Dairy Free Pesto

Y'all need to get on this basil money train.  At Trader Joe's I could buy a bunch of basil for $3 or a plant of basil for $3. I choose the plant because how much more from scratch could you get.  I wedged it between two tomato plants in my pathetic (that's generous) garden and it took off. Basil for days y'all!

I whipped up some pesto and we served it with my dad's grilled salmon, roasted broccoli, corn on the cob, and pasta. It went with everything we had on the table.

Dairy Free Pesto

Makes less than 1 cup

Adapted from Food Network Favorites

• 1 cup loosely packed basil
• 1 cup loosely packed parsley
• 4 tablespoons blanched sliced almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Pulse all ingredients except for the olive oil in a food processor or blender to form a coarse paste. With the motor running drizzle in the olive oil (or one tablespoon at a time) until incorporated. Serve with vegetables, pasta, salmon, chicken, sandwich, or whatever you can come up with.

Hot Wings

I love me some wings and I especially love Buffalo Wild Wing's wing. But I haaaate going there. The one a couple of blocks from our house is the worst.  We have waited over twenty minutes just to order water and then another twenty to actually receive water.  If either of us could handle any amount of confrontation we would have really given it to them. But we can't, so we left a crappy tip and double checked we remember to bring everything with us when we left.  There is nothing worse then a waiter running after you to give you back your credit card when you left a less than stellar tip.

Well problem solved. These are legit. So legit I was too busy eating them to get a proper photo.

Hot Wings
Adapted from Shutterbean

• 2 1/2 pound chicken wings or drumettes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat. Place wings on the wire racks spread out in a single layer.  Bake until cooked through and skin is crispy - about 45 minutes.

• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce (like Frank's buffalo sauce)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss baked drumettes in the sauce and serve immediately.

Next time:  figure out the buffalo wild wing dry rubs

Update! a picture!

Picadillo Tacos

My husband is a smidge Mexican but you would think we lived on the Mexican border for the amount of Tex-Mex food we eat.  Taco, nachos, quesadillas, taco salad, burritos, breakfast tacos, migas, chips and salsa, queso on everything, margaritas, and of course all the mexican beer.

These picadillo tacos were an interest twist and a much needed break from the usual tex-mex food we eat. The tomato sauce and olives are balanced really well with the sweetness of the raisin. We served in flour tortillas heated up on a skillet. 

Picadillo Tacos
Serves 3
Adapted from Paleomg

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2/3 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/3 green olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 6 tortillas

Place large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef and break into pieces while it browns.

When it is almost cooked through, add onion, bell pepper, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, tomato pasta, broth vinegar, olives and raisins. Mix well and cover to cook for 25 minutes stirring frequently. Leave uncovered the last 10 minutes if the meat mixture looks too runny. 

Serve in warm tortillas.

Minestrone Soup

Its this monster's first week of MDO (Mothers Day Out).  So far it has been crying, chaos, and coughing.  Henry is handling the crying and chaos, while I'm taking care of the coughing.  I've been on dayquil like woah lately so excuse me while I play catch-up.

Soup feels so good right now even though we are still in the 90's weather-wise. Especially when served with extra toasty toast that scratches my throat all the way down.  

Minestrone Soup

Serves like 10 but good leftover

Adapted from Simply Whisked

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups small pasta
• 3 cups packed spinach leaves
• Grated parmesan

In an extra large stockpot (really really big), saute the onions, carrots, and celery over medium-high heat for around 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add beans, tomatoes, spices, broth and water. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Stir in the pasta and cook until tender - around 8 minutes for small pasta shells.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

Serve with grated cheese and a dose of dayquil.

Next time:  Double up on the spices if you can't breathe through your nose.

Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce

We eat salmon about once a week. Just straight up oven-baked, salt and pepper seasoned salmon. I had major doubts when it came to a sauce for salmon. Good thing I don't trust myself because this was delicious. It is almost more of a dip than a sauce but once you spread it on shot salmon it thins out.  

When I first tasted the dip by itself, it was meh. But once it's on the salmon it enhances the salmon and sauce flavor.  We dipped our vegetables in it too. It was easy and quick to make and took the meal up a level.

Creamy Garlic Dill Sauce
Adapted from Simply Whisked
Serves 2 with leftovers

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion, chopped as tiny as possible
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 2 tablespoons dill
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• A couple of grinds of pepper

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together. Refrigerate until you ready to serve.

Summer Pizza

It has rained the entire week last week and we have been cooped up in the house. On Friday it finally cleared up so we took in what sunshine there was left and played in some puddles.

Our dinner paired perfectly with the evening. This pizza tastes like summer and sunshine.  Its very light because it doesn't have a sauce or meat on it so it would probably be better as an appetizer. Maybe its a 'flatbread'. I've never really understood what those were anyway.

The best part of this pizza is the next day- heat it up and throw a fried egg on it. Overeasy of course.  It was so gooey and good I couldn't shut up about it.

Summer Pizza

Adapted from Shutterbean

Pizza is supposed to be customizable but this is what I used. Change it up or you're doing it wrong.

• Pizza dough
• 1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeno thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• couple squeezes of lime juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Stretch out/toss the pizza dough to fit your pan or pizza stone.  Add all the ingredients but the lime juice. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to a point where you don't burn your mouth off.  Slice and add a squeeze of a lime wedge to each slice. 

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I love wings but nothing pisses me off more than Buffalo Wild Wings.  The closest one near us has the worst service. We have waited 20 minutes for waters. If we weren't incredibly timid people we would have walked out. Or at least complained. I also have tried to make wings but nothing great has come out of that. It's on the to-do list. 

This salad by Well Fed is spicy enough to hit that buffalo wing craving but it's still healthy. Full of protein and vegetables.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Serves 3 - 4

Adapted from Well Fed

Chicken:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 jalapeno, cut into rings
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoon butter or ghee
• 1/4 cup or more of hot sauce. I like Frank's buffalo sauce.

Salad:

• 1 small head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 3 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

For the chicken, place all the ingredients, except butter and hot sauce, in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, the cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Turn off the heat but keep the pot covered for another 20-25 minutes.  Remove the chicken from water, shred with two forks.  Toss in a bowl with butter and hot sauce. If the chicken is not warm when you go to add the butter, melt the butter first.

For the salad, toss all the ingredients in a large bowl (really large), and top with chicken.  Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing.