Pesto Pasta

One of my favorite herbs to cook with is basil. I absolutely love the taste of it and try to find as many uses for it as possible.  This particular dish is one of my all time favorites.  It's not only refreshing and delicious, but it's also easy to make and can be whipped up in no time at all! Try making it at home and let us know how you like it.

Ingredients:

1/2 box of your favorite pasta 

1/4th cup of pesto (click here for recipe)

2 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup broccoli florets

1/3 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/4 cup (maybe a bit less) of black olives sliced

2-3 TBSP of pine nuts (optional)

2 TBSP Delallo brand Artichoke Bruschetta

2 TBSP Delallo brand Olive Bruschetta

2-3 TBSP sun dried tomatoes

1/2 TBSP crushed red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.  Cook pasta al dente by following the directions on the box & save 3-4 ladles of the starchy water that the pasta cooked in.  

2.  In a non stick pan, heat EVOO on medium to low heat.

3.  After about a minute, add crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another minute (you will smell the pepper cooking).

4.  Add pine nuts and cook them for about 3 minutes until they turn golden brown.

5.  Add sun dried tomatoes, artichoke bruschetta, olive bruschetta, black olives, mushrooms,  bell peppers, & broccoli florets and cook until all of the water released by the veggies has evaporated. 

6.  While the veggies are cooking, in a separate bowl, mix the pesto with a ladle or two of the starchy water. You want to mix enough water so that the pesto becomes saucy but not too thin or runny.  I just start by mixing a little bit of water and adding more as needed (roughly 2 ladles - maybe a little more).  

7.  Once the water from the cooking veggies has evaporates, add a little (about 3 TBSP) of the pesto mixture, & stir in the cooked pasta.

8.  Add remainder of the pesto sauce mixture, salt, pepper, stir, and cook for until everything is thoroughly heated.

9.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese & serve.

    

Cinnamon-Pecan pie crust (Gluten-Free)

I've been on the lookout for a really good, gluten-free pie crust and I've finally found it! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com but tweaked it a little to give it a twist! I went to my local grocery store to pick up pecans, and stumbled upon the cinnamon pecans- they're dusted in a little sugar and cinnamon and oh so good! I used that as the base for this recipe, if you don't find cinnamon pecans, you can use regular and add some cinnamon and a little extra sugar! This is great as a cheesecake pie crust, or fill it with ice cream or even fresh fruit and whipped cream and I promise it will not disappoint!

Ingredients
- 3 cups cinnamon pecans
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp sugar

Directions
- Place pecans and sugar in a food processor and grind until fine 'crumbs' form.
- Add butter and pulse until it starts to come together.
- Press mixture into a lightly greased pie dish and refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably over night. (wrap with
foil or saran wrap).

Sautéd Indian Style Quinoa

Earlier this week, after a LONG day at work, I came home to a hungry hubby who wanted something quick and filling.  This recipe literally took me about 15 minutes to make from start to finish.  Typically, most Indian recipes call for some sort of a sauté...this is better know as a vaghar (pronounced va-gar).  Anytime you sauté anything, it instantly adds a ton of flavor!  Try it at home and let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients:
1 cup organic quinoa
2 & 1/4 cups water
2 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 to 1.5 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup bell peppers (optional - any color you have)
1/4 cup diced tomatoes (optional)
Cilantro to garnish (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions:
1.  Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine strainer under cold running water until water runs clear.  Drain excess water.
2.  Combine 1 cup quinoa with the water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking until the seeds are translucent and have spiraled out from each seed.
3. In a separate pan, heat oil over low to medium heat.
4.  Once the oil has heated a bit, add mustard seeds, and wait for them to crackle (they will a make crackling noise).
5.  Reduce the heat add bell peppers and sauté for roughly 3 minutes.
6.  Add quinoa, salt, cayenne pepper, & turmeric and cook for roughly 5 minutes.
7.  Add tomatoes and cook for roughly 3 more minutes or until thoroughly heated.
8.  Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

5 ways to use leftover bread!

This weeks post is not a traditional recipe y'all, I've had this question come up a few times, 'What can I do with leftover bread?!' Well this happens in our house a lot! We have Italian during the week and we get those huge loaves of fresh bread from the grocery store, eat about half of it and the other half is left in the bread box for days! So here are some of the things I have tried with leftover bread, and all have come out really good!

Ingredients
- Leftover bread (half a loaf-5-6 slices 3/4 inch thick)

1. Breadcrumbs
- Cut bread into cubes and place in an oven or toaster oven and toast for about 5-7 minutes, until bread is a golden brown color and hard. Let cool completely
- Pulse toasted cubes in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
Tip: If you want to season the bread crumbs add a big pinch of salt and pepper, along with your favorite dried herbs!

2. Croutons
- Cut bread into cubes and place in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper along with some dried herbs. Mix well, until all the cubes are coated.
- Spread cubes on a baking sheet (make sure they are not overlapping) and bake at 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes or until light golden brown.

3. Grilled Crostini/bruschetta
- Slice bread and brush olive oil on both sides. On a medium-hot grill cook about 1 minute each side until grill marks appear.
- Top with ricotta, basil and cherry tomatoes for a delicious yet simple appetizer!

4. Greek Panzanella salad
- Cut bread into cubes, and mix into this Greek salad and vinaigrette. Let stand for 30 minutes until bread cubes have soaked up the vinaigrette.

5. Pizza baguette
- Slice bread horizontally, so you have two open faced pieces. Toast bread until a light golden color (about 2-3 minutes).
- Spread pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella along with your favorite toppings and place in the oven at 350 for about 6-9 minutes, until cheese is nice and bubbly and bread is golden and crispy.

Magic Cookie Bars

A friend of mine asked me for a recipe for magic bars a couple of weeks ago because she wanted to bake them for her hubby.  I initially tried these delish treats in college at my friend Beth's halloween party and instantly fell in love with them!  Over the years, I've made several variations of magic bars but this is the perfect combo that I've come up with.  This recipe is so quick and easy that most of the time, my hubby is the one that makes them in my house.  Make them for your next party and let us know how they turn out!

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup butter)
1&1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 oz) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I typically use 1c semi sweet & 1c butterscotch chips but you can use any variation you like)
1 & 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass dish).
2. In a 13x9 inch baking pan, melt butter in the oven.
3. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter.
4. Pour condensed milk evenly over crumbs & top with remaining ingredients.
5. Press down firmly with a fork.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Cover with a dish towel and cool overnight.  You can also chill them if desired.
8. Cut into bars or diamonds and store at room temperature.
9. Enjoy!

Fresh Corn Salsa

With the weather being as hot and crazy as it has been these past couple of weeks, I never feel like eating anything heavy. This is the perfect recipe to snack on during the day or as a great appetizer when people come over for dinner! I use fresh corn, but you can use canned if you like! The sweet corn with the lime and spicy jalapeno is a perfect combination! Eat it with tortilla chips, grilled pita bread or even on some salad for a great twist!

Ingredients

- 4 ear corns

- 2 medium tomatoes diced

- 1/3 cup jalapeno

- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

- 1/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper

- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

- 2 TBSP lime

- zest of one lime

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- After cleaning the corn and removing husks. Wrap each corn individually in foil and place on prepared grill for 20-30 minutes until corn is cooked. remove foil (corn will be hot) and using some tongs grill each side of the corn to get a charred flavor. Let corn cool

- After corn has cooled, use a large knife and slide it parallel to the corn to remove kernels. 

- Mix corn with other ingredients until everything is combined. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Cool Cucumber & Basil Fojitos

There's is no feeling like that of thirst being quenched.  Whether it's mowing the grass or enjoying a nice cold drink after a rigorous workout, everyone can relate to the feeling of "AHHH" you have after you've had something nice, cold, and refreshing to drink.  Earlier this week, after a tough yoga class, I happened to stop by at a food truck that was serving a nice fojito, which is a mojito minus the alcohol.  It was just the perfect amount of cool and refreshing that I needed after an intense yang & yin session of yoga.  This drink not only hit the spot but it also inspired me to make something similar at home with a little twist or maybe I should say, "muddled, not shaken or stirred".

Ingredients:

6 oz fresh lime juice (or the juice of about 5 limes)

2-3 sprigs fresh mint (roughly 20 leaves)

12-14 slices of cucumber (thinly sliced) 

12 oz club soda

6-7 large basil leaves

4-6 oz mint infused simple syrup (recipe to follow)

Crushed ice

Directions for Mint Infused Simple Syrup:

1. Place a small pot over medium to low heat and add 3 TBSP sugar.

2. Add about 1/2 cup of water. 

3. Heat until sugar is melted and the liquid comes to a rolling boil.

4. Add 4-5 chopped mint leaves and cover.

5. Let the syrup steep for about 4-5 minutes.
Tip - You can use agave syrup in place of sugar as an alternative.  

Directions for Fojito:

1. In a tall thin glass or pitcher, add cucumber slices, basil, & mint leaves and muddle together until the juices from the ingredients are released.  It may be easier if you do this in several batches.  

2. Add lime juice, mint infused syrup, cucumber mixture, & club soda.

3. Mix all of the ingredients together, and add more club soda or syrup according to your taste.  

4. Pour over crushed ice & enjoy!

Serves 4

Tip - If you don't have a muddler, use the back of a wooden spoon instead.