I love to make new pasta dishes! They are so comforting and they can be a one dish dinner that is very pleasing for your taste buds and your tummy! Pasta dishes are so fun to create things and just let your mind go wild because you can put just about anything in a pasta dish and you can have so much fun creating the sauce! When it comes to pasta you never have to eat the same thing twice because the possibilities are endless, however, once you make this pasta you will want to have it all the time because it is THAT good!!

Mascarpone Garden Pasta

Ingredients

• 1lb hot Italian sausage (removed from the sausages from the casings)
• .5 yellow onion (chopped)
• .5 red onion (chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 12oz box Garden delight pasta (you can sub any other type of pasta you like)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1-2 bundles of fresh Asparagus
• 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons Mascarpone cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons parmesan cheese (for garnish)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Start a large pot of water on the stove and salt the water. Bring the water to a boil to cook the pasta and asparagus.  I like to use the Ronzoni Garden Delight in the picture above. It gives you a full serving of vegetables it is colorful and delicious! This is not a paid advertisement or anything but this is my pasta of choice and I always have it on hand!

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Once heated take the sausages out of the casings add the sausage to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until it starts to brown. Chop it up a bit with a spatula so it can cook.

Add the chopped onions and garlic to the sausage and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes until the onions are translucent stir it up here and there so everything cooks evenly.

Add the wine to the pan to de glaze the pan and get any bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let the wine cook off for 4 to 5 minutes.

I use this container to store wine that we do no finish or sometimes I buy a wine just for cooking and put it in this container in the fridge. This way I always have wine on hand for a recipe and I do not have to worry about running out to buy a bottle! That book in the background is where I write down my recipes and crazy inventions in the kitchen so that I can remember how I did it to share it with you guys!

The pasta water should be boiling at this point. Add the pasta and the asparagus. Look how colorful the pasta is! Just gorgeous! I already had some cooked asparagus this time but the first time I did not. I chop the asparagus into thirds and boil with the pasta for 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the can of diced tomatoes and stir. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the mascarpone cheese. Let the sauce cook on medium low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.

This is what the mascarpone container looks like incase you have never bought it before and you are unsure what to look for.

 I had already cooked and seasoned asparagus this time so I took them out of the container and cut them into thirds and added them to the skillet.

Once the pasta and asparagus are cooked add straight from the pasta water to the sauce skillet and stir to combine.

Add 1 to 2 ladles full of pasta water to help the sauce combine and stick to the pasta.

Look at all that creamy sauce!! As you stir it you can hear how creamy it is!

Garnish the top with the parmesan cheese and the chopped basil.

Plate and serve!

Yum Yum… Look at that!

I served ours with some toasted French bread and a glass of red wine! Oh I can’t help it let’s get a close up look at that pasta!

The Mascarpone cheese really is the star of this dish. It is an awesome cheese and you can do sweet desserts or savory dinners with this ingredient. I love all the goodness from the garden pasta and the color it brings to the dish! The spiciness of the sausage and crisp refreshing asparagus combined with the creaminess of the sauce…YUM! All I can tell you is make this for dinner and anyone you serve it to will love you and the dinner!!

What’s your favorite pasta dish? Have you ever cooked with Mascarpone? What is your favorite dish to make with it? 

Mascarpone Garden Pasta

Print

: Dinner, Pasta

: Heather

: 5 mins

: 25 mins

: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1lb hot Italian sausage (removed from the casings)
• 5 yellow onion (chopped)
• 5 red onion (chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 12oz box Garden delight pasta (you can sub any other type of pasta you like)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1-2 bundles of fresh Asparagus
• 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons Mascarpone cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons parmesan cheese (for garnish)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Start a large pot of water on the stove and salt the water. Bring the water to a boil to cook the pasta and asparagus.
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Once heated add the sausage and cook for 5 minutes until it starts to brown.
3. Add the chopped onions and garlic to the sausage and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes until the onions are translucent.
4. Add the wine to the pan to de glaze the pan and get any bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let the wine cook off for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. The pasta water should be boiling at this point. Add the pasta and the asparagus. Chop the asparagus into thirds and boil with the pasta for 6 to 8 minutes.
6. Add the can of diced tomatoes and stir. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add the mascarpone cheese. Let the sauce cook on medium low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Once the pasta and asparagus are cooked add straight from the pasta water to the sauce skillet and stir to combine.
9. Add 1 to 2 ladles full of pasta water to help the sauce combine and stick to the pasta.
10. Garnish the top with the parmesan cheese and the chopped basil.
11. Plate and serve!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

2.1.7

You know how you feel when it is really hot outside and you are super hungry for dinner but you don’t want anything heavy feeling? That is how it was the night I made this! We wanted to get our protein in and I wanted to make something fun that was no boring but I didn’t want that heavy super full feeling either that you can sometimes get from a pasta or rice. So I decided to omit the carb and just do steak and salad! I had a ton of fresh cut up watermelon that I had to use and I googled watermelon salad ideas and that is when I found the barefoot contessa recipe for this super simple wonderful salad I am going to share with you! The steak is something that we have ordered at one of our favorite restaurants before and I was trying to recreate a bit of that at home! I am calling this a two for one Tuesday because I have TWO recipes for you in ONE post! I know I am just so clever, huh? LOL Ok so here we go…

Steak a la Jason

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 Good quality steaks that are 1.5 inches thick (I used 3 small 4 ounce tenderloins but this works with most cuts of beef that I have tried)
• 2 to 3 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

First take your meat out of the fridge and salt both sides. I use fresh ground sea salt or a kosher salt because the bigger flakes stick well on the meat. Then you want to pepper both sides. I use fresh cracked black pepper and I give them a nice coating of pepper to kind of create a pepper corn crust on the meat as it cooks.

Take a heavy bottom skillet and start to heat the pan to high heat. Add the olive oil and butter and let the butter melt into the oil while the skillet heats up. Once the butter has melted into the oil place the steaks into the hot skillet and sear the steaks at high heat for 2 minutes per side.

Look at that gorgeous brown crust! YUM!! After you have seared the meat you want to turn the heat down to medium and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. This will give you steaks done medium rare. For a more well done steak add a minute or two per side.

While your steaks are cooking get out some of this gorgeousness!!

Gorgonzola cheese is an Italian Blue Cheese.

Chop up your cheese for the top of your steaks while they cook…

When the steaks are finished transfer them to a cooking sheet lined with foil and top with cheese. If you want to melt the cheese more then what the heat from the steaks will do then you can stick them in the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Look at all that melted cheese…

Plate and serve!

Now for the second part of the meal…

 Watermelon and Arugula Salad

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• .5 pound of Arugula leaves (I just used a few handfuls until my salad bowl had the amount I wanted in it)
• 2lbs seedless watermelon cubed (Again I just put in as much as I felt I wanted)
• 1/3 cup Good quality extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (About 2 lemons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• .5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Approx. 2 ounces of parmesan cheese

 Place the arugula and the watermelon in a bowl and toss.

Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice until combined and then add the salt and pepper and whisk a little more.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss. Add all of it or just part of it depending on what you prefer.

With a potato or vegetable peeler peel the parmesan cheese so you get ribbons of parmesan to garnish the top of the salad.

Plate and serve!

This might be a random combination but it sure is a tastey one. Look at all that color!

I think before the summer ends this should be on your dinner menu for sure!

Just one more look at the plate!

Yum Yum! What’s your favorite summer dinner??

Click below for the printable…

Gorgonzola Crusted Steak & Arugula Salad

5.0 from 2 reviews

Print

: 10 mins

: 10 mins

: 20 mins

Ingredients

• For the steak:
• 3 or 4 Good quality steaks that are 1.5 inches thick (I used 3 small 4 ounce tenderloins but this works with most cuts of beef that I have tried)
• 2 to 3 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• For the salad:
• 5 pound of Arugula leaves (I just used a few handfuls until my salad bowl had the amount I wanted in it)
• 2lbs seedless watermelon cubed (Again I just put in as much as I felt I wanted)
• 1/3 cup Good quality extra virgin olive oil
• cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (About 2 lemons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Approx. 2 ounces of parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. First take your meat out of the fridge and salt both sides. I use fresh ground sea salt or a kosher salt because the bigger flakes stick well on the meat. Then you want to pepper both sides. I use fresh cracked black pepper and I give them a nice coating of pepper to kind of create a pepper corn crust on the meat as it cooks.
2. Take a heavy bottom skillet and start to heat the pan to high heat. Add the olive oil and butter and let the butter melt into the oil while the skillet heats up. Once the butter has melted into the oil place the steaks into the hot skillet and sear the steaks at high heat for 2 minutes per side.
3. After you have seared the meat you want to turn the heat down to medium and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. This will give you steaks done medium rare. For a more well done steak add a minute or two per side.
4. While your steaks are cooking cut up your gorgonzola cheese to garnish the top.
5. When the steaks are finished transfer them to a cooking sheet lined with foil and top with cheese. If you want to melt the cheese more then what the heat from the steaks will do then you can stick them in the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
6. Plate and serve!
7. For the salad:
8. Place the arugula and the watermelon in a bowl and toss.
9. Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice until combined and then add the salt and pepper and whisk a little more.
10. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss. Add all of it or just part of it depending on what you prefer.
11. With a potato or vegetable peeler peel the parmesan cheese so you get ribbons of parmesan to garnish the top of the salad.
12. Plate and serve!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

2.1.6

 The other night while hubby was gone on a business trip I found myself in the spot of craving something luscious and yummy but I was tired at the same time and didn’t want to spend a few hours in the kitchen if I wasn’t even going to get to impress the hubby with an awesome meal. That is when this idea came into my mind! I still had some of this fresh Arugula Pesto to use and that is when it hit me… PIZZA! But I didn’t want to have to get out the yeast and wait for the rising process or any of that because I had other things to get done before the hubby got home. That is when it hit me! I had some puff pastry in the freezer (because I always keep that in my freezer you never know when it will come in handy!) I took it out and set it on the counter to thaw out a bit while I did some of my other chores (laundry, dusting & feeding my fur kids!) about an hour or so later I was ready to tackle my puffy pizza pesto dinner! You might have had puff pastry in a dessert but you may never have had it in a savory dish! It is perfect for both. It has tons of light flaky layers that can take any quick dinner, appetizer or dessert to the next level! And that is just what I wanted to do!

Pesto Puff Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (there are two sheets per box)
• 3 to 4 Roma tomatoes
• 2 ounces of goat cheese
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (sliced)
• 4 to 5 tablespoons Arugula Pesto (click here for the recipe) This is personal preference so slather on as much as you want!
• Approx.1 tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese (this is just to garnish)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly chopped flat Italian parsley (this is just to garnish and this is optional)

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Take one sheet of puff pastry out and slightly roll it on a piece of parchment paper that is on a baking sheet. You only want to slightly do this to get the folds out of the dough.

You would never believe something so puffy and flaky would come from something so thin!!

Next you want to prick holes in the pastry all along the edge to get a “crust” to puff up while the pastry is baking. Then you want to also prick the inside area of the pizza as well so it does not puff up out of control with air. (you will notice the olive oil on the pastry before I pre cooked it, this turned out alright but for better results you want to cook it first like it says in my printable recipe! Like my mom used to say “Do as I say and not as I do!” ha ha)

See the border to be sure a crust puffs up.

Now you have to prick some holes in the center so it does not puff up like crazy!

Place the baking sheet with the pastry in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. (I am going to pretend like I did this step before the rest of these photos!)

Pull the puff pastry out of the oven and brush on the olive oil all over the pizza. This gives a little moisture to the dough and willl make the pesto spread a little easier.

Next you want to brush on the arugula pesto. Look at all that gorgeous green goodness! That is a flavor explosion right there! Add as much as you like I like enough to get all that flavor in there and once it bakes it is not over powering!

Top with crumbles of the goat cheese. Goat cheese is very creamy and it doesnt crumble that well so just do the best you can or you can try to spread it on. It adds a great dimension of flavor and you will be glad you added it to your pizza!

Then add slices of mozzarella…

Place the Roma tomatoes on top of the cheese…

Just look at this goodness!!

Grate on a little parmesan cheese…

Just looking at this photo I know how good this is going to be!

Bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Look at how puffy and flaky that crust is… it is buttery and light and just plain delicious!

Take out of the oven let it cool slightly then garnish with a little fresh parsley…

Cut, serve and EAT!!!

Yum…

This would make a great appetizer or a main course! Either way if you need a tastey meal in a pinch this is sure to do the job!

Here is the printable recipe…

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OK, I just want to inform you guys that Oklahoma broke the heat record for every state in the United States! Ever! In the history of recording heat! I do not know about my fellow Oklahomans but this is not a record that I want to be known for breaking! I am also telling you this so when you hear me whining about the heat it is because IT IS SO FREAKIN HOT!!! Nothing beats this heat but this ice cream makes it bearable for the 5 minutes it will take you to devour it! Then you will  be staring at the container wondering how you can justify another cone only 15 minutes after you had the first one (come on it can’t just be me who feels this way!) Well I have the perfect way for you to justify it!

1. It is low fat and low calorie but tastes like the real deal (I would never lie to you!!) it is a miracle in the ice cream world in my humble opinion!
2. It is so flipping hot that you can’t possibly slave away in front of a stove to make a high calorie delicious sauce filled dinner so why not splurge a little.
3. IT IS FREAKING HOT! Like so hot I am waiting for Lucifer to knock on my door and say HAPPY TUESDAY! Yes it is that hot!

Ok so I bet you guessed what the surprise is? Yes the surprise is that this super creamy, yummy and impossibly easy dessert is on the healthier side! Now I am not going to lie and call it “healthy” but it is much better than making it with heavy cream (even though we all love some heavy cream from time to time) also you DO NOT NEED AN ICE CREAM MACHINE! You need only three things to make this: a container to make and freeze it in, a fork and some gold old fashion love! Yep! NO freezing an ice cream maker bowl a day before… NO whisking or beating! NOPE NOT HERE KIDS! This is the easiest and creamiest ice cream and it is super tasty! I hate that when you try to make a healthy version of things a lot of time the flavor is lacking. What I love about this recipe is that you do not have that happening! You do not have to give up good flavor or a creamy texture and yet you can cut the fat and calories tremendously!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Fantastico!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cool Whip Lite
• 1 can Fat Free Sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup Fat Free Smart Balance milk (or organic milk. If you use regular milk just make it 2% so you get a creamy texture to your ice cream)
• 1 Vanilla bean (or you can use 1 to 2 teaspoon vanilla extract depending on how vanilla you want it to be)
• 12 Oreo cookies (go with reduced fat Oreos to cut more calories if you like)

Open your can of Fat Free sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the container you will be freezing your ice cream in (I just used a 2 quart plastic container.) Use a spatula to get all the condensed milk out of the can. Pour your smart balance milk into the condensed milk and give it a stir with a fork.

Getting Omega 3′s and a creamy texutre! How can you go wrong! This is not a paid advertisement for them but I wish it was! Smart Balance products rock! OK back to the ice cream!

Then add the vanilla. I choose to use a vanilla bean because nothing compares to the flavor from a vanilla bean and I love them! If you do that you want to cut a slit down the bean with a sharp knife but do not cut the bean all the way through. With the back side of a butter knife slide it all the way down the bean until all the seeds are on the tip of your knife. Then you can just put them in your milk mixture and give it a quick stir with your fork so all the seeds are disbursed throughout the milk mixture.

Look at all those vanilla bean seeds! YUM! That is good stuff people!

Now it is time to add the cool whip. It will not measure perfectly level and that is ok! Just measure it out the best you can and dump it in the bowl.

Use the fork to incorporate the cool whip into the milk until you have a smooth consistency. This will take about 4 to 5 minutes and you want as many of the chunks of cool whip out as possible. It should look like this….

See the consistancy…

At this point you want to taste the batter. It should taste just like melted ice cream. You will know if you want to add more vanilla or not at this point. This is the base. This alone makes an amazing vanilla ice cream and about 117 calories per .5 cup serving!

Chop up your Oreos. This is the best part because you are in control of the size of the cookie bites in your ice cream so cut them as big or as small as you like!

Add the Oreos to the mixture and give it a stir just so they are all mixed in.

Put the lid on the container and freeze for 6 to 8 hours until set.

Then you eat it! And it is that easy! Enjoy!

I put this into a recipe calculator and it calculated at 237 calories per half cup serving! But the other amazing thing is all the possibilities this recipe gives you! You can do all the same ingredients but sub peppermint extract for vanilla and add some mint Oreos or chocolate chips and you have mint and chip! Add some chopped mangos for a tropical tasting vanilla ice cream! You could add some cream cheese and strawberries with gram cracker crumbles for a strawberry cheese cake variety! The options are limitless and if you can imagine it then you can make it happen! I love the easiness of this recipe and the quickness. I can mix it up in less than 15 minutes before work in the morning and I know I will have a wonderful dessert by the evening! Not to mention if you are having people over you can ask them what their favorite dessert is and surprise them by having it in the form of ice cream! If they say their favorite dessert is Key Lime Pie then you can add some crumbled up gram crackers and squeeze in some lime juice! Just test it before you freeze it and you will know just how it will taste frozen! That way you can make it as lime flavored as you like! There is no dessert that you could not re-create through this ice cream! And if you get stumped you can always leave a comment here and I will be quick to reply to help you customize your flavor!

I love my ice cream in a cone! I love this ice cream for many reasons and I feel that not making it would be the biggest mistake you ever made! Ok so maybe that was a little on the dramatic side, but make it! Trust me! You will be glad you did!

**Cooks Note**

-          You can substitute Cool Whip Free if you want to. I do not eat fake sugar so I did not use this. I am sure the results would be just as good and it would work just fine but I did not use that so I did not list it. If you try this be sure to let me know!

-          I say to use Smart Balance milk because they add omega 3, protein & calcium. The fat free has a rich creamy texture and taste like 2% milk but without the fat and calories! You get very similar taste with Fat Free Organic milk. If you want to use regular milk you can use any type but I recommend at least 2% to get a creamy texture so your ice cream is not icy.

-          I have used every brand of sweetened condensed milk I can find and find that it does not change the integrity of the ice cream so go ahead and get the cheaper stuff or get what is on sale!

Click the print button below for the printable version! 

I told you that I would give you some recipe ideas for the Arugula Pesto I posted the other day and I plan to make good on my promise! I know some people do not really know how to use pesto or maybe they are a little bit afraid. SO Iwanted to invent these recipes showing you versatile and awesome it is to add pesto to your cooking!

This recipe is for my Chicken & Aioli Tartines! This is a great quick dinner or lunch that will give you the feeling of being in a gourmet resturant but will only take you about 15 minutes to whip it up! How great is that. I love when something can taste great and take hardly any time to put together. I love that because it gives you more time to enjoy your food and your family time as well. OK so lets get to the tartines!

Chicken & Aioli Tartines

Ingredients

• 5 ounces rotisserie chicken
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella
• 3 to 4 sliced Roma tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons Arugula pesto(You can find that recipe here)
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s or Best Foods if you are on the West coast)
• 6 to 8 slices of bread (I used French bread but this would work with Cibata or Artisian bread as well)

First thing you want to do is make your Aioli. Are you wondering what an Aioli is? Ok I will tell you! An Aioli is just a garlic mayonasie. I did not make homemade mayonasie for this I just used store bought! It was much easier and time saver! For my aioli my Arugula Pesto and Hellman’s mayo got married and had this beautiful aioli baby! YUM!

To make the Aioli take two teaspoons of mayonaise and 2 tablespoons of the arugula pesto and mix it together! That is it folks! And now you have made Arugual Aioli and you just gave your tartine what it needs to be a tartine. A tartine is an open faced sandwich with a fancy spread!

Let’s get a closer look…

Look at all that creamy goodness! YUM your bread will thank you for this. If you are like some people I know and love (ahhemm BRENDA you can sub something like cream cheese for mayo!)Ok  set your aioli to the side and slice your bread.

After you have your bread sliced turn on the broiler in your oven and set it to “high.” Broil your slices of bread for about 4 to 5 minutes until they have started to toast and turn golden brown. Once they are browned removed them from the oven and the pan and set to the side.

While your bread is toasting slice up your mozerella cheese and your tomatoes.

Top your toast with aioli. I always use the un-toasted side after they come out of the broiler that way the bottom is already crisp when you lay it back on the baking sheet.

 Then place a few pieces of the chicken on top of that.

Then top that with some tomato slices …

and finally top that with a slice of fresh mozerella.

YUM… Just looking at these makes me want to eat one right now…

Pop your baking sheet with the tartines on it back in the broiler for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the chese is melted.

 If you like the cheese browned then you can do that too! Gives it a little crunch!

Now the most important and crucial step….NOW YOU EAT IT!

Make these and them come here and tell me what you think of this little tartine!

Sorry for the delay in posting this but if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter then you will know that my laptop died (RIP to my lovely red Toshiba) and all of my pictures that were on it are currently in limbo. Hubby did buy the cord we need to get them off the hard drive but upon inspection I still can’t seem to find any of my picture I am sure they are there but I am just going to have to deal with it for now. I had my other two recipes for what to do with Arugula pesto on the dead computer so I am going to have to remake them (Oh no they were so yummy that is not really punishment) and the only bummer about that is the fact that the pics were already edited and ready to go! So anyway please forgive my absence and make this yummy pasta because it is very comforting especially if you recently lost your favorite electronic item like I did!

When I made my Arugula Pesto I just knew I wanted to use it in a pasta sauce. I had a vision of a very light sauce with lots of flavor which is perfect for summer time. I know for me when it is hot I do not want anything too heavy but I don’t want to feel like I am still hungry. If you like a light sauce full of flavor then this is the pasta sauce for you! I also love this garden Rotini! It has a serving of veggies in every serving of pasta and I love the color it adds to the dish! If you have never tried this I suggest you do and you will not regret it!

Pasta al pesto di Rucola (translation- Arugula pesto pasta)

•  Half of a medium to large yellow onion chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup of Arugula Pesto (click the link for the recipe)
  2 to 3 medium size tomatoes, diced
• 12 ounces Garden Rotini pasta (you can substitute any of your favorite type of pasta. You can use a 16 ounce box if you want but you may want to double your pasta sauce.)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf Italian parsley (this is to garnish and this is optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste

 

 

Arugula Pesto

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 cups of arugula, pressed into the measuring cup (like you would with brown sugar. This is to make sure you get enough of the arugula in the pesto)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf Italian pasley, pressed into the measuring cup
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you want a good quality oil because this is not going to be cooked so the quality matters more for this)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste

I thought I would give a shout out photo to the star of the show here. Everyone meet arugula!

The great thing about a pesto is that it is so simple to make! I can’t believe I don’t make it more often! You take all the arugula, walnuts, garlic and parsley and put it in your blender or food processor.

Just look at all that stuff!!

I use this it is a blender and food processor and I love it. Clean up is a breeze and I use it for everything from pie dough to blended smoothies! The ninja works for me (and no this is not a paid advertisement! I wish it was! LOL)

Give it a pulse a few times to chop everything down a little bit.

Now you are going to pour in the oil while you hit the pulse button to make sure the pesto is mixing while the oil is added. (I don’t have a photo while pouring because Hubby was not home and I only have two hands!!)

Take off the lid and you are almost done! Scoop the pesto out and into a dish or a bowl or a jar. Look at that amazing green color! It has the spicy flavor from the garlic and the peppery zing from the arugula! YUM!

**Cooking Tip** At this point if you wanted to can this you could. Or you can scoop it into an ice cube tray and freeze it! after about 6 hours when it is frozen just pop them out and put the pesto cubes in a zip lock bag or air tight container and freeze them! They will keep for a month! Then anytime you want to add it to a recipe you can pop it out and toss it in and kick anything you are making up a notch! Once it is thawed out you can stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Now you want to add the grated Parmesan.

TA DA! You are done! You have just made some arugula pesto. At this point you need to test it and see how much salt you need to add. You can add a dash in when you are blending it but the Parmesan cheese is salty so I like to wait until after and if it needs a little bit then I add it in at the end. This way I can make sure it is not too salty or too bland. Once you have salted it and stirred it up you are done!

There are so many great things you can make with pesto. What? You said you don’t know what to make with it? Good thing I have 3 yummy recipes to post showing you what you can make with your arugula pesto! Those will be posted in the next few days!

 Click the foodista button for the printable…
The Best Arugula Pesto

I am a big HUGE fan of Rocky Road ice cream! I love the richness of the
chocolate with the crunch from the almonds and those chewy bits from the marshmallow!
YUM!! The great thing about this recipe is that if you do not have an ice cream
maker you can still make this! Just whip your cream until it is really fluffy
and mix all the other ingredients together then fold the cream in. Right after
you fold in the cream gently fold in your toppings and ta da! I love my ice cream
maker! You can find it here in my store if you are interested in the ice cream
maker I use. I also love that in the ice cream maker it was frozen enough to
eat right away so I only had to wait 35 minutes to have ice cream instead of 6
to 8 hours that it will take to freeze it without an ice cream maker! Lets get
to the ice cream already!

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Ingredients

• .5 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• .5 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

First thing you want to do is in a medium size saucepan you want to heat the sweetened condensed milk and the cocoa powder. You are not trying to cook it you are just heating it while you stir the cocoa together so that you get it all incorporated to a nice chocolate sauce.

Once it is incorporated pull it off the heat and set it aside to cool.

Add in the half and half, vanilla extract and heavy cream and stir well (I just used a regular spoon.) Once it is all mixed together stick your saucepan in the freezer while you chop the nuts and prepare the ice cream maker.

At this point I tested the mixture because pretty much this is how your ice cream will taste it is just like the melted version. It was so amazing I made Hubby try it to which he replied “Heck just give me that in a glass!” Yes it was that good! I knew at that minute this RR ice cream would ROCK!

Chop the almonds. I did a rough chop and tried to chop them different ways so you get a different size
bite each time.

Once you have the nuts chopped and you marshmallows measured out get the ice cream maker bowl out of the freezer and put it in the ice cream maker. Set it up so it is ready to use. Take your chocolate mixture out of the freezer and pour it into the ice cream maker. Turn the ice cream maker on. Set your
timer for 35 minutes.

At the 35-minute mark add in your toppings and let it incorporate for another 5 minutes.

Once this is done scoop it out into your freezer containers. Mine was definitely firm enough to serve right them it would have been a little firmer then soft serve.

I stuck it in the freezer for
3 hours and then I had this ice cream cone!

Just writting this post makes me want to go get some out of the freezer! The chocolate flavor is perfect it is chocolately but not too rich or over powering the almonds add the prefect crunchiness and the chewy marshmallows are such a delight when you get a bite with them.

PLEASE go home and make this!

MAKE IT NOW! You will be soooo happy you did! If you do try it out come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you think. I am also working on a lower fat and lower calorie version so if that goes well I will be sure to post that recipe!

Click the Foodista button below for the printable version. To print the entire post with all the step by step photos hit the print buttom below the post name at the top of the page.
Rocky Road Ice Cream

I will be back later this week with caramel butter pecan ice cream and some other yummy treats!!

Hello hello friends! Sorry this post is a little late but my life got a little crazy this past week and so I did not get this salad dressing posted as soon as I would have liked. Hubby and I went to Lowes this weekend to get a soaker hose for my herb garden that is just about dead from this crazy heat. That is when we saw it! The 16 foot by 4 foot beauty that is “The Ultra Frame Pool” Ahhh!! I have never had a pool but in this weather you can either stay cooped up in the house blaring the AC and praying for fall or you can get out in the lake or a pool and work on your tan and enjoy the water! I thought I was going to have to beg Hubby to consider buying a pool but before I could conjure up my best puppy dog face and convincing pool proposal he was already putting the battery controlled fish and water footballs in the cart!! WOO HOO! Only little did I know it would take two days to fill this beast of a pool so we did not get to enjoy the pool until Monday night. That is also the night that Hubby had a double header softball game. We swam a little bit then got ready to go to the field. Upon arriving is when I got the dreaded news, “hey Heather can you run back to your house and get your shoes we need you to fill in we are short players” OH HOLY HECK! I have not even played softball in about 6 years and my mind was still in the pool (with the glass of wine I was so very much enjoying) now I have to get into sports mode! With a crowd of people watching! So needless to say that today I am very sore everywhere (including my arm pits!!) And that is why I am a bit slow at getting this salad dressing posted.

Remember the other day when I posted my Signature Salad? I told you that I buy my salad dressing but sometimes I make it too! So I thought I would share the recipe I use for basil balsamic vinaigrette so you could run home and try it out and tell me what you think!! Sometimes I change it up and add a little more of this or that because it really is very flexible and you just have to taste it along the way while creating it to know what you want more of and what appeals to your palate! I like the tanginess with the sweetness from the pecans and the zing from the strawberries!  I have even made a Raspberry version (which I am sure will be posted soon!) It is really nice making your own dressings and getting to customize the flavors and knowing exactly what is in it instead of reading the ingredients and seeing ingredients you have never even heard of let alone try to pronounce! Here it is!

Heather’s Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you want a good quality fruity oil since you are not cooking this)
• 4.5 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon Basil (I used fresh but if I do not have fresh I have used dry and that works too)
• 1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder (Or you can mince fresh garlic)
• 1 teaspoon Honey (If you like it more sweet and less tangy you might want 2 teaspoons)
• Salt and pepper to taste

I pour the EVOO into a bowl or container or a large measuring cup. Then add the balsamic vinegar while whisking so that the two emulsify and then I put everything else in the measuring cup and whisk it up!

Pour it into your dressing container and seal the lid tight and shake it up some more.

Slap a label on the bottle and you are good to go! Just be sure to shake well before using!

If you need an idea of what to put this dressing on I recomend THIS!! YUMMY!