Here are my very favorite and easy recipes that I make monthly, sometimes weekly... Happy eating and cooking my friends!
Have Some Friends Over Chicken Salad
(Because this is too good not to share)
You will need:
-1 small-medium red onion finely chopped
-2 to 3 celery stalks finely chopped
-a couple handfuls of whole seedless purple grapes
-a handfuls of sliced almonds
-Parmesan cheese...a handful
- chopped parsley half of the bunch you buy at the store is fine
- 1 Rotisserie chicken or 4 cooked chicken breasts (grilled or baked is fine, but grilled is yummier) make sure you chop them really nice!
For the dressing you will need-
-2 tbs pesto (store bought or home made, recipe below.)
-1/2 cup Greek yogurt
-juice of 2 lemons
-3 tbsp olive oil
(PS. If you are totally freaked out by my "handful" I would measure about a 1/2 cup, so a couple handfuls would be a full cup, I just happen to measure things in handfuls and palm fulls. This is why I don't bake.)
First step~ Chop up the onion and celery, throw it in a bowl.
Third step~ Throw all the "handfuls in the bowl"...parsley, almonds, grapes, parm cheese
Fourth step~ make the dressing. In a small bowl juice both lemons, whisk the olive oil in slowly, don't just dump it in, make sure you whisk while slowly pouring it in, this process is called emulsifying...you emulsifier you, you go with your bad self...After the emulsification, add the Greek yogurt, pesto, salt and pepper. If you like it salty add two pinches, I prefer less salt and more pepper so I go with a small pinch and a big pinch. Then whisk that together and viola you have a yummy dressing you can put in anything...it makes a great potato salad dressing also!
Fifth step~ Pour in the dressing and eat however you want to. My dear friend Kelli taught me how to eat chicken on a bed of spinach It makes you feel like you are eating something bad, but really your body loves you for it.
Besto Pesto
(It is the best)
What you will need-
-20-30 Basil leaves, fresh ones!
-1 cup of Parmesan cheese
-handful pine nuts
-1 crushed garlic clove (don't chop it!)
-1/4 cup olive oil
This is super easy...like super duper. Put the first three ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse twice.
Then throw your garlic clove in with the olive oil and microwave it for 30 seconds.
Then as you have your food processor or blender running, slowly pour your garlic/olive oil in. It will start to look like a paste and that is a great thing!
I make this once a week, and I use it in EVERYTHING...as you will see with my next recipe...
Mind Blowing Sauce
(It will blow your mind how easy and yummy this is!)
Items needed-
-1tbs olive oil
-2 cloves garlic chopped
-1, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce...whatever you have or is cheaper or preference, I -prefer crushed tomatoes.
-Pesto (either a whole container of the store bought or 1/2 cup of your home-made pesto)
-1 box of pasta...whatever kind you want. I used penne but you don't have to.
Step 1- saute garlic in olive oil for 2 min
Step 2- pour in crushed tomatoes
Step3- pour in pesto and stir
Step 4- boil water and cook pasta
Step 5- Top with parm cheese, make it look pretty with some chopped fresh parsley or basil ( I didn't even do that part so seriously make it easy on yourself if you aren't a type A)
That is it...that is all... I know that blows your mind.
Roasted Asparagus Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette
(Don't let the fancy title fool you!)
Go to your produce section and make friends with it, and get these veggies-
-1 bunch asparagus
-1 cup cherry tomatoes
-1 pre-washed package of arugula or spinach
For the Dressing
-1 crushed garlic clove
-1/3 cup olive oil
- juice of 2 lemons
-handful Parmesan cheese
-1/4 tsp of paprika
-salt and pepper to taste
Asparagus is my favorite vegetable, but it is a tricky one! The best thing to do is snap the ends off of a couple, and then let those guide you. Just cut off the ends at the same place as those that you snapped off...does that make sense? I hope so!
After you toss out the ends, then chop the asparagus to be about 2 inches so you have cute pieces that are easy to get in your mouth. Toss in some olive oil, put on a baking sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 min until tender and a little char on the outside.
While those are roasting make your dressing- you will want to do the same thing with the garlic clove and olive oil that we did for the pesto. (throw the clove in a dish with the olive oil and turn on the microwave for 30 seconds, this makes a garlic oil in a snap!)
Juice the 2 lemons in a separate bowl, add the paprika, parm cheese, salt and pepper, then we are going to do a emulsification again! Make sure to slowly drizzle the garlic oil in with the lemon while you are whisking, also make sure the big old clove doesn't plop in your dressing. Set that dressing aside.
Assemble the arugula and cherry tomatoes. Then as soon as the asparagus has slightly cooled off, put it on top of your salad and then drizzle that yummy dressing!
Eat away my friend, eat away!
