A new musical group?  Nope, just a couple of things you can make with stuff from your garden.  Yes, I know the garden is dead and under the remnants of a foot of snow.  This is Pesto you would have made in the summer when your basil was taking over the garden.  It freezes well.  Then in the winter you can make things that remind you of summer.

Easy Peezy Pizza Dough from recipezaar.com

2 tsp. dried granulated yeast
3 C. bread flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 C. + 2 Tbsp. Water

Bread Machine-add ingredients according to manufacturers directions: wet then dry, or dry then wet.

By hand-place warm water in small bowl. Add sugar and yeast, stir slightly and set aside. In large bowl add flour and salt, mix slightly. When water/sugar/yeast mixture becomes foamy, approximately 15 minutes, add to flour/salt mixture, and add olive oil. Stir until thoroughly combined and dough starts to form a ball. Turn onto lightly floured counter top and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough ball in greased bowl, (grease top of dough ball also) cover with a cloth and place in a warm place (like next to stove). Let dough rise 1 hour or until double in size. After 1 hour, punch down dough, knead slightly and place back in greased bowl to rise another hour. (You can skip the second rising and proceed to next step if pressed for time.)

For thin crust pizza, cut dough ball in half and roll or press dough into 12" round pizza pans, greased and sprinkled with corn meal (optional). For thick crust, roll or press dough into one 12" pizza pan or a greased 9" X 12" cookie sheet. Top with favorite toppings and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until browned on bottom.

Pesto Sauce

2 C. packed basil leaves (you can also use 1 C packed basil and 1C. packed parsley)
½ C. Pine nuts (walnuts or almonds can be substituted)
6 cloves garlic
3/4 C. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 C. Olive Oil

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse into a coarse paste. You can put pesto into an ice cube tray and freeze then put into Ziplock bags for future use. I find ½ C. Ziplock containers a good size for freezing.

Shrimp Pesto Pizza

1-12" pizza shell
½ C. Pesto (homemade or from the dairy section in the store)
16-Shrimp (26-30 size)
1 Tbsp. Butter melted
1 Clove garlic crushed
1 cup of Italian blend shredded cheese

Spread Pesto over pizza shell. Toss the shrimp in melted butter and crushed garlic in small bowl. If using 26-30 size shrimp (or larger) microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until shrimp are partially cooked (smaller shrimp can be tossed with butter and garlic to coat and put directly on pizza). Arrange shrimp on pizza, sprinkle with Italian cheese blend and bake in preheated 400 oven for 20 minutes or until crust is browned on bottom. Cut into 8 pieces and eat.

Pesto Chicken and Angel Hair Pasta

1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast sliced thin (or 2 halves)
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 head of broccoli cut into bite sized pieces and steamed or par boiled for 5 minutes
½ Red bell pepper sliced
½ to 1 C. Of Pesto sauce, homemade or store bought
½ stick of butter, or use nonstick pan and Pam spray for less fat (or chicken stock or wine slightly thickened for even less fat and more sauce)
½ to 1 tsp. Red pepper flakes
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

1 lb. Angel hair pasta, cooked, drained, rinsed and cooled, set aside.

Toss sliced chicken with crushed garlic. In large nonstick pan (dutch oven), melt butter on low heat and add garlic/chicken saute on medium heat until just done. Add sliced red bell pepper and saute until crisp tender. Add Pesto and red pepper flakes, stir until coated. Add broccoli and angel hair pasta stir until coated with pesto and heated through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Not exactly low fat but it's winter you need that extra layer of warmth.  MMM, tasty.

tags: food  cooking  pizza  pasta  chicken  shrimp  pesto  eating  life  yummy  

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