Pesto.

I had a rather large basil plant when I made this. It has since died, and I must start anew.  If you have your own homegrown basil, this is a great way to use it. If you can get a lot for cheap somewhere, that's fine too. If you can only find basil in the super small, super spendy packages at the grocery store, this may not be how you want to use it...but who am I to say? This is a good condiment, and works great if you have some on hand to stir into cooked pasta for a quick dinner. I'm told there are other uses, but I haven't explored them as yet.

Traditional Pesto

Recipe from: How to cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Makes: about 1 cup pesto

Ingredients:

2 loosely packed cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried (pat dried, not 'crunchy' dried)

salt

1/2 clove or more garlic

2 T. pine nuts or walnuts

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, or more

1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan, pecorino romano, or other hard cheese (optional) (I didn't use this)

Directions:

Combine the basil with a pinch of salt, the garlic, the nuts, and about half the oil in a food processor or blender.  Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary and adding the rest of the oil gradually.

Add more oil if you prefer a thinner mixture. Store in the refrigerator for a week or two or in the freezer for several months. Stir in the parmesan by hand just before serving. (I don't like parmesan, and so skipped this step.)

Baked/Shirred Egg.

I love this recipe because it's super simple, quick, and can be infinitely increased to feed however many people you need to feed, limited only by the number of ramekins or small baking dishes you have on hand. It also is easily varied, since you can throw in leftover veggies or meat, or fresh or dried herbs with the cream.

These are the basic ingredients. Like I said, add anything extra you want, though it is good simple too.

Butter the ramekin.

Add the cream. (A couple of teaspoons is plenty, though by all means add more if you wish.) Now is the time to add any extras you want.

Crack the egg in. I recommend separating the egg for this, so the yolk and white mix easier with the cream when baking. I didn't do that this time though, and it still turned out great, so again, you decide. (Don't you feel powerful? YOU control the recipe!)

Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 375°F oven for 10-15 minutes. (If your oven is normal, it should take about 12.) Don't overcook! When you pull it out, it will look a little runny, though the white should be cooked and the yolk set. It will continue to cook a bit, as the ramekin retains some heat.

Salt and Pepper to taste, then enjoy!

Thank you to Mark Bittman and his cookbook, How To Cook Everything, for the recipe.

Quiche.

I LOVE quiche. When I was younger, my mom always made quiche when my dad was out of town, as he didn't like it very much, so it was elevated to treat status in my mind very quickly.  After I got married, I waited awhile to break out my mom's quiche recipe, because I was afraid my dear hubby was going to dislike it, and it would be banished to when he travelled(which is not very much, we travel together when we do travel). I needn't have worried. He loves this recipe almost as much as I do. Yet another reason why I love him. 

This is a great recipe for using whatever bits of veggies you've got lying around.  I used asparagus, vidalia onion, and green pepper this time around.  I also left out the bacon, as neither Chris nor I am fans of it. I've had it both with and without bacon, and I personally like it better without, but the recipe is good either way.

Quiche

Crust:

1 c. flour

1/8 t. salt

1/4 + 1/8 c. butter (or butter-flavored shortening)

1 1/2 to 2 T. cold water

Filling:

3 eggs

1 c. evaporated milk

3/4 c. milk

1 t. salt

dash pepper and nutmeg

cooked bacon pieces (opt.)

sautéed onions

shredded cheese to taste

various cooked veggies to taste

Directions:

Combine flour and salt in a small mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture looks like small peas. Add water, a little at a time, forming the mixture into a ball.  Roll out into a circle, to fit a 9" pie plate, or, alternately, place ball in pie plate and push with fingertips out to edges evenly. (Be sure to give a good edge to the crust, as it shrinks a bit while cooking.) Bake at 375° for 8 to 9 minutes.

In a blender, combine all filling ingredients except bacon, cheese, onion, and veggies. Put the bacon, cheese onion, and other veggies into the pie crust, and VERY slowly pour the egg mixture into the crust. (A trick I've learned is to place the crust, with veggies added, back on the oven rack before pouring the egg mixture in.  This way, I don't have to move a very full, very liquid pie into the oven. Careful, though, as with this way you're more apt to spill in the oven if you don't pour VERY VERY slowly.) Place quiche in oven, and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes.

Note: My mom always covers the crust edges with foil once the filling's in, to keep it from overbrowning the crust. I don't bother. The end product is prettier if you use the foil, but there's not much difference otherwise. 

Spaghetti Squash Italiano.

I did not know I liked spaghetti squash.  The first time I had it, I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting the slightly sweet squashy flavor that I did encounter.  Probably because the first time I had it I ate it with spaghetti sauce, which seemed logical, but it tasted horrible. (Plenty of people prefer it this way, but I couldn't get over the idea that I was expecting pasta under my sauce!) In any case, I thought I didn't like spaghetti squash because of this. That is, until I came across this recipe.  It is delicious, let me tell you.  Bonus, almost everything in it is absolutely fresh. (Non-fresh items? Olive oil and Parmesan cheese...not too shabby. And I suppose the pine nuts/walnuts. But I digress.)

If you've been on the fence about trying spaghetti squash, or squash in general, I urge you to try this recipe.  Your family, and your tastebuds, with thank you.

Spaghetti Squash Italiano, from Easy Everyday Cooking (Better Homes & Gardens)

Ingredients:

2 small spaghetti squash (1 1/4 o 1 1/2 lbs. each) (WEIGH BEFORE YOU BUY! I can't find any under 2 lbs. at my supermarket, so I make this recipe with one squash instead of 2)

4 oz. mozzerella cheese, cut into small cubes (1 cup) (Mozzerella, good mozzerella, should be packed in water, or at the very least feel quite squishy. None of this perfect block stuff. Most will be in a ball shape.)

3 med. tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I usually sub in roma tomatoes, which are meatier and have less juice, though they are smaller. If you do this, add at least one extra roma.)

4 green onions, sliced (or more...more is good.)

1/2 c. pine nuts or coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 c. fresh basil or parsley (you can usually find fresh parsley mixed in with all the lettuce at the supermarket, and it's much cheaper than fresh basil, and just as good in this recipe)

1 T. olive oil or cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. grated parmesan cheese (we didn't use any)

Directions:

Halve ths squash lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Prick skin all over with a sharp knife.  Place halves, cut sides down, in a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish.  Cover and bake in a 350° oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until squash is tender.

Using a fork, carefully rake the squash pulp to separate it into strands, leaving the strands in the shells.  Sprinkle one-fourth of the mozzerella into each of the pasta shells, toss lightly.  Push the squash mixture up the sides of the shells.

Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine tomatoes, green onions, nuts, basil or parsley, oil, and garlic.  Spoon the filling into squash shells.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Return to baking dish.  Bake about 20 minutes more or until filling is heated through. Makes 4 servings.

Ideally, each shell is one serving.  If you find squash like I do, it'll be 2 servings, so again, weigh your squash to check size.  Enjoy!