pesto

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This creamy pasta salad recipe skips the mayonnaise for a lush sauce made with almond milk and avocado to make an easy grilled vegetable pasta salad you’ll happily eat guilt-free.

This recipe is brought to you by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze

One thing’s for sure: It’s rare I meet a pasta salad I don’t like. I may not have loved them all, but I do seem to have a high tolerance of acceptability for even the most marginalized salad bar pasta salad-types.

But that’s the main reason I choose to make my own pasta salads at home. They’re fresher, they taste better, and I can add a twist of healthy and still reap all the flavor and even the creamy factor I crave with this one in the fridge that’s ready to eat any time of the day.

How to Make a Creamy Pasta Salad That’s Healthier Too

Pasta and macaroni salads made with traditional creamy dressings are fine for my occasional potluck splurges. But when I’m looking for a creamy pasta salad I can jot down in my Nourished Planner for my weekly meal prep or share with friends who are more health-conscious about the foods they eat, this creamy sauced mash-up of almond milk and avocado totally does all the right stuff.

Just like I do for the rest of my menu planning, adding more colors of the rainbow to my pasta salad is a simple way to make it more nourishing too. Plus, it just makes it so dang pretty too!continue to the recipe… about Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Arugula Salad with Pesto Shrimp, Parmesan and White Beans

This Mediterranean-inspired arugula and pesto shrimp salad is not only super simple to prepare ahead of time for lunch, but because you can meal prep it straight from your pantry and freezer, it’s incredibly easy to make on the fly, too.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

Breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.

Dinner. That’s when families come together.

But lunch? Ugh. Who has time to actually make and enjoy lunch?

Preparing a healthier, real good, real food lunch instead of grabbing your mid-day meal at the drive-thru or the food court—or worse, skipping it all together—is probably one of the biggest hurdles of completing our goals of a healthier day.

Because who hasn’t totally derailed their plans of “this week is the week I’m totally going to stick to the plan” and suddenly the day’s in-between-gaps get filled, appointments and projects and schedules and commitments all roll over and blanket one another, and it’s just that much easier to pick up some lunch instead of make up some lunch.

This is exactly why getting into the habit of shopping ahead of time for your weekly eating plan, adding a few quality ingredients to your freezer and pantry, and doing a bit of easy meal prep at the beginning of the wekk is more important than ever. Because is can all be in the plan, man!

Real Food Ingredients

A big part of my product choices are those that are part of my real good, real food eating plans. Whole foods with minimal or no processing, no added antibiotics, and great, fresh, quality is key. But only at a price point I feel good about.continue to the recipe… about Arugula Salad with Pesto Shrimp, Parmesan and White Beans

Easy Homemade Pesto Pasta Recipe

Busy weeknights call for simple recipes that can be pulled together in a flash, and nothing’s simpler than a basic, homemade basil pesto pasta recipe that even a kid can make and clean up after too.

There are definite skills one should pass along to the younger generation, the secrets to succeed in life. At our house, one of those skills is keeping up with the daily family chores (I LOVE what the former Dean of Freshman at Stanford has to say about why!!!) and whether Smudge likes it or not, she’s getting a good education in this area. She used to think “getting” to do the dishes was fun — she got to wear an apron and play with bubbles as she twirled about to whichever song is on replay over and over in her head — but these days, that shine has certainly worn off.

With summer’s laziness giving way to back-to-school’s busier nights of homework, two soccer teams to practice with, basketball practice and her other basic daily chores, Smudge’s dish washing time has gotten the squeeze right along with the time I have in my schedule to create time-intensive dinners, if I remember to get anything ready for dinner at all!

That’s why keeping super simple, basic recipes like this one in my back pocket are always weeknight saviors, for days when the basics are really all that’s needed. And craved. Like my basic pesto pasta just yearning for a twirl around the silver twines.

continue to the recipe… about Easy Homemade Pesto Pasta Recipe

Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

This hot homemade ham, egg and caprese-flavored breakfast can be in yo’ belly in just two minutes thanks to a quick cook in the microwave. Yes, this is how you can easily cook eggs in the microwave.

Hi! I’m Heidi and I’ll be serving you today. What can I get you?

One of the recent requests here on le bloggity blog is for more easy recipes for quick breakfasts please!

I totally get it. We all know that a good breakfast is the key to setting up your day for success so if you could create a weekend-tasting breakfast in the time it takes to pour a bowl of cereal, I’m betting you’d totally be into this breakfast that fully supports your snooze button needs. (Have you seen my list of 19 healthy breakfasts when you don’t have time to eat?!!)

And that’s why the microwave is your egg cooking friend.

continue to the recipe… about Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

Pesto Pizza with Balsamic Chicken and Peaches

This pizza gets its savory wings thanks to a fresh, green pesto and thinly sliced balsamic chicken that goes with summer’s best, sweet peaches and provolone to create a pizza that’s worth every bite.

With peaches at their peak, there’s plenty of ways to savor them besides smoothies (although this one is GRAND), my grandma’s peach and blackberry cobbler, and even as a balsamic-ed topping for grilled pork chops.

But one of my new favorite peach recipes comes from FoodieCrush contributor Hayley of the blog Seven Day Weekend. She sent me this recipe a year ago, and with seasonal peaches in their prime, it’s due time she shares it with you too. Take it away Hayley!

There are very few things I could eat every day without getting tired of them. Pizza is one of those foods, only I don’t eat it every day, because unfortunately I don’t have the resilient and forgiving metabolism of Chrissy Teigen (and her cookbook is great!).

For a long time now, my go-to pizza toppings have been pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers. But that’s comfy pizza—the kind you eat too many slices of, in your pajamas, on the couch, after a long day. Or even more likely, after a long night.

When I want fancy pizza though, I always welcome deviations. I try to embrace what’s in season. Sometimes it’s a white pie with bacon, potatoes, Swiss chard, and rosemary in the fall, or garlicky, lemony roasted broccoli with Italian sausage and goat cheese in the winter.

But one of my favorite slices is a summery one, inspired by a pizza I had several years ago at a cute little café in Raleigh, N.C., called Zest.

continue to the recipe… about Pesto Pizza with Balsamic Chicken and Peaches

Linguine with Broccolini and Walnut Pesto

Nothing turns the seasonal tide toward light and simple eating like a bright pesto. This one features one of wintertime-turning-to-spring’s favorite vegetables, the delicate broccolini paired with toasty walnuts.

Most often we associate pesto with fresh leafy basil. Fresh, green, bright and oh so summery. But when my harvest of basil is still a few months away, I’m perfectly okay with messing with tradition and adapting ingredients to try something new.

Sure I’ve made pesto with basil, and a version of pesto with spicy, bitter arugula, too. How good is it on pizza? This is how good it is on pizza. And pesto pasta can be served as a main, a side or under a freshly fried egg for breakfast. It’s very open minded that way.

My husband has band practice twice a week (yep he’s a rock star—at least in my eyes anyway) so that means twice a week dinner is girls night for me and my gal Smudge. Invariably when I ask her what she’s in the mood for it’s one of two things: Tomato soup or pesto.

Pesto it is my darling.continue to the recipe… about Linguine with Broccolini and Walnut Pesto

Pesto and Garlic Shrimp Bruschetta Recipe

Garlicky poached shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, capers and feta cheese top a simple bruschetta with balsamic glaze to make this easy but elegant appetizer recipe.

This post is in partnership with DeLallo Foods

Elegant but easy. Isn’t that what entertaining food should be all about?

Oh right. And delicious too. Okay you got it. This one ticks all the check boxes off the list. continue to the recipe… about Pesto and Garlic Shrimp Bruschetta Recipe

30-Minute Caprese Chicken Recipe

With just a few simple ingredients including store-bought pesto and balsamic, you can make this healthy, stand out, one-pan chicken breast dinner in under 30 minutes.

This recipe is brought to you by DeLallo Foods

There are many things that fall brings, but at our house, extra time in the day is not one of them.

Because there’s work. Why, oh WHY didn’t I win the lottery? And there’s school. “Oh mama,” she earnestly vents, “why did it have to start again??” There’s soccer practice, homework, mama-daughter volunteer work, dog walks, another new project for 2017 I’m busily finishing up, and those summer vacations that have turned into fall trips we are trying our darndest to squeeze in before old man winter wraps us in blankets and bribes us to join him to cocoon on the couch.

But we’re doing our best and adapting to the new normal, just like we do every year. And I’m taking one guess that you are too.

Instead of going out, eating at home at the end of days like these is actually a true time-saver. And when we plan ahead with the grocery shopping to avoid the dreaded question of “what’s for dinner?” one-pan recipes like this 30-minute chicken wonder actually make cooking at home, dare I say, enjoyable.

It truly doesn’t get much easier than this.

continue to the recipe… about 30-Minute Caprese Chicken Recipe

Grilled Flatbread with Peaches and Arugula Pesto Plus 10 Flatbread Recipes to Make Now

Store bought flatbread is the base to summer’s favorite flavors: juicy grilled peaches and a bright pesto that make for a fast appetizer or main meal.

Once in a while this gal’s gotta let her man take over the reigns in the kitchen. Actually, I ask and I plead. He is usually more than happy to abide.

Earlier in the day we’d gone to lunch and he’d helped me with some brainstorming for new recipes for a project I’m working on. More on that soon (it’s gonna be good!). Once we got home, his creative juices were still going strong so I put his creative foodie cravings to task.

“What should we make with this arugula pesto?” I asked.

Apparently, like me, he’s been feeling the gravitational pull toward eating seasonal, and he went straight for the peaches.

continue to the recipe… about Grilled Flatbread with Peaches and Arugula Pesto Plus 10 Flatbread Recipes to Make Now

How to Make Arugula Pesto

This twist on pesto subs arugula for traditional basil to make a bright, peppery addition to pasta, chicken, fish or steak.

I’m a basil fiend. In turn, my leafy herbed passion goes hand in hand with pesto. I mean, is it even summer without it?

But when I discovered a fresh crop of arugula at the farmers market, my basil obsession took a detour. And I happily followed.

This fresh, peppery switcharoo to the sweeter basil style variety makes a damn fine addition to countless dishes. Pasta? Naturally. Veggies? Load it on. Chicken? Lather it in the middle of a chicken breast with some melty cheese and a slice or two of prosciutto and bam! Dinner is served.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Arugula Pesto

6 Easy Snacks in 5 Ingredients or Less

A crunchy Triscuit cracker holds up to every flavor combination in these six bite size snacks using just 5 ingredients or less.

This post is in partnership with Triscuit and Refinery 29.

I’m a snacker. I think I get it from my grandma Mary Jane. She was never a big eater, but was always snacking on “just a little something.”

My snacking habits started young. It was part of my daily routine, just as much as brushing my hair and mercilessly teasing my little sister.

Every day after school I would get out my homework, and then flip on the kitchen TV (ours was a black and white 13-inch number with rabbit ears and no remote) to watch re-run episodes of The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, Leave It to Beaver, Eight is Enough, Bewitched and the occasional ABC After School Special.

Then it was time to start my snack fest.continue to the recipe… about 6 Easy Snacks in 5 Ingredients or Less

Pesto Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes and Mozzarella and Perfect Pizza at Home

I’m a visual learner. I’m the original demographic for DIY and how-to videos. Lucky for me, and others like me, there’s Craftsy.

This post is part of my on-going partnership with Craftsy, to share what I’ve learned from their online classes. This time around we’re talking and teaching pizza. And bonus, this class that has an Italian classic fare is FREE.

This free Craftsy class is taught by master baker Peter Reinhart who shares the ins and outs, stretches and punches of Perfect Pizza at Home. It made a fab base for my Pesto Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes and Mozzarella. I used the pesto recipe Reinhart shares in the class to compliment my first harvest of my garden’s Supersweet 100 baby tomatoes (yes, they are THAT sweet!) and fresh mozzarella from the farmer’s market.

So let’s get down to it and talk about what I like about this Perfect Pizza.

continue to the recipe… about Pesto Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes and Mozzarella and Perfect Pizza at Home