Homemade Pesto

Pesto is such a fresh, light flavor and can be used for so many things. It can be used as a spread on a lunch meat sandwich, to add flavor to baked chicken, or to create a really great pasta dish. I prefer homemade over store bought, so here is a recipe I found. You can freeze pesto in ice cube trays, pop them out when frozen and store them in a freezer bag. When needed, pull one (or more!) out and let thaw. There you have a fast, fresh, healthy seasoning ready to make your meal come alive!

Found on Food for Thought

They recommend doing this in a food processor. I had to use a blender because I am not the lucky owner of a big enough food processor (mine only holds maybe 1/2 cup of anything). Sigh.... :)

3 cups of packed basil leaves (washed and stems removed)

2/3 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil - enough to allow it to blend freely, but not be soupy

Place all of these ingredients in a food processor and drizzle a generous amount of oil on top. Pulse several times until it is coarsely chopped, adding more oil as necessary. Pulse a few more times until it is finely chopped.

Freeze in containers (I used ice cube trays, then when frozen, popped them out and put in a freezer bag), or use fresh.