mmmmm: pesto chicken quinoa

a doctor recently told me i am gluten intolerant. i'm not sure what exactly that means except that i have been told to stop eating gluten. this is really, i mean really hard for me. bread and i have had a long standing love relationship. give me some bread and pasta and i could be pretty happy on a deserted island. so, now with my new news, i am learning to love new grains and foods that make me feel better. one of those great foods is quinoa. i've just started experimenting with this fun little grain. here is one of my new favorite lunchtime (or anytime) treats for myself. i cook a ton of this and then it is lunch for a couple of days. love it!


pesto chicken quinoa

3 grilled chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces (i like to grill up several chicken breasts at the beginning of the week. i use them in recipes like this one, throw them on a salad, or just eat them alone. if i have them on hand, i'm less likely to grab something unhealthy to eat. i season them with a little salt and lemon pepper.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red or green bell peppers, chopped

1-2 cups chopped white onions (i like onions so i used closer to 2 cups)

1 cup uncooked rainbow quinoa

1 cup water

3/4 cup chicken broth (i use the no-fat, low sodium broth)

1 cup basil pesto (for a great recipe to make your own, click here. store bought pesto works great too!)

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup mozzarella or parmesan cheese to garnish


if the chicken breasts are not already cooked, do this first and set aside. place the water and chicken broth in a pot with the quinoa to boil. once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. turn off heat and let sit for five minutes more. 

while quinoa is cooking, put the chopped bell peppers and onions in a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until soft and the onions are semi-translucent. set aside. roast the pine nuts. you can either do this by putting them in the oven on a cookie sheet at 400 for about 6 minutes or by putting them in a skillet on high heat and letting them roast.

once everything is ready, put all the ingredients except the cheese in a large mixing bowl and mix well. if you prefer the quinoa as a side, leave the chicken breasts uncut and serve the chicken along side the quinoa. either way tastes great. garnish with some cheese. enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: turkey pesto subs

my kids love giant sandwiches. i don't know what it is about them but my third born literally cheers. i'll take that any day. i also love that a toasted sub takes about 10 minutes to put together and only about 5-10 minutes to bake. it's dinner or lunch in a snap and it is delicious. this was our superbowl treat but it is good for any night of the week.


turkey pesto subs

1 large loaf of french bread, cut length-wise

1/2 cup pesto sauce (you can make your own or buy it from the store)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sliced red onions

3/4 pound sliced turkey (from a deli is best)

10-12 slices of provolone cheese


preheat the oven to 400 degrees. place the open faced bread on a large cookie sheet. mix the pesto sauce with the mayonnaise and spread on both sides of the loaf of bread. top the bread with the sliced turkey. place the sliced cheese over the turkey. top with the sliced red onion. 

place in the oven for about 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. if you like extra condiments, add lettuce, etc to the sandwich before you close the sandwich and slice into individual pieces. enjoy!

mmmmm, mondays: italian five layer dip

believe it or not, i just had someone write me a message today asking me for this recipe. it was meant to be that it was also on the recipe docket for the day. this dip is amazing. it is great warmed up or cold. i eat it with every sort of bread or cracker i can find. i served it at a book club meeting, a neighborhood bunco game and it will probably be on the super bowl snack roster as well. it's a great way to switch up chips and salsa to something a little more delicious. enjoy

italian five layer dip

1 cup pesto sauce (if you've never made your own pesto, click here for an easy recipe or pick some up at 

         the store. )

6 oz. goat cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup marinated roasted red peppers (in a jar)

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (in a jar)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pine nuts

in a small bowl, combine softened goat cheese and ricotta cheese. mix until smooth and spreadable. 

dice the roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes. mix the red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes into a thick paste. if the mixture seems dry, add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

layer the dip in a glass dish for the prettiest effect. begin by spreading out a layer of pesto sauce, completely covering the bottom of the dish. layer the goat and ricotta cheese mixture over the pesto, spreading carefully so the pesto doesn't get mixed in. thirdly, add the sun dried tomato and red pepper layer. top with a layer of parmesan and then a layer of pine nuts. serve with bread or crackers for a crowd pleasing snack. 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!

mmmmm, mondays: chicken pesto pizza

this pizza combines two of my loves, pesto sauce and pizza. it is super easy, especially if you have made homemade pesto sauce made from your herb garden last fall. if you haven't tried to make your own pesto before, now is the time to start thinking about things for next year. soon we'll have a post about getting that herb garden started for the summer. if you don't have your own pesto sauce made, don't let that stop you from making this pizza. there are some amazing pesto sauces available at your grocery store. this is by far my favorite pizza of all time, rich and savory. i hope you love it too!

chicken pesto pizza

homemade pizza dough

3/4 cup homemade pesto sauce (or store bought if you don't have any pesto frozen)

1 jar store bought alfredo sauce

1 rotisserie chicken (i just purchase a chicken already cooked from the grocery store)

1 cup chopped white onion (1 bag of frozen chopped onions if you can find these)

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 cup fresh mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

1 cup graded mozzarella

roll out the pizza dough on your favorite pizza pan. if you like crisper crust, pop the dough in the oven at 400 degrees for about five minutes before adding the toppings. mix the pesto sauce and the alfredo sauce together. you can add more pesto sauce to the mixture if you like a stronger pesto taste. spread the sauce over the pizza dough. shred the chicken into bite sized pieces and layer the pieces over the sauce. slice the fresh mozzarella into thin slices and place over the chicken. crumble the goat cheese and sprinkle over the fresh mozzarella. sprinkle the remaining cheese over the other toppings. bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and pizza crust is golden brown. slice and 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!