Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Summertime Lunch

I was thrilled to find that I had basil coming up in a huge pot on my deck this spring from my basil going to seed last year. Yesterday I realized I had enough basil that Sweet Girl and I were able to make our first batch of basil pesto. How I love me some basil pesto!!!!

Today for lunch we made mini basil pesto chicken pizzas. First we started with a round flat bread that might be more for gorditas...these came from Christina's food co-op and are in my freezer.
Then I spread a layer of my basil pesto on the bread.

I had a box of grilled chicken from Aldi that I buy for suppers in a pinch so I cut it up into smaller pieces.
Sprinkled a little mozzarella on top and voila, lunch is served!
I had my pizza with a side of Magazine heaven (won as a giveaway from Jen at thecottagenest - check her out today, she's having ANOTHER giveaway!)...

followed by a banana smoothie (choice of Sweet Girl).
What are you eating today? Do you have any summertime favorites?

~Victoria~

Recipe

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I left out the nuts as I didn't have any on hand)
  • 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.


9 comments:

Christina said...

Um, and why wasn't I invited. : )

Oh my word, that pizza looks so delish. It makes me want to go out and buy all of the ingredients for pesto.

Can you really beat the combo of chicken and pesto together? Summer treat for sure.

Amelia said...

The pizze looked very appetizing. but the banana smoothie sounded even better.

I just fixed subs for lunch today...but they were delish...with chips on the side and onions from our garden...we had spent all morning helping clear up debris from the tornado that hit a couple of weeks ago...this was at a place owned by a man from our church...I drove the tractor pulling the trailer and other people did the picking up and putting in the trailer.

Have a great week.

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

I love pesto pizza! That's one of my specialty pizzas for Friday Movie Night. The smoothie sounds good too!

Manuela

★Carol★ said...

I think this might be the most perfect lunch I've ever seen! I love anything with basil, and that banana smoothie sounds yummy too!

Darlene said...

YUM...your lunch looks delicious and what a great magazine to have won. I am on a smoothie kick lately...but, I need to start making them at home instead of grabbing one while I am out and about.

Meg said...

You DO have straws! I won't forget it either!

The pizza looks so good. I have two packs of "flat out" bread in my freezer that I got for change because it was on sale and I've been waiting to find a use for it. Now I have one.

trish said...

Oh yum! What a great recipe! Thank you for sharing. :o)
Sincerely ~ Tricia
Ps. I am having a little give a way today, if you would like to come. :o)

Empty Nest Full Life said...

Sounds delicious and a great new summer-time recipe for me to try. Jackie

trish said...

Thanks again for your yummy recipe! It is now a staple in my recipe binder. I linked to your blog post this morning, to share with others. :o)
Have a great day!
Sincerely ~ Trish
Ps. My little basil plant is nearly naked, I took all the leaves to make the pesto ... smile!