Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes Layered Dinner
Were home from BlogHer, safe and sound. We had an absolute ball---thank you so much for your well wishes. The live blogging transcript of the Food Blogging During a Recession is here, thanks to Chefdruck Musings. I wrote a tiny bit about our trip on Totally Together Journal, and Alanna did a Food Blogger recap on BlogHer.On the plane ride home, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and now I want to move to a sustainable farm. Like, NOW. Take me. Teach me. I want to know more! For the time being, were going to hit up our local produce stand, farmers market, and look into CSA delivery. I cant wait to learn as much as I can about growing vegetables, and want the kids to grow up knowing where food comes from.
On that note, I made a completely organic (except for the chicken, because it was Foster Farms and already in the freezer and Im a die-hard cheapskate and couldnt not eat it) dinner. In the slow cooker. Slow cooking is known for fast, friendly meals, but that doesnt mean that the food needs to be processed or not healthy. Ive made TONS of healthy food in the slow cooker, and you can too.
once in a while, Buffalo Chicken Wing soup is okay, though. right...?
The Ingredients.
serves 4.
for the pesto:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
4 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh basil
2 tablespoons pinenuts, or walnuts, or sunflower seeds
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 chicken thighs, or breast halves
sliced mozzarella cheese (I used string cheese!)
aluminum foil or parchment paper
4 small sweet potatoes, washed well, skin on
The Directions.
I used a 6 quart slow cooker. In a food processor or blender, combine the ingredients for your pesto. When liquidy, taste. If you need to add more citrus or salt or pepper, do so now.
In the bottom of a large slow cooker, arrange your chicken pieces. Mine were still frozen. Layer on slices of mozzarella cheese. Pour pesto evenly on top. Cover with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Scrub sweet potatoes well, prick with a fork, and lay them on top of the paper or foil. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. If your chicken is frozen it will take a bit longer. If youre using fresh chicken, and your sweet potatoes are quite large, you may choose to swap layers, and put the sweet potatoes on the bottom. Newer slow cookers cook from the sides as well as from the bottom, but some people swear the stuff on the bottom cooks faster.
Carefully remove the sweet potatoes with tongs, and remove foil or parchment. The steam that comes out will be quite hot, keep small children away.
The Verdict.
We all loved this meal. My kids put cinnamon on their sweet potatoes, and enjoyed eating the skin--for the first time. I was thrilled. The chicken was fully cooked, and the pesto had a good bite from the garlic that was balanced by the citrus. I used limes instead of lemons, and enjoyed the limey flavor. Lots of pesto calls for gobs of Parmesean cheese, which I opted to not use to 1) keep it a bit lighter and 2) to save a trip to the store. I served it alongside some leftover Quinoa Salad from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.
This was a great dinner.
somewhat related recipes:
Layered Dinner
Use your Slow Cooker as a Smoker
Cedar Planked Salmon
Chicken Adobo
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili, Lime, and Cumin
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Slow Cooker Pesto Spinach Lasagna Recipe
I didnt grow up eating lasagna. I first heard of this dish while reading a comic book---although Jim Davis always spelled Garfield and Odies favorite dish "lasagne." I remember asking my mom what it was and she said it was a layered pasta casserole with cheese.
I ate my first plate of lasagna when I was 12 or so at a friends house during a sleepover. It was from Stauffers. It was delicious, and I was hooked.
Its really not hard to make a good lasagna. I make it quite a bit, either in the crock or out. I like that I can shove extra veggies in without too much notice, and I like that I can use the odds and ends of bags of pasta---if Ive only got a few traditional lasagna noodles, no problem---I throw in a layer of penne! If Ive got the bits of a few different kinds of cheeses, who cares? Ive even used the individually packaged string cheeses. Its all good.
There are very few vegetarian lasagnas worth eating. Ive probably offended a bunch of people.
Im sorry. But I stand by this claim: I havent found a vegetarian lasagna (even in restaurants) where I havent walked away wishing for meat and more flavor.
but Ive found the secret to worthwhile vegetarian lasagna: Throw in pesto!
The Ingredients.
serves 8
1 (26-ounce) jar prepared pasta sauce1 (10-ounce) box lasagna noodles (I like tinkyada brown rice)
1 (11-ounce) container pesto (or by all means, make your own!)
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 (12-ounce) bag baby spinach
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 cup water
The Directions.
Use a 4 quart slow cooker. Put a spoonful of pasta sauce (about 1/4 cup) into the bottom of your cooker and swirl it around. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (youre going to have to break them to make a layer). Smear ricotta cheese and pesto onto the noodles. Add a handful or two of baby spinach, and top with a layer of Parmesan and slice mozzarella cheeses. Repeat layers until youve run out of ingredients. The spinach is fluffy, so youre going to have to squish it down to make it all fit.
Before closing the pot, put 1/4 cup of water into the empty pasta sauce jar and close and shake. Pour this saucy water over the top of everything.
Now cover up and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for about 3 to 4. Youll know its done when the top layer begins to brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. It will also pull a bit away from the sides. Taste-test a noodle to check texture.
Uncover, and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
The Verdict.
This recipe was a complete surprise. I was on the phone with my friend Danielle, and Adam walked in the door with 2 packages of pesto (I had asked him to pick up one, and it was buy 1 get 1 free). Instead of being a gracious wife, I began to whine about having too much pesto in the house to Danielle, and she told me to put it in lasagna.
She was right. I shouldnt have complained, life is good, lasagna rocks, its fun to get the kids to eat spinach without them realizing it, and there are DEFINITELY worse things in the world than extra pesto.
Lesson learned.
Head held in shame.
more vegetarian main dish options:
end of summer harvest soup
sweet potato chili
borscht
honey lentils
jamaican pumpkin soup
potato leek
vegetarian no noodle lasagna
ratatouille
Friday, March 13, 2015
Recipe for Kale and Basil Pesto with Lemon and Parmesan
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| Kale and Basil Pesto is a delicious way to eat your greens! |
This recipe for Kale and Basil Pesto with Lemon and Parmesan is a Public Service Announcement for all those lucky people who are growing kale in their gardens. I actually made the pesto in these photos last September when my garden at the old house was bursting with kale. Since I was giving kale away to anyone who stopped by, the abundance of kale led me to experiment with using it as an ingredient in pesto. Kale is a strong flavor, so I froze my pesto in this mini-muffin tin, and each little ball of pesto was about three tablespoons, just the right amount to stir into a soup or toss with some pasta or rice. If you have kale growing in your garden, or if your CSA or Farmer's Market gives you more kale than you know what to do with this summer, I highly recommend making this as soon as possible.
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