An Everything Pesto

First the winner of the Eversave giveaway is fellow blogger Susie!!   Congrats!  Hope you have fun buying some delicious meats at McKinnon’s!

Usually when I think of pesto, I think of the classic version with basil, pinenuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil.  Simple yet incredibly flavorful and delicious.  Also a great way to use up an excess of basil growing in the garden.

My “problem” right now is that I have an excess of multiple herbs in the garden!!

Also some older hunks of cheese that I’d like to use up.

Lucky for me, Pesto is actually incredibly versatile and came be made from many different ingredients. 

Even in it’s classic form I almost always use walnuts over pinenuts, as I usually have them at home already.

First I grated approximately a cup of cheese, maybe less.  I used some aged gouda as well as Pecorino Romano.  

3 – 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half (they will later go through the food processor).

Fresh herbs!  I used basil, oregano, parsley, and thyme!   I even added some baby spinach that I had in the fridge.  You can use as much or as little as you want…I used small “bunches” of each, and a “handful” of spinach.

The list of ingredients is as followed, and really they are all approximate:

• 1/2 cup nuts, I used walnuts.
• big bunch of herbs – you can use 1 herb only, or multiple varieties
• 3/4 cup – cup grated aged/drier cheese such as parmesan, Romano, aged gouda.
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• pasta water (a few tablespoons worth)

1. Wash and dry herbs
2. grate cheese
3. In a small sauté pan, heat olive oil over med-low heat, and add garlic.  Cook garlic for just a few minutes, DON’T brown the garlic.  Cooking the garlic slightly just takes the sharp bite from it, but still leaves a strong garlic flavor. 
4. Place herbs, cheese, nuts, garlic and olive oil into a food processor. 
5. Blend until a thick sauce is formed
6. If serving with pasta, add pasta water 1T at a time, to the pesto to add some creaminess, and thin it out for easier spreading.

 

We enjoyed our herb pesto with a mix of pasta, grilled veggies (chopped), and arugula all tossed together.

As well as a caprese salad.  Enjoyed al fresco.

There is also almost always extra pesto, which you can freeze for a quick dinner another day!

Monday Mood Booster

I think most of us know that an outfit you feel fabulous in can make you walk a little taller, boost your confidence, and generally make your day a little better.  Do you ever do this on purpose??  I did. 

My office doesn’t have a strict dress code at all, but even still everyone pretty much dresses business/business casual most days and more casual on Friday (although if I felt like wearing jeans tomorrow no one would care...)

I also LIKE dressing up and usually always prefer dresses and skirts over pants, but I tend to mix it up depending on my mood and the weather.  This past Monday wasn’t anything special, but it was sunny out and I just felt like putting a little more effort in and it really did make me happier throughout the day!

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I just really liked this outfit!

(the lighting + iphone didn’t make for the best photo) 

• Navy blazer – Banana Republic outlet
• fitted white T-shirt
• light pink skirt – Banana Republic (recently!)
• grey tights – Nordstrom (DKNY)
• navy belt – was my grandmothers
• necklace – Forever 21
• T-strap heels – Nordstrom (Seychelles)

Close up of the shoes! (Grey, gold, and yellow)

  These were one of those pairs of shoes that were on the sale rack and I loved, but of course was wondering what I’d wear them with.  I’m telling you, those are ALWAYS the shoes I end up loving most!!  Once you stop worrying about “matching” them to your outfit, they become  an awesome accessory that will add a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to a “normal” outfit!

Dinner Ideas: Quick and SUPER fast!

First, the quick.

Remember that incredible Mac and cheese I had at my aunts house??  The one that used “low carb” pasta??  Well I bought some.  I’m not trying to go low-carb or anything but it was actually really good pasta!

It’s Dreamfield’s brand pasta, and bonus points for having more fiber and less carbs :)

(source)

I like my pasta al dente and this had a superb chew to it!  LOVE it!

I had some asparagus on it’s last legs, and a handful of green beans to work with.

I was also in the mood for lemon and sun-dried tomatoes…but not just any sun-dried tomatoes!  The Santorini sun-dried tomatoes we brought back from our Honeymoon!

It’s crazy how different they are than the regular sun-dried tomatoes you buy!  The color is much darker and they have a much more rich, sweet, deep flavor.

Lemon + Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 T chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• splash (approx 1/4 cup) white wine
• juice and zest from 1 lemon (add less if you prefer…this was VERY lemony!!)
• pasta of choice – about 1/2 box ( I used penne)
• 1 bunch of asparagus, hard ends removed and cut into bite size pieces
• 2-3T ricotta (optional)

1. get water on the stove for your pasta
2. add olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat on medium
3. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté for 2-3 min
4. add sun-dried tomatoes, cook another 1-2 minutes
5. pour in wine, lemon juice, and zest and stir while scraping the bottom of the pan.
6. simmer on low
7. Meanwhile – cook pasta according to instructions on the box, while adding in the asparagus (or other veggies) for the last 1 min.
8. Strain pasta/veggies and add to sauté pan with the sauce.
9. Salt and Pepper to taste.

At this point I thought it was actually TOO lemony!!  Which is crazy coming from me, but this is when I stirred in a big heaping spoonful of part-skim ricotta and stirred that in.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese! (I used the Romano and it was fantastic)

BIG fan of this meal and this pasta!  Try it out!!

  

Now for something SUPER fast!!

I call this: Burrito (or tamale) Salad!

I suppose you have to like frozen burritos for this one, but I don’t think that’s a stretch for most people.  I love to cook, but having a couple savior items in the freezer is always good especially when you get home late and just want something super fast!

My current favorite product for this meal are Trader Joe’s tamale’s

(I actually like the beef version better than this chicken and cheese one)

Directions.

• Fill a bowl with your favorite salad items: baby spinach, lettuce, onions, peppers, carrots… 
• Heat burrito or tamale according to instructions
• Cut cooked tamale into pieces, and place on bed of salad
• Top with salsa and sour cream
• maybe even a squirt of fresh lime juice!

Enjoy.

5 minutes later I had dinner.  I just used some baby romaine lettuce and chopped red bell pepper.

Sure you can use Greek yogurt for the sour cream (and I’m all for that substitution in baking or cooking), but for me, nothing beats real (light!)sour cream…mmm.

Lovely.

About that salsa…  Homemade is the best, but we usually end up buying our salsa.  So what’s your favorite brand???  I can’t seem to find one I love.  This is Newman’s Own brand and so far I really like it, but I like trying out new ones!