mmmmm, mondays: chicken pesto croissants

i'm busy working on all my spring planting and yet i still have pesto left over from my harvesting last fall. with enough pesto to last me through the summer, here's a delicious summer sandwich with poached chicken and pesto...delicious! if you haven't read our "make your own pesto" post, check it out and plan to freeze some of your own for next spring!

chicken pesto croissants

4 full sized plain croissants, sliced open for sandwiches

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 white onion, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 cup pesto sauce

olive oil

toppings such as romaine lettuce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh tomato

boil the chicken breasts in water seasoned with chicken bouillon, worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic about ten minutes or until cooked through. cool and chop into small, bite sized chunks. mix with onion, celery, pesto sauce and enough olive oil to make chicken moist. spoon onto open croissants and serve with desired toppings. enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: linguine with shrimp and pesto

this one is so simple and is a favorite with my family. if you have homemade pesto, it's time to pull it out of the freezer. if you don't, here's a plan for getting your homemade sauce ready for next year. in the meantime, enjoy a ten minute meal the whole family will eat.

linguine with shrimp and pesto

shrimp - i buy the frozen, peeled, raw shrimp at costco. according to various men of meat departments and several reliable websites, frozen shrimp is actually fresher than the "fresh" shrimp you would buy at the meat counter. it's also cheaper. my kids love shrimp so i put a ton of it into this recipe. the nice thing about a frozen bag of shrimp is you can prepare just what your family will eat.

chopped garlic - about 2 cloves or 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic

olive oil

salt pepper

pesto sauce - if you have frozen pesto, pull out about 1 cup of frozen pesto. if you are buying pesto sauce at the store, use one cup.

alfredo sauce - 1 use one jar of store bought alfredo sauce per cup of pesto to make the sauce a little more mild in flavor.

dried linguine

parmesan cheese

pour the frozen shrimp into a shallow baking dish. coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. allow to sit for about ten minutes. prepare the linguine per package instructions. while pasta is cooking, cook the shrimp on a grill or an indoor grilling pan (or your george forman) until cooked through. this will only take about 5 minutes. heat the sauces together in a small pan. add the shrimp to the sauce and pour over cooked, drained linguine. pile onto plates and top with grated parmesan cheese. enjoy!

making pesto

basil is about the easiest thing to grow. i've done it the last two years with amazing results. i pretty much purchase the smallest basil plant i can find in the spring, plant it in some good soil, water and watch it grow. basil loves to procreate too...like little rabbits! i had basil babies all over my yard and ended up with way more basil than i could ever use in a tomato basil soup recipe (that will come later). so, this year i decided to make and freeze my own pesto. i've always been a little astounded at how expensive pesto is to buy in the store. you can make your own easily and it freezes beautifully. i now have tons of pesto in my freezer to thaw out and use for recipes all winter long. if you have extra basil, do this now. i'll post several fun pesto recipes after the holidays...

here's what you'll need to get started:

pick your basil: it's getting close to the first frost in some areas or it may have already frosted in your area. pick you basil plants. after washing them well, pull off all the leaves individually and wash thoroughly. i found little critters clinging to some of my leaves even after i'd washed the leaves a couple of times. i'm not one of those people who get excited about extra protein.

buy some products in bulk: i headed to costco and purchased big yet relatively inexpensive bags of grated parmesan, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil. you'll need all of those ingredients on hand.

get a food processor or borrow a friend's: this process is very easy with a food processor. if you don't have one, they are a great purchase and you can find a less expensive brand for under $50.00. you may want to add one to your Christmas list. if you don't have one and have no way to get one, check with your girlfriends. someone is bound to have one they don't use very often that you can borrow for a day.

homemade pesto recipe

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced (i used the pre-minced garlic in a jar and used about 2 t.)

1-2 t. lemon juice (eyeball it)

salt and freshly ground pepper

place all of the ingredients in a food processor. turn the processor on high to get things mixed well. stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor and turn processor on again until a smooth paste forms.

you can use this pesto immediately for any dish or you can freeze it. the lemon juice in the pesto will help to keep the pesto its fresh green color during the freezing process.

to freeze: use a regular sized muffin tin. spray each space with a non-stick cooking spray. fill each space with fresh made pesto. cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer on a flat surface. once completely frozen, pop out the little pesto "muffins" and transfer them to a freezer ziplock bag. these will last up to six months.

to use: put one or two pesto cubes in a microwave safe bowl. microwave until thawed (about 30 seconds) and use in your favorite recipe.

if you are too late to try this next year...think about planting for spring. even if you don't have a green thumb, basil can make you feel tremendously successful..and who doesn't enjoy that?

enjoy!