Classic Basil Pesto

Basil is one amazing herb. It's a member of the mint family, and is commonly grown and featured in the cuisine of India, Southeast Asia Northern Africa and Italy. Some even call it Holy Basil because it has some great properties besides just tasting really good; antibacterial, stress fighting, good for your digestive system type properties :0) There are many reasons to eat basil, so let me introduce you to one of the yummiest~ Classic Basil Pesto!

If you have never tried or heard of Pesto, it's a tasty culinary invention for sure! A simple blend of herbs (usually basil), pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. Pesto can be used on sandwiches, in soups, or pasta dishes. Best of all, it's deeeeeeelicious!

Since I've been on a fresh herb kick this week with my posts, I thought I'd whip up some Classic Basil Pesto to share with the world. I don't actually have enough for the world, but if everyone who read this post made some, and shared it with friends, and the friends made some, well, we just might get to share pesto with the whole world...

Note: You will need a food processor to create classic basil pesto. I have never attempted to make it in a blender. If anyone of you is daring enough to try, please let me know how it turns out!
Some Ideas: I hope you truly enjoy pesto. You can easily freeze individual portions in an ice cube tray and just pop them out as needed. You could stir it into the lovely Baked Risotto with Zucchini that I featured yesterday. Even my picky kids will eat it on grilled cheese. Mmmm, there's a little hint for tomorrow's recipe :0)

Classic Basil Peso

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: none

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Ingredients (about 3/4 cup)

• 3 garlic cloves, peels left on
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (no shells)
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Place Garlic cloves in a skillet over medium heat. Stir often and toast until just starting to get brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the pine nuts and stir together with the garlic, just until they start to get golden brown 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.

2. In a food processor, toss in the basil leaves. Make sure they don't have water on them. (Dry them well with paper towels if you have recently rinsed them in water.) Add the pine nuts, oil, and Parmesan cheese. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, peel it and toss it into the food processor as well.

3. Process all ingredients well, stopping to scrape the bowl down as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes and serve. Pesto will keep in the fridge for about 5 days or freeze in ice cube tray.

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Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup) is one of the best recipes for soup that I've ever eaten. Ever. The ingredients are simple enough~ and there's nothing fancy about the way you cook them. But when they come together magic happens in your mouth. Even thinking about it now causes some cravings; I'm probably going to have to make up another batch after I write this post!

This recipe originated from 'The Olive Garden' restaurant. It was so popular people started to experiment at home to see if they could come close to cooking up a batch that tasted like the original. In doing research for this recipe, I came across a few variations. This one I'm sharing with you in my opinion, is the most accurate.

The ingredients for this soup are simple, yet lovely together. Italian sausage, bacon and minced onion are sauteed and combined with chicken stock, potato slices, coarsely chopped kale and cream (half and half). I will admit: I don't eat kale very often, but this is one recipe that it is perfect for. Don't leave it out! All these flavors combine to create a savory and flavorful soup that you just can't get enough of. Seriously.

A few tips: I have written the recipe instructions so that you slice the potato while the meat is cooking on the stove top. I noticed that if I did it before I started cooking, during recipe prep, that the potatoes had started to turn brown before I got them in the pot. Just remember while slicing the potato, to take some time to stir your sauteing meet around frequently, so it cooks evenly.

Also a word about olive oil: In this recipe the olive oil called for is not Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or EVOO). It is the less refined plain old 'olive oil' as stated below. There is a difference. When a recipe calls for olive oil and you're not sure which one to use, check to see if it's going to be cooked. You don't want to heat EVOO. Yep Rachel Ray, I said it. EVOO is extra extra refined (hence the name) and is made to be served at room temperature. Because it's so refined, it burns at a much lower temperature that regular olive oil.  If you'd like to use olive oil to saute your meets or veggies~ that's great. Just make sure you have a bottle of 'olive oil' on hand to use. The smoking point is higher (the point at which it's the correct temperature to add your ingredients to saute) and it's made for cooking. EVOO is best in vinaigrette, salad, bread dipping, or drizzled over your Italian entree just before serving for an extra dimension of flavor.
Whew. I'll get of my soap box now :0) 

If I could jump out of the screen and tell you to try this soup today, I would! I love it and it's my new favorite. I truly hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Give it a try!

Zuppa Toscana Soup

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: saute soup/stew Italian

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Ingredients (6 to 8 servings)

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage, hot or mild
• 4 oz bacon, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, minced
• 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 medium russet potatoes, skins washed
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 cup packed kale chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 cup finely shredded Romano cheese for serving

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Crumble sausage (remove casings) and cook, breaking large clumps apart, until sausage is fully cooked and browned. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate or bowl. Remove all but 1 teaspoon fat from the pan. Add diced bacon and saute for about 5 minutes. Add onion and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Saute until the bacon is cooked through (not crunchy) and onions are soft, about 5 minutes more.

2. While the sausage and bacon cook, slice the potatoes lengthwise, and slice each half lengthwise again. Slice each portion crosswise into thin slices approximately 1/8 inch thick.

3. Add the chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, sausage, kale, sugar, salt and pepper to the bacon/onion mixture. Bring soup just to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender. Remove excess fat from the surface with a large spoon or ladle. Stir in the half and half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of cheese over individual servings. Garnish with seasoned croutons if desired. Serve.

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Elva's Ham Chowder

You'll enjoy creating this recipe at home because it's simple and full of flavor. Your taste buds and tummy will thank you for making Elva's Ham Chowder tonight. Mmm, Mmm, Mmm! I often her my husband singing the old Irish tune "Who threw the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder" when I whip up a pot of this soup :0)

Another one of my husbands' grandmothers' recipes, it easily doubles to feed a crowd. You probably have most of what you need to make it in your pantry already. Cubed ham is sauteed with onion and celery to add flavor and soften the vegetables. Then you just add canned corn, cream of chicken soup, cream of potato soup, and evaporated milk. One package of cream cheese is melted into the mixture, and you've got a thick and hearty soup that satisfies your appetite.


If you desire, you can thin the soup a bit with milk. I personally like it thick and hearty. Do not add any salt to this, the ham and soups impart enough salty flavor on their own. If it's too salty for your liking, adding milk can also help bring the saltiness down a bit. I love adding freshly ground pepper to a hot bowl.

Elva's Ham Chowder

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients (6 to 8 servings)

• 1 pound chunk of Ham, cubed into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 1 cup of celery chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 2 cans of cream of potato soup
• 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
• 1 can whole kernel corn in water
• whole milk
• pepper

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium high heat, saute the ham, onion and celery until vegetables are softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

2.Then add in the cream soups, evaporated milk, cream cheese and corn with water. Stir constantly to mix together and melt the cream cheese. Remove from heat just before boiling. Add a little milk to thin the soup if it's to thick for your liking. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

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Southwestern Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

If you've never had roasted butternut squash soup, you've go to try it! You will hold a bowl of Autumn goodness in your hands, with fabulous color and flavor, and super simple to make! Here in Idaho we've just had our first snowfall of the season. When the weather turns cold I turn to hot soup for a weeknight meal. It's nice to sit over a hot bowl of deliciousness while watching the clumps of snowflakes float gently down out my window.

Butternut squash is arguably the most popular species of winter squash~ and is a good source of fiber and vitamins C, A, and E. It's a close relative to the pumpkin, and in Australia is even called a butternut pumpkin! When choosing your squash at the supermarket, look for ones that have a nice big long neck. That's where most of the flesh is that you will eat. The seeds are in the lower, more bulbous part of the squash.

Slicing up a butternut squash may look difficult, but it's actually simple when you follow the steps. When you have your squash picked out, slice off the stem and root end. Then slice the bulbous end away from the neck. Next, make sure you have a good vegetable peeler on hand, because you'll need it to peel the skin off both parts of the squash. And watch out, the squash is slippery when peeled! Chop the bulb end in half and scoop out the seeds. Now you can chop your squash into chunks (1 inch to 1 and 1/2 inch size) for roasting in the oven!

This recipe also uses chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce, which is full of great flavor. I personally try to scrape most of the seeds out of the chipotle chile before dicing it. They are FULL of seeds. The chicken broth can be replaced with vegetable broth for a more vegetarian friendly version. One more note on this recipe~ do NOT substitute onion for the shallot, the flavor is way to strong for this recipe. Shallots have a sweeter, milder flavor that goes great with the squash. And I have to admit, I don't care for cilantro. Yep. I said it. But I don't think I'm the only one out there who doesn't like it. If you happen to be like me, just leave it out :0) Don't worry about substituting anything for it. The soup is just as delicious without it. :0)

Southwestern Roasted Butternut Squash

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: roast Butternut Squash winter fall

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Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks about 1 inch in size
• 3 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 4-5 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• Optional: sour cream and tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Place your oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place squash, shallots, oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and toss to coat evenly. Then pour out onto a large, rimmed, roasting pan or baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and softened, about 35-45 minutes.

2. Add 1/2 cup broth to the pan and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Return to the oven and roast again for five minutes to glaze the vegetables.

3. In two batches, puree the squash and shallot with broth in a blender until smooth. Pour out into a large sauce pan or dutch oven and stir in the honey, lime juice, cumin, and cream. Bring soup to simmer over medium-low heat, adding broth or water to adjust the consistency to your liking. Just prior to serving, stir in cilantro and chiles. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or tortilla chips. The soup will keep in the fridge for a few days.

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