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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? 

We have done a very poor job of utilizing the LA Farmers’ Markets since moving here.

So last Thursday I decided that I wasn’t going to plan every single meal of next week like I normally do. I would go to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market (considered one of the best in LA) Sunday morning and make dinner out of our findings! Sadly, this is kind of my idea of living on the edge…

The farmers’ market was amazing, and I now vow to visit more often. It was the perfect way to spend Sunday morning and I was able to buy all of the vegetables and fruit I needed for the week!

Soon after we started browsing (and people dodging/celebrity spying) I spotted some pak choi (bok choy) and had just seen a recipe on Fake Food Free that I wanted to try out (Ginger Soy Pak Choi) so our meal immediately took an Asian twist.

Then we were at the Oyster Boys stand and I over-heard one of the Oyster Boys describing Thai Mussels…um, done. Actually, we decided it over a few oysters. Um, yum.

So following his instructions, we combined coconut milk and veggies in a large pot and let the mussels cook away. Can we just take a second to discuss how amazing fresh lemongrass smells?! I almost didn’t want to throw it in the pot.

The thai mussels were incredible – the flavors so complex and spicy, creamy and fresh – all at the same time. And so easy! Mussels always strike me as complicated or a lot of work, but they really aren’t!

There is something about rye bread and salmon that just works. Don’t you think?

I suppose smoked salmon and cream cheese is the same way. Any way it is combined is usually a way that I’ll like.

This is a recipe that I worked on for French Meadow, but it was so good I just had to share with you!

In the way that my favorite recipes do, this is one that comes together in minutes and can also be made ahead of time. The salmon mixture needs a spin in the food processor and the bread simply needs to be toasted until crisp. I love the extra touch that the chive garnish adds, especially if you’ll be serving it for others.

Compound butter is something that seems (and sounds) fancy.

But its totally not. (Shhh, no one needs to know that.)

It’s really easy to make and can be used with whatever herbs you have on hand. I’m just a little obsessed with sage + butter so I stuck with that.

The steps are easy:

Chop up sage.

Heat butter + sage until sage is crispy.

Combine with butter.

Freeze.

Slice.

Spread on anything you can think of. Hot bread is AMAZING (not that I would know or anything…) but it would be fabulous on your favorite meat or fish as well.

This spread is a favorite of mine.

It is slightly spicy, chock-full of vegetables and it contains cheese, so you know it’s got to be good.

The recipe inspiration comes from a favorite restaurant back in Wisconsin, High Rock, except that they have this special, secret hot sauce (Gilly’s hot sauce) that gives it kick. I don’t have Gilly’s hot sauce as it’s a home-made specialty so I had to use some jalapeno hot sauce, but it gives the same affect. Any type of hot sauce would work. Next time I think I might just try it with sriracha…

I can at least promise that sauteing garlic in olive oil will have everyone wondering what you are up to and when exactly it will be ready to eat. Isn’t it amazing how a simple ingredient cooking can bring everyone around to the kitchen?

It really has been a while since I’ve shared a recipe with you all.

Trust me, I really miss the kitchen. Between the wedding, the move and the apartment search, I haven’t had my own kitchen for over a month!

The end is in sight though and I’ve got a huge list of things that need to be made. I’m baaaack!

Anyway, brown butter is pretty much amazing. I’m convinced you could drizzle it over anything and whatever it was would taste delicious.

When you combine brown butter with squash and sage however, you are instantly transported to fall and all that comes with it. Crunchy leaves, pumpkin lattes, and brown boots. Any squash (or vegetable for that matter) would work although the acorn squash that I used was especially delicious.

And it felt like fall while I was eating it, even though I haven’t busted out my brown boots quite yet.

Hi Guys! I’m currently in the middle of moving our entire life across the country so Lindsay (Pinch of Yum) is here for the day! 

I made the small mistake of looking at the pictures and write-up that Lindsay sent me for this guest post as I was in the middle of packing up our apartment and we had absolutely no food left. Ok, exaggeration, we did have food left, but pretzels lose some of their appeal after looking at these quesadillas. Right?

Thanks so much to Lindsay for helping me out during a very crazy part of life. Lindsay is Twin Cities blogger/teacher/amazing photographer who is always coming up with my kind of recipes. I can only hope that someday my pictures are as good as hers!

Hello friends!  I’m Lindsay from Pinch of Yum.

When Emily (the smart and healthy-conscious nutritionist) asked me to do a guest post, I panicked.

Nutritionist?  Post?

Time to get healthy.

But then something weird happened during my favorite part of the day: snacktime.  I wasn’t even trying to come up with a healthy recipe, and it just showed up on its own.

During a moment of extreme hunger, and an attempt to use up the last of the tomatoes from my neighbors garden – which were gifted, not stolen, although I had been eyeing them – these little Tomato Corn and Basil Quesadillas were born.

Talk about a perfectly fresh and filling snack!

And then I remembered that, actually, I kind of like to eat healthy snacks.

Especially healthy snacks with melted cheese.

Oh, yes.

Tomato Corn and Basil Quesadillas (makes 1 quesadilla)

• 1 whole tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup corn
• 4 leaves fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• 2 tortillas
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• hummus, optional
• salt and pepper

1. Put the chopped tomatoes in a strainer and mix with the corn.  Add salt and allow juices to drip out for a few minutes.  Press on the mixture to make sure most of the moisture gets out.  Add ¼ cup cheese to the mixture and stir.
2. Preheat a skillet or a Panini press to medium-high heat.
3. Spread a tortilla with hummus (optional) and top with the tomato mixture.  Top with the remaining cheese and basil leaves, and place the other tortilla on top.  Grill for a few minutes on each side until cheese is melted and outside of tortilla is toasted/grilled.  For a more crispy outside, add a little butter or olive oil to the pan before grilling.
4. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into wedges and serve!

Chicken salad seems like one of those classic foods. Everyone has their own version, their own family recipe and their own specific proportions of what goes into it. I didn’t really grow up eating chicken salad so I’m not really partial to a certain ingredient or ingredients. I did have a lot of chicken in my freezer that needed to be used so I was searching on Foodily for what I could do with it. They presented me with this recipe from Real Simple. It was just the chicken salad I was looking for.

You see, I received about 4 pounds of Just Bare chicken breasts and tenders last week and I had precisely a week and a half to eat them up before we start the trek to California. Just Bare Chickens are fed natural feed and they are cage-free. You can also plug in a code on their website to find out what farm you chicken came from – mine was from a farm in Little Falls, MN. 

The chicken salad is great served over greens for a lunch or a light dinner but is also fantastic stuffed between ciabatta bread, and scooped with crackers for an easy snack.

What goes into your chicken salad recipe? 

After trying Victor’s 1959 Cafe Champagne Mojito, I knew I had to try and re-create it at home. Ok, I admit it, I picked up all of the ingredients the following weekend. I need to try to re-create it and I needed to do it asap.

Mojitos made with champagne are quite delicious. They are bubbly, bright and oh so refreshing. Perfect for these last days of summer but I’ll probably be drinking them year round.

Thankfully I had two tasters that evening (Mercedes was over) because it took a few tries to get the right proportions of simple syrup, lime and champagne. Really hard work I tell you but don’t worry, I’m here to help.

It is really easy to make, in fact it reminded me a lot of the Basil, Cucumber  & Mint Vodka Spritzer I made earlier this summer with a basil and cucumber simple syrup. Simple Syrup is so easy to make and adds such a nice touch to cocktails.

Make it this weekend and enjoy your labor day holiday!

Years ago, when I was really starting to get into cooking I made a smoked salmon dip on a very regular basis.

It was delicious, pretty easy to throw together and it was always a hit. So the other weekend I thought I would break it out again.

The components are simple: whipped lemon cream cheese, red onion, fresh dill and lox.

Mixed together and spread on crackers though, is much more than simple components. It’s delicious. And bright. And always popular.