Pesto

Easy and cheaper than store-bought by a LONG shot!

Ingredients:
4 oz. fresh basil
3/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon honey
1/8-1/4 t salt

Method:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and process until it becomes a paste.
If your food processor bowl is on the larger side, you may need to transfer it to a Magic Bullet to finish processing it.

Serve over pasta or on pizza or over veggies.

Chicken Alfredo

Quick and easy if you have some cooked chicken on hand!

Cooked chicken breasts, cubed or pulled apart with a fork.

A recipe of Alfredo Sauce.

Cooked Spaghetti, Linguine or Fettuccine.

Various veggies, sauteed in butter or olive oil.
I use anything I have, but carrots, green beans, broccoli and sugar snap peas are good choices.

Cook and drain the pasta.

Add the Alfredo sauce and stir to coat it.

Add the chicken and veggies and stir to mix well.

Serve.

Quinoa Salad

This is an easy one, and a great dish to take to a salad potluck.

What you need.....

2 cups organic quinoa, soaked 7 hours or overnight in 4 cups water and 1 Tablespoon whey, lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar.

Don't drain the quinoa.  Just cook it by bringing it all to a boil and then simmering for 20-30 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.  I let it sit for a bit after cooking and then fluff it with a fork.

The rest of the ingredients.....

2 large carrots, in small dice
2 large cucumbers, in small dice
1 15 oz. can of olives, sliced
2-3 Tablespoons of chopped chives, or 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Handful of basil leaves, chopped
Anything else you like in this type of salad:
peppers
jucama
tomato
radish
etc.

Mix all veggies with the cooled quinoa and then dress with this dressing:

Dressing:

1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper

I use my Magic Bullet to blend these ingredients.

That's it.  Enjoy!

Bounty Bowl

Thanksgiving and Christmas h'ordeuvres always included the Bounty Bowl.  The recipe came to us through the "Wine Cookbook" that was on my folks shelf for as long as I can remember.

We gather an assortment of veggies that include the following, and there are always prawns.  I get the pre-cooked ones so I don't have to mess with cooking them.

Prawns
Carrots
Celery
Peppers (green, red, yellow, orange--whichever you like)
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Cherry Tomatoes
Avocado
Sugar Snap Peas
Anything else you'd like!


Then the dip!

1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup sherry
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/2 t worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste

Blend well and refrigerate.  It's better the second day, so I make mine ahead when possible.