Herb Garden and Homemade Pesto Recipe August 9, 2009

Recently I had a lunch with a girlfriend at Flour Girl’s and Dough Boys in American Fork, Utah, and had their pesto, mozzarella and tomato sandwich on a baguette.  It’s definitely one of the tastiest things on the menu!  Upon returning home, I still wanted more pesto, so Tim and I decided to plant an herb garden so we could make our own pesto.

We headed out and picked up some herbs from Highland Gardens and Home Depot and brought them home.  Included in our to-be herb garden were sweet basil, lemon thyme, Greek oregano, rosemary and purple sage.  We rolled up our sleeves and got our hands dirty by planting our herb garden as a family home evening activity.

We also discovered the authentic way to make homemade pesto.  Would you like the recipe?  It’s simple and absolutely delectable.

• Bunch of fresh sweet basil
• Few cloves of garlic
• 1/4 C pine nuts
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• Tablespoon of olive oil

1.  The trick to make pesto the authentic way is to not use a blender.  Instead, chop a some of the basil with a knife, gradually adding more basil as it gets cut.  Also, fresh basil is best!

The trick to authentic pesto? Cut it the old fashioned way!

2.  Add the garlic and pine nuts, chop some more. Add the Parmesan cheese, chop some more.

3.  Add the olive oil and mix it all together.

For best results, serve on a baguette with balsamic vinegar, fresh tomatoes and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

For best results, serve on a baguette with balsamic vinegar, fresh tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese

Enjoy!

Sunday Dinner at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s July 5, 2009

When we were kids, every Sunday we would go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in North Vancouver for Sunday dinner.  Without fail, we would have meat spaghetti with Parmesan cheese, homestyle shake and bake chicken with Miracle Whip on it (trust me, it’s divine) and chocolate milk.  Then we’d watch Star Trek.  Every single Sunday, it was tradition.

With Grandma’s recent passing, Grandma’s children and grandkids gathered together at her home to remember her.  We thought it only fitting that the last meal we ate together in her home be that same Sunday dinner that she used to make for us, chocolate milk and all.  Even us lactose intolerant few had a couple sips 🙂

I think I may have decided what to have for dinner…

Do you have any nostalgic meals that your parents or grandparents made that have carried on through your kitchen?

Iron Chef Third Place Recipe June 7, 2009

This week, Sunrise Meadows had an Iron Chef Competition.  It was an absolute blast!  All the women split up into small groups and brought ingredients together in order to prepare a dish or two which incorporated the secret ingredient that we found out on the spot.  We hosted a team at our place which consisted of Gretchen, Laurie, Tammy and I.  We had such a blast!

Here is our final presentation.

Isn’t it lovely?  And guess what!  We took third place!  For the record, even though Tim was a judge, he says we won the third place award fair and square.  🙂

Here is the shrimp coconut curry recipe, based off the Better Homes and Garden recipe for basil chicken in coconut curry.  The recipe below has our adjustments.  Click here for the original.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons curry powder | or one square of Glico medium curry
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 bag of shrimp
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 of a large red onion, cut into thin wedges (1 cup)
• a couple slices of jarred jalapenos
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 13.5- or 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tbsp of dried basil
• 2 chunks of ginger (this adds the beautiful ginger taste without being overwhelming and allows you to remove it easily after cooking)
• 1/4 C of milk
• 2 tablespoons of dried coconut
• 3 cups hot cooked rice w/ coconut added to the rice cooker

Directions

1. Pour oil into a wok or large nonstick skillet; heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic to wok; cook and stir about 8 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2. Stir together coconut milk, cornstarch, one tablespoon of dried coconut and pepper until smooth. Carefully add to wok. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Add the curry powder and shrimp. Mix in the milk and stir till smooth.

3. Stir in basil. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve over hot rice and sprinkle dried coconut overtop. Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy!

What’s for Dinner? April 17, 2009

What do you cook when you don’t want to cook?  We’ve had a lot of days like that this week (we’ve cooked once in the last six days) and I’ve been dying to ask your advice.  So, what are your quick, no thought meals that you put on the table when you have no desire to cook?  Care to share a recipe or two? 

Also, here are some great blog resources for food:

Preparedness Pro has some great quick and easy recipes (loooove the chicken enchiladas) as well as great food for thought on food storage.

Gourmet Momma shows how she does dinner for $5.  Her taco soup looks amazing! 

If you’re one of those amazing women that can plan meals a week in advance and shop accordingly, please share your wisdom!  I need to know how!  Is there some Women 101 class I missed?

Killer Spinach Dip Recipe February 19, 2009

If you have a hankering for a killer spinach dip recipe, look no further.  This spinach dip recipe is wicked good and has its own fan club.  It is ideal for superbowl parties, new years parties, girls night out on the weekend when calories don’t count parties…  It’s sure to be a hit.  You don’t have to share the recipe if you don’t want to.  It can be our little secret…

THE SECRET SPINACH DIP RECIPE
(no longer secret because I’m now posting it online)
Care of redhead Allison

Mix together 8 ounces of softened cream cheese, half a package of frozen spinach (thawed and drained – can also substitute half a bunch of fresh spinach), 1/2  cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of grated chedder cheese, TBSP of dill, a clove of garlic,  1/4 onion (minced) and some bacon bits if you have them.  Put it all inside a hollowed out loaf of bread, wrap it in foil and bake it at 350*C for a half hour or till it’s warm

It really is the easiest recipe in the world – if you can’t heat it up it’s still good, if you don’t have bread it can be stuck in the microwave and eaten with crackers, and pretty much anything can be substituted/increased/decreased depending on your taste.

ENJOY!  Let me know what you think!

Pizza Turned Calzone… November 16, 2008

Last Sunday we decided to make pizza for dinner.  Tim worked on the dough and I piled on the yummy toppings.  As we were about to put it onto the hot pizza stone in the oven, we realized that the dough was sticking to the wooden pizza peel and when we tried to peel it off, toppings started slipping off.  So we elected to make our pizza into a calzone and voila!  Pretty sure that’s how calzones came to be in the first place…  would you agree?

Some of our favorite toppings: bacon, chicken, onions, peppers, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts.  What do you put on your pizza?

Homemade French Fries

So Tim and I recently bought a big bag of organic potatoes – which I highly recommend… they have so much more flavor than regular potatoes! – and been eating them in creative ways.  These fries which we made for lunch this afternoon were AMAZING!  So I decided to share the not-so-difficult recipe with you.

1. Take 2 or 3 potatoes & slice them as you wish
2. Grease your baking pan with butter (or Pam if you prefer)
3. Turn your oven to a high broil
4. Brush some olive oil onto the fries & sprinkle salt & pepper on them
5. Broil the fries until they are golden brown
6. Remove the fries and flip them over; let them brown
7. Remove from the oven & serve with a few spoonfuls of sour cream, green onions & freshly grated cheese

ENJOY!

PS: In Canada, fries eaten with cheese curds & gravy are called poutine & are absolutely delectable!  This is very close… but a few hundred calories off.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars September 21, 2008

This weekend, we tried an amazing recipe for pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing.  We shared them with family and friends and received RAVE reviews.   Here’s the recipe:

Paul’s Pumpkin Bars from Allrecipes:

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	30 Min
READY IN	45 Min
Original recipe yield 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar (we used 3/4 cup – didn’t miss it at all)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (we also added some allspice which was a nice touch)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• (the recipe didn’t call for it, but we added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter before putting it in the pan – amazing!)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.
3. Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting.
4. To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares.

Delicious Grilled Vegetable Panini Recipe April 8, 2008

Oh my gosh. We had the most unbelievable meal tonight!

While on Yahoo! today, I found this recipe for a California Grilled Veggie Sandwich. We decided it would be good and our expectations were WAY exceeded!

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
2. 3 cloves garlic, minced
3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
4. 1/8 cup olive oil
5. 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
6. 1 avocado, sliced (originally called for zucchini)
7. 1 red onion, sliced
8. 1 small yellow squash, sliced
9. 2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally
10. 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (originally called for feta)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.
4. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread, and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don’t burn. Remove from grill, and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

We deviated from the recipe and cooked the veggies on the stove in olive oil and then grilled it on our panini sandwich press. I am in heaven!

Easy Dinner Recipes March 24, 2008

One of my favorite easy dinner recipes is this Chicken Moroccan Soup by chef Sam Gugino from his book, Cooking to Beat the Clock.

This soup is quick and easy, and is a great ethnic dish and is a favorite of ours and guests.

2 tbsp olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, about 8 oz.
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp hot paprika or 3/4 tsp sweet paprika and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 C chicken stock
2 medium zucchini
1/2 cup instant couscous
1 16-oz can chickpeas
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 sprigs cilantro (optional)

1. Put the oil in a deep, pan over medium-high heat. Cut the chicken into 1/2″ cubes. Add to the pan, raise heat to high, stir.
2. While the chicken browns, peel and quarter the onion & put in a food processor. Pulse until just chopped. Add the onion, cumin, ginger and paprika to the pan. Stir and cook for 1 min. Add the stock to the pan and stir with a wide wooden spoon, scraping any bits from the bottom. Cover and bring to a boil, about 2 min.
3. Meanwhile, trim the zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Then cut crosswise into 1/4″ half moons. When the soup comes to a boil, add the zucchini and the couscous to the pan, stir and cover.
4. Open the can of chickpeas into a small colander, rinse and drain briefly. Add to the pan. Cover and let the soup return to a boil, then lower the heat slightly so the soup simmers briskly for 4 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chop the leaves from the cilantro sprigs. Stir into the soup, cook for 1 min, and serve in soup plates.

Feel free to share some of your favorite easy dinner recipes! I’m always on the look out 🙂