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Pesto is one of those staples that everyone should always have on-hand. It comes in handy for so many things and adds such fresh flavor to everything it meets!

While homemade pesto is usually better, I rely on prepared pesto from the store a lot. Here are some of the ways I use it:

• Tossed with pasta (tortellini is my absolute favorite, but any pasta is good)
• Spread on a tortilla, topped with a little cheese, rolled up and microwaved for 30 seconds
• As a sauce for pizza
• Thin with a bit of olive oil and serve with roasted vegetables
• As a sandwich spread
• On meat, chicken or fish
• Blend into white bean dip
• As a crostini topping with parmesan or goat cheese
• Mixed into shredded chicken with a touch of mayo (recipe)
• Tossed with a grain, topped with goat cheese crumbles

What is your favorite way to use pesto? 

Surely you can only be thinking one thing by this title…

Sandra Lee.

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Quick run-down on Sandy if you aren’t familiar with her (ahem, Mom): she often makes a meal on her food network show out of various packaged foods. Think cookies with cake mix (I’m guilty of that one), risotto with condensed soup (definitely not guilty, ew) and martinis called white knight-ini. Many people have a strong dislike for her, and while I’m not really a fan, she’s pretty harmless.

I saw “stuffing mushrooms” at Trader Joe’s and immediately thought about how easy stuffed mushrooms are to make. They always seem like such a treat too! The easiest way to make them would be to stuff them with one of the many spreads they have at Trader Joe’s and pack it with a little spinach so I did just that.

So you combine the spinach and a spread (I went with the Blue Cheese & Roasted Pecan), stuff it into the mushrooms and bake. So easy it’s kind of ridiculous and definitely considered semi-homemade. I almost went with the frozen spinach artichoke dip since it would be even easier, but I thought I’d mix it up a bit – choose your favorite spread! If you had some bread crumbs in the cupboard, I’d sprinkle a few on top of the mushrooms, but they definitely aren’t necessary.

Sometimes, semi-homemade is just right.

Spill it: Are you a Sandra hater or do you appreciate her “semi-homemade” recipes? 

Did you know that you can make cheese at home?

Maybe it was the over-abundance of dairy growing up in Wisconsin, but it never occurred to me to make my own cheese.  We visited farms at school to see cheese being made, we ate cheese on a very regular basis, and by regular basis I mean daily, we grew up surrounded by dairy farms and if you were lucky enough to have friends that lived on farms? You’ve experienced a dairy farm first-hand.

When I was a (naughty) senior in high school, I stayed with a friend while her parents were out of town to “help” her with the farm chores. One afternoon during my farm stay, my brother (thankfully) warned me (via a huge Nokia cell phone) that my parents were coming to videotape me helping on a farm. As if  they didn’t think I was really helping! I scurried out to the barn and started scooping hay just in time.

I’ve grown up a lot since those days, but my love for cheese has remained constant and the thought of making cheese at home is now a thrilling one! My teenage self would think that is like, so lame.

So I set out with a Bon Appétit recipe to make my own ricotta cheese.

Now someone please tell me how to make burrata cheese and my life will be complete. Like, seriously.

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant…

and seen something that sounded so interesting but you just weren’t able to order it because there were so many other things on the menu that you needed to try?

When that happens to me, I jot down a few words and email them to myself. Inspiration I call it. Hopefully I’m not the only one who does this crazy, little thing. (Please tell me I’m not the only one?)

So on April 16, 2010 I emailed this to myself:

And proceeded to think about it every now and then for the last 19 months.

I have no idea what possessed me, but I finally made it. And I’m so glad that I did. For starters, I can now delete that email. I can also share a recipe that can be mostly made in the slow cooker and will be a nice change from the standard BBQ pork.

I wish I could remember where we saw this, I know it was some dark bar in Denver, and we ate mac & cheese with truffle and mushrooms (been wanting to make that ever since too) and something about it just sounded right to me.

The Taster on the other hand was thoroughly confused.

“Chinese BBQ pork with provolone?”

“On a corn tortilla?”

“I don’t get it.” “Why?”

During times like this, I usually just shove some food in his face and wait for his (always honest) opinion.

This doesn’t top his list of favorites, but I loved it.

It is part nacho, where the edges of the corn tortilla get all crispy like chips.

Part tostada, with the classic corn flavor and juicy meat.

And part, “what? I don’t get it.”

Which is the best part of all.

I’ve had a bit of a sweet tooth lately. I’m not too happy with it, so I thought that some dark chocolate and a mix of fresh and dried fruits would be the perfect solution. So I picked up some grapes, dried mango and the most amazing dark chocolate + caramel + black sea salt from Trader Joe’s. A small square of chocolate plus a bit of fruit has been doing the job when that evening sugar craving strikes.

But back to the grapes. I noticed that my grapes were starting to look not so fresh and I remembered that I had been wanting to try a roasted grape recipe that I’d seen in Fitness Magazine.

So I roasted them. And proceeded to serve them on some melty brie.

I’m not sure if my “healthy eating plan” was derailed by serving them atop oozing brie, but it was the best-tasting fruit my taste buds have had in a long time.

It’s the perfect dish for entertaining because everything is better at room temperature!

Hi Friends!

Today’s daily eats post is all things blog-world related! From breakfast and lunch to an event at night, this is blog living at its best!

 Breakfast: Lindsay’s (Pinch of Yum) Powered Up Pumpkin Oatmeal. Um, yes this was definitely a yum. I was missing a few ingredients (who doesn’t have brown sugar?!) so mine consisted of:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 whole egg
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• toppings: 1 Tbsp coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg & toasted pecans

What is your favorite way to eat thanksgiving leftovers?

I’ve already admitted that turkey and mashed potatoes aren’t my favorite foods, but I’ve got memories of waking up in Milwaukee on Friday morning, making turkey sandwiches with iceberg and mayo on little potato buns before heading out for some Christmas shopping. I loved those little sandwiches.

Of course now a days, we’ve got exotic, exciting ways to enjoy those leftovers and I must say I’m more interested in some of these leftover ideas than the actual thanksgiving meal itself. Maybe I’ll take some of that leftover turkey after all….

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Turkey Samosas – Real Simple

Stuffing-Stuffed Mushrooms – Rachael Ray

Turkey, Artichoke & Mushroom Lasagna (switch out chicken for turkey!)

 Turkey Banh Mi – Martha Stewart

Turkey Waldorf Salad – Real Simple

 Penne with Goat Cheese, Kale, Olives, and Turkey – Real Simple

Baked Potato Pizza – Iowa Girl Eats

Grilled Turkey, Bacon, Radicchio and Blue Cheese Sandwich – Bon Appetit 

Turkey-Porcini Tetrazzini – Delish

And if all you really want is a sandwich, try these twists on the turkey sandwich from Rachael Ray!

• Creamy-Crunchy Sammy: Drizzle EVOO on 2 whole grain bread slices and toast them; spread on soft goat cheese and layer with thinly sliced turkey, pears and radishes.
• Honey-Mustard Brie Melt: Toast an english muffin, then spread with honey-mustard sauce. Layer with a couple of turkey pieces, sliced tomato and brie cheese. Place the open-face sandwich under the broiler until the cheese is melted.
• Spinach-Artichoke Grilled Cheese: Butter 2 slices of white bread and fill with turkey, gruyere cheese, spinach leaves and chopped marinated artichoke hearts. Grill in a skillet or panini press until golden-brown.

As I made my way through the (we will not name the number) bowl of creamed kale, I came to a very important realization.

Creamed kale tastes like it is really, really bad for you. It tastes like it is full of cream and cheese. Two things I adore, but when I’m eating kale, I like to think I’m doing something good for my body.

When I thought about the ingredients, I realized that there was a chance this creamed kale was actually healthy! I didn’t believe it at first either, because it certainly doesn’t taste it, but when I worked out the nutrition facts, I was left with a side dish that has about 100 calories per serving and a bonus of 10 grams of protein! I’m not one to get caught up on whether something is healthy or not during the holidays, I think it’s best to enjoy the celebration and eat the foods you enjoy, but this dish lets you have the best of both worlds.

Another bonus of this dish and not that I would ever condone this, but say you’ve got an uncle who is a little hesitant when it comes to kale. Maybe its your in-laws, I won’t tell. You could  trick them into eating, and liking kale. Sometimes I hear things like, “why do you like hippy food?” or “why do you eat like a rabbit?” and I feel the need to retaliate. I know, it isn’t right. But its totally fun.

Enjoy your rabbit food Uncle Mike.

Hint: To easily remove stems from kale, grab bottom of leaf in right hand and pull down with left hand. 

Is there anyone else out there who can not believe that Thanksgiving is in mere days? I still sort of can’t believe it. I’ve managed to move past my shock and this week I’ve got a few Thanksgiving recipes for you all – they are traditional sides with little twists.

I hope I don’t upset anyone by saying this, but I’ve never been a huge fan of mashed potatoes. They are all right, but I’d much rather my potatoes fried in duck fat. And even though I’m not really a fan – we thought that having a mashed potato bar at our wedding would be super fun! There were a few varieties of mashed potatoes, with toppings like pancetta, lobster and creme fraiche, which make mashed potatoes sound so much better – I heard it was good!

My husband on the other hand loves potatoes of any kind (he’s a real Midwestern boy) and I love him so I tried to figure out a way to compromise. I hear that is what marriage is all about.

So I proceeded to think about the things that I love (selfishly) and if they could possibly pair with mashed potatoes. Coconut milk and curry; wasabi and bok choy; neither of which seemed appropriate for Thanksgiving, especially since I realize there are a lot of Thanksgiving purists out there.

And then I thought about my beloved cured pork and cheese. And I thought that garlic mashed potatoes topped with crispy proscuitto and parmesan cheese would make everyone happy.

They did.

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In the short three weeks that Crooked Pint Ale House was open and we were still in Minneapolis, I managed to order the Rainbow Chopped Salad three times. It was clearly super tasty and good enough to resist ordering their delicious burgers! That should say a lot for a salad. And for me.

So I had plans to recreate it right away and as we drove through South Dakota and Wyoming, I would glance at that salad on my list – just anxious to get back into the kitchen and eat something full of vegetables.

A few weeks later, and the Taster and I are sitting at our table with this beautiful salad (on chilled plates thank you!) in front of us.

And it was perfect.

The nutrition stats are pretty good too, although it is a tad low on protein for me.  Next time we’ll try it with some grilled chicken to really make it a full meal.

If you’ve been looking for a new salad, or something healthy to bring to Thanksgiving (the Taster thought it would be perfect on turkey day), go make this. You might even choose it over stuffing – I know I would.

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