Pesto... Improvised

I discovered garlic scapes at the farmer's market last summer.

My favorite thing to do with them is make a pesto.

One suggested recipe is here.

Here's what I had in the kitchen tonight and used in my pesto:

4 garlic scapes
about 1/4 cup of walnuts
a few tablespoons roasted pine nuts
parmesan
olive oil
few leaves of basil

Chop garlic scapes into 3-4 inch lengths. The bottom ends will be a little tough so you might skip them.

Add garlic scapes and nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, pecans... all would work) to a food processor.
Pulse until finely chopped.
Add parmesan, basil, and some oil.
Pulse some more.
Add some more olive oil in small amounts, pulsing each time until the mixture is creamy.

Pesto is a great way to use up little bits of things. Take some basil (or other herbs), some parmesan, and nuts. Pulse. Easy. It doesn't require a lot of finesse. It also freezes well. You can freeze small amounts and then defrost briefly by floating the container in some warm water from the tap. Then, mix with the hot pasta.

For the single gal, I also recommend buying a small food processor (about $20) and a small spatula as an essential kitchen item. I use mine for pesto, dips, salsa - any small chopping need. I don't have much call for a larger one nor do I have the storage space. Most larger amounts can be mixed in small amounts and then combined in a larger bowl/pot (e.g., soups).

Cheers.

About this blog...

I'm a single, professional woman with a boyfriend. I love to cook.

I've found that finding recipes online is an endless source of new things to try. But, often those recipes have ingredients that are hard to find or that I won't use again.

So, I improvise and modify.

That is what this blog is about. Taking recipes and making them work.

Enchilada Casserole

I found a recipe for Trader Joe's Enchilada Casserole and realized I didn't want to use quite that many ingredients. I ended up modifying based on what they had in the store. It ended up being enough for large servings for two people (me and Mike D) with a little leftover for lunch the next day. The key here is that the basic elements are cheese, tortillas, sauce and chicken which are layered like a lasagna. All of the seasoning is optional. You could add olives as well (Mike D doesn't like them so I didn't.). It came together pretty quickly. I like the Just Chicken from Trader Joe's (TJ's) because it doesn't have any additives or added salt.... just chicken... like the name says. If you had some leftover roast chicken, that would probably work too.

Here's the modified version.

1 12 oz. package TJ's Just Chicken (any cooked chicken would work)

1 bottle TJ's enchilada sauce

1 can green chiles (Hatch preferred)

About a cup of TJ's shredded pepper jack cheese blend (pretty spicy!)

About a half cup of shredded cheddar cheese

4 green onions

1 package of corn tortillas

Cayenne

Powdered chiles

Salt

Pepper

Note: My recipe came out pretty spicy so reduce spices if you like. You could substitute any blend of cheeses.

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Sprinkle chicken with a bit of cayenne and powdered chili peppers, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful or two of chiles (as you like). Put in 3 of the chopped green onions.

Cut tortillas into strips 1-2 inches wide.

Pour a little of the sauce in a small casserole dish just to cover the bottom with a thin layer.

Put in a layer of tortilla strips (use like you would lasagna noodles).

Put in a layer of chicken mixture.

Top with cheese.

Pour over a thin layer of sauce.

Repeat tortilla - chicken - cheese - sauce layers.

End with a layer of tortillas. Top that with some sauce. Then top that with some cheese and the last of the green onion.

Bake 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted.

Enjoy :)