Basil Smashed Peas on Pizza

I had a variety of ideas for dinner tonight.  I figured out pretty quickly that I was going to make baked chicken tenders, but it took me awhile longer to figure out what I was going to eat with them.  Did I want to make mac & cheese?  Did I want to make pizza?  Did I want to make some other kind of pasta dish?  If I made pizza, did I want the chicken tenders on the pizza, or next to it?  So many decisions...

I narrowed it down to pizza, so I pulled a hunk of dough out of the fridge to warm up while the chicken tenders were cooking.  (sliced b/s chicken breasts, coated with a mixture of garlic powder, italian bread crumbs, and corn meal)  I also had to come up with a vegetable to go with dinner. I had some leftover peas, and I remembered the Minty-Smash Peas that I made a few years ago that were pretty tasty.  I decided to make a variation of those.

I put about 1/2+ cup of peas into my food processor and sprinkled them with garlic powder.  Then I decided to use basil instead of mint.  I added a generous handful of fresh basil leaves to the processor, and added just a splash of olive oil.  When I blended it up, it seemed a bit too dry, so I added approximately a tablespoon of ranch dressing.

I was going to have the smashed peas next to my pizza, but then it occurred tome that I could use them as a pizza sauce of sorts.  So I did that instead.  I spread the peas out on my crust, topped them with a bit of sliced onion and two sliced mushrooms, added shredded colby jack cheese, and popped it in the oven.  (450 degrees, 20 minutes)

It was super delicious.

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

Awhile ago, I came across a recipe on Some The Wiser for Basil Brownies that sounded delicious.  I was going to make them, but then I ended up making Cinnamon Brownies instead. Today, I finally got around to making some Basil Brownies!  In the process, I compared 3 different brownie recipes : 2 of mine, and 1 from Some the Wiser.  Then, I created my own. (The new creation is in red pen).  Pumpkin was a necessary ingredient, because I just opened the first can of pumpkin this season...it's time to start putting pumpkin in everything!

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

3.5 oz 85% cocoa chocolate bar

13 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/3 c pumpkin

pinch of sea salt

scant tsp vanilla

2 eggs

scant 1 1/2 c white sugar

1 1/4 c white flour

3/4 c fresh basil 

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Break the chocolate bar into pieces, put into a microwave-safe bowl with the butter, and microwave 2-3 minutes until mostly melted.  Stir until melted completely.  Add the cocoa powder, pumpkin, salt, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the eggs.  Mix in the sugar, then the flour.  Put the basil in a food processor and chop finely, then add to the batter.   Add the chocolate chips.  Grease a 9x9 pan, then pour in the batter.  Bake for 30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.  

Fruity Chicken Salad III

Place two B/S chicken breasts in the bottom of a saucepan.  Sprinkle them with garlic powder and turmeric.  Throw some fresh basil leaves on top.  Add 1/2 c pumpkin beer, and fill the pot with water.  Put on the stove with medium heat.  When it boils, reduce the temperature, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Then remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 20 minutes.  Then remove the chicken from the pot and shred it.

Mix the shredded chicken with mayonnaise, 2 spoonfuls of Basil-Cashew Pesto, 2 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 c chopped sprite melon, , and a handful of dried cherries.

Zucchini Pizza

Pizza Dough

2 tsp yeast

7 oz hot water (120 degrees)

garlic powder

oregano

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 c whole wheat flour

2 c white flour

1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings

marinara/Basil-Cashew Pesto mix

sliced tomato

spaghetti-ed zucchini

fresh basil

colby jack cheese

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes

Deliciousness.  I had some salmon on the side, extra deliciousness.

Pesto, Pesto, and more Pesto!

I bought a pound of basil from a friend's farm this morning.  I wasn't quite sure what I would do with a whole pound of basil, but I was happy to help them out and I knew I could find something to do with it.  It baked in the car for a bit while I was visiting my horse, and it made my car smell fabulous.  Then I finally brought it home and decided to make some pesto.  I made 3 batches...and there is still basil left.

3 jars of pesto

still enough basil left for a 4th jar...

I used my little food processor for each batch.  It worked like a champ, but it was getting a little tired by the end...I could smell the motor getting burned out. 

These pestos are great for pasta dishes or as a dip with crackers. 

Sour Cream Basil Dip

3 small cloves garlic

handful of basil leaves

1/4 c chick peas

3/4 c sour cream

As usual, measurements are approximate...I don't really know exactly how much chick peas or sour cream I used. I put the garlic cloves in the food processor first, then when they were chopped up I added the basil, when it was chopped up I added the chick peas, when they were chopped up I added the sour cream and let it all get blended together. Simple and tasty.   

In other news, something is eating my basil plant.  My INDOOR basil plant.  I haven't decided yet whether or not I need to freak out and throw away the whole plant in order to save myself from whatever tiny little  bugs are destroying it. 

Peachy Perfect Pasta

Ingredients

1/2 - 1 cups chopped onion

2 carrots, chopped

1-2 cups chopped cabbage

2 peaches, chopped

fresh basil, chopped

Boil water for pasta. When it boils, add the pasta, then:

Saute the onions in some olive oil.  When they are lightly browned, add the cabbage, carrots, some more olive oil, and 1/4 c water.  Put a lid on the pan and let it steam for awhile.  

While the veggies steam, chop up the peaches into bite-sized pieces.  When the veggies are done, remove the lid, turn the heat to very low, and add the peaches. Chop up some fresh basil and add it as well.  

Drain the pasta and toss it with olive oil and just a little bit of mustard and pesto.  

Put some pasta in a bowl, dump some fruit/veggie mix on top, and stir it up.

Eat, enjoy.

Gazpacho-ish

Cool and refreshing.  Pretty thick though, I should have used regular tomatoes instead of roma tomatoes so there would be more juice .

Chop all ingredients, then put them in a food processor.  My processor is small so I had to do a few ingredients at a time and then mix them together in a separate bowl.  If you have a big processor, feel free to process everything at once . 

veggies

1/4 c onion

1/4 c carrots

2 roma tomatos

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

basil leaves

big handful spinach leaves

seasonings

garlic

ginger

mustard 

cumin

liquids

rice vinegar

olive oil

veggie stock

First I processed the onion, carrots, 1 tomato, and some basil with a dash of vinegar and olive oil.  Then, I processed the zucchini with some olive oil and the seasonings, then the yellow squash with some olive oil, then the last tomato and some more basil.  Then I processed the spinach.  I mixed all the ingredients together, and it was super thick so I added some more olive oil and a bit of veggie stock to try to make it a bit looser.

I added a spoonful of plain yogurt to the gazpacho I had with dinner.

Gazpacho/yogurt, sloppy joe, and some chips.  

Dinner is served.

Basil Dip

Way back sometime in the spring, I bought a basil plant and a mint plant.  I was skeptical about my ability to keep them alive, but hopeful that I would actually remember to water them, and that they would supply me with fresh & yummy leaves to cook with.  I did succeed in watering them on a regular basis, aided by the fact that they sit on my kitchen windowsill where I stare at them every time I wash dishes.  They were doing great, but I was using them so often they weren't producing very large leaves.  Then I went away for 10 days (a friend watered them for me) and when I came back, holy cow!  The biggest, bushiest, herb plants I've ever seen.  Clearly they enjoyed my absence.  And clearly, they needed to be picked through.  I made Mint Icing with the leaves I stripped off the mint plant, and I made Basil Dip with the leaves I stripped off the basil plant.  

Basil Dip

1 1/2 heaping cups of fresh basil leaves

1+ tsp garlic powder

1+tsp mustard powder

1/2 c plain yogurt

Throw the basil leaves in a food processor and chop into tiny pieces.  Add the seasonings, mix it up.  Add the yogurt, process til smooth.  Chill.  

The yogurt gives this dip a bit of a tangy flavor.  If you want it a bit sweeter...you'll have to experiment.

This dip is pretty versatile.  You can enjoy it with crackers, carrots, or whatever it is you like to enjoy with a dip.  You can also mix it with some cold pasta, blast it in the microwave for 30 sec (you want it warm, not hot), and then mix in some chopped arugula.  

Parsnip-Basil Mash

Chop 1 large parsnip and steam it in a covered skillet with olive oil, 1/4 c water, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. While the parsnips are cooking, chop 5-6 leaves of fresh basil and throw them in a food processor for a few pulses.  When the parsnips are soft, add them to the food processor and pulse until smooth. 

(or as smooth as it will get...mine came out a little bit chunky, but mostly smooth)

This made a nice little healthy snack while I waited for my sloppy joe & mac n cheese comfort food to finish cooking last night.  

Peach-Basil Yogurt Cake

       I'm not a huge yogurt fan, but every now and then when it's on sale I will buy a whole bunch and make myself eat them with breakfast cause I don't completely dislike them, and yogurt is good for you.  I never ever buy the "lite" yogurt though, it's got aspartame in it.  That stuff is way worse for you than the couple of extra calories in the regular yogurt.  Anyway, yogurt was on sale 10 for $6 last week, and for some strange reason I actually bought 10.  Don't know why I didn't just buy 5.  So I ended up with all this yogurt in my fridge, and I just have not been in the mood for yogurt lately.  I've been too obsessed with my bacon pancakes to even think about eating yogurt and granola for breakfast. I mean seriously, who would want to eat boring yogurt when they could eat a bacon pancake?!
     Today, I'm looking at a whole 2 days off in a row (super exciting).  It's muggy and cloudy out, so there's nothing I want to do outside, and I decided it was a perfect day to play in the kitchen.  I've been dying to try something new, and just haven't had time or energy to figure out what.  Until this morning.  I decided I needed to bake something with yogurt in it so I could use up some of the yogurt without actually having to eat it by itself.  I was thinking that it might be a good way to flavor a cake.  So I went to google and typed in "yogurt cake" and found this gem of a recipe.  I meant to use raspberry yogurt, but upon inspection of my fridge, I discovered I had actually eaten all of the raspberry yogurt.  But I had 2 peach yogurts, and I usually don't even buy peach because although I love peaches, I'm really not a huge fan of peach yogurt.  Clearly, I was not in my right mind when I went grocery shopping last week.  I was probably half asleep and thinking about all the work I needed to get done, instead of thinking about the groceries I was putting in my cart.
    So I decided to make a cake with peach yogurt.  And then I had to come up with an herb that would taste good with peaches.  For some reason I feel the need to put herbs in everything lately.  Rosemary has ended up in the last several batches of chocolate chip cookies I've made.  (recipe here...they're amazing)  Lately I've been loving using fresh herbs instead of dried.  The only fresh herbs I have are basil and oregano.  I decided basil would go great with peach.

The Original Recipe

My Adapted Recipe

The Wet Ingredients...and the Basil

*for the whiskey, I used Tullamore Dew

smells sooooo good!

The Dry Ingredients

fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

grease a 9x9 cake pan with butter

pour the batter into the pan

bake at 350 for 30 minutes

cake is done if a toothpick comes out clean

Let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides from the pan with a knife, and transfer the cake from the pan to a wire rack to cool. 

THE ICING

Yogurt comes in 6 oz cups, and the cake recipe called for 8 oz, so I used the remaining 4 ounces to make the icing.  I don't know exactly how much confectioners sugar it took, but it seemed like an awful lot.  Probably because I started out using a tablespoon to measure it out.  After about 7 heaping tbsps I switched to a 1/3 c measure.  I used about 3 of those.  Then I just started pouring the sugar straight into the bowl. 

 I added some grated ginger and a tbsp of Tullamore Dew in an attempt to cut the sweetness of the yogurt and sugar. 

Once the cake was cool, I transferred it to a glass cutting board (the only flat thing I have that is large enough to hold this cake...) and poured the icing on top. 

one of the corners made its way into my belly

yum