & Spread puts a new tool in the harried cook's box of tricks. The pesto-style topping packs bits of sun-dried tomato, basil, onion, garlic, and red bell pepper that burst with flavor upon contact with your taste buds. And, like pesto, you need only about a quarter cup to coat a realistic two-cup serving of pasta.

But instead of the 250 to 300 calories in a quarter cup of most pestos, Classico's Sun-Dried Tomato has just 110, along with a skimpy 1 1/2 grams of saturated fat. The 710 milligrams of sodium aren't low, but they're not high for a 500-calorie dish (sauce plus the 400 calories in two cups of unsalted pasta). In fact, you can easily hit 900 to 1,200 mg in a cup of many tomato sauces. (Labels pretend that people use just half a cup, but they can't fool us.)

If pasta's not on tonight's menu, spread a tablespoon of the sun-dried tomato sauce on your chicken or fish. Just remember that you don't need a ladle to serve this Classico. As the company says, a little goes a long way.

Classico: [phone].