Meatless Monday - Oh yeah, it's Pasta Night and the feelin's right (Oh, what a night...)

Meal planning plays a big part in our success of eating healthy (and organically) on a budget.   I’m not a drill sergeant about it but we try to stay on track with the schedule as much as we can.  (Plus, it cuts way down on kiddo whining… “But I don’t waaaaaant quesadillas.  “Well, sorry, kiddo.  It’s Tuesday so that means it’s Quesadilla Night.  Wish I could help ya out…”  Works like a charm.)

My planning allows some variation on the theme so that we don’t get meal fatigue. (Spaghetti?  Again?)  For instance, Monday is Pasta Night.  This means that with a little planning I’m free to prepare Pasta Primavera (using fresh, seasonal veggies), Pesto Pasta (using fresh pesto with a noodle of choice plus a wide variety of add-ins like sun-dried tomatoes) or Mac and Cheese - depending on the family’s mood. (Some nights we just need a Mac and Cheese comfort food night, y’know?) Additionally, this theme usually stays on the Meatless Monday track, which I think is a good idea for a wide variety of reasons.  (Will get into that on another post.)

Today I’m sharing a recipe for one of the big staples of our diet – Pesto. We use it on breakfast sandwiches, omelets, pasta dishes, casseroles – you name it.  Seriously, we use it like a condiment. We first discovered the mass utility of pesto just after the kids were born.  A neighbor gifted us with an ample container of the homemade stuff.  At first we thought, “huh, interesting baby gift” but soon our taste buds were off and running and it became a regular in our fridge.  Raw garlic, nuts, olive oil, cheese, basil – how could a combo like that be anything but fabulous?  Plus, we make our pesto with walnuts, which has crazy health benefits – super high in Omega-3s and fiber, for starters. And walnuts are way less expensive than the more widely-used pesto addition, pine nuts. 

It's cheap and easy to make at home. A small container at the store will run you at least $5-6. bucks but the do-it-yourself variety takes less than 10 minutes to make and is fraction of the cost.  Organic basil in easily grown in pots and you can buy good quality olive oil, cheese and walnuts in bulk at your local warehouse store. Pesto freezes well too. I use the Foodsaver system.  Fabulous. Every year I make about 4 months worth for the freezer so we can get through the winter without going through pesto withdrawal.

Enjoy and Happy Pasta Night to you.

PESTO

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups fresh basil - washed and towel-dried

4-6 whole garlic cloves

1 cup of walnuts (MUCH cheaper than the more often used pine nuts)

1 cup good quality olive oil

1.5 cups good parmesan cheese (or you can use a mixture of reggiano and parm)

Salt and pepper to taste

And away we go:

Layer basil, nuts and garlic in food processor and pulse until finely mixed. 

Slowly add olive oil while food processor is on. 

Take off lid, scrape sides and add cheese. 

Thoroughly mix to desired consistency.  (We like it super smooth...)

(The bounty from ONE of my front porch basil plants.)

(Green gold...  Pesto to get us through the winter...)