lemony parsley spinach pesto (vegan)

we're pesto lovers in our house.  pesto is great because it is so forgiving.  you can really personalize it by throwing just about anything in a food processor and calling it pesto.

this weekend i had to throw together a really quick side dish to accompany dinner.  i knew that i had some fresh parsley and fresh spinach in the fridge that i wanted to use up, so i made some pesto to go on pasta.  the fresh parsley combined with the fresh lemon gives this pesto such a bright flavor.  it took a matter of minutes to throw together and it was so tasty!

lemony parsley spinach pesto
total time: 5 minutes
yields: approximately 1 cup

ingredients:
2 cups fresh parsley
2 cups fresh spinach
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
in a food processor, blend all ingredients together until smooth.  add oil as needed to reach desired consistency.

enjoy!

love, laurie

creamy vegetable tortellini soup

the weather has been all over the place lately.  some days have been so cold that i feel like my face is going to fall off as soon as i step outside, and then other days have been so lovely and warm that people are walking around without jackets.  what is going on, mother nature?!

on the cold days in february, we crave warm meals.  recently we made a batch of this soup when it was particularly cold outside.  we made enough so that we could have it all week for lunches at work.  it was so nice to have something to look forward to all morning at work, knowing that the soup would warm us from the inside out when our offices were so bitter cold.

this soup is packed full of goodness.  it has lots of veggies like onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and spinach for nutrients, and it's flavored with garlic, oregano, basil, and rosemary.  the tortellini give it something special, and the cream makes it decadently creamy.  this is the perfect cold-weather soup!

creamy vegetable tortellini soup
prep time: 10-15 minutes
cooking time: 40-45 minutes
yields: 8 servings

ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small spanish onion, diced
6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
32 oz. low-sodium vegetable stock
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
5 oz. cheese tortellini
3 tablespoons heavy cream

directions:
in a large soup pot, over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  saute the onion, carrots, and celery until tender.  add the garlic, oregano, basil, and rosemary.  cook for 1-2 minutes.  add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock.  stir well.  simmer for 25-30 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  add the spinach and tortellini and cook for 4-6 minutes until the tortellini are tender and fully cooked.  stir in the heavy cream.  serve warm.

enjoy!

love, laurie

pesto pasta salad with sun dried tomatoes, roasted asparagus, and fresh mozzarella

we were in charge of making pasta salad as a side dish for our family's fourth of july picnic this weekend.  instead of making either an italian dressing based pasta salad or a mayonnaise based macaroni salad, we decided to dress our pasta salad with pesto.

we absolutely love pesto.  there are so many different types of pesto.  traditional basil pesto is what we used for this recipe, but i bet this salad would also be good dressed in arugula, mint, and pistachio pesto or sun dried tomato, parsley, and almond pesto too.

the pasta is covered in delicious homemade pesto, full of fresh ingredients.  it is tossed with sun dried tomatoes, asparagus which was roasted in the oven until it was super tender, and cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese.  yum!

this pasta salad is an easy dish to make and it is perfect as a picnic side dish, or as a main meal for a busy week night.

we served this pasta dish cold as a salad, but you could certainly serve it warm too.  the warm mozzarella would melt into the pasta and that would be delicious!

pesto pasta salad with sun dried tomatoes, roasted asparagus, and fresh mozzarella
prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 30 minutes
yields: 6-8 servings
adapted from damn delicious

ingredients:
12 ounces pasta
1 lb. fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup basil pesto
3 oz. sun dried tomatoes, chopped
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

directions:
bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.  drain, then rinse under cold water.

preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease it with olive oil.  trim the ends off the asparagus and place the asparagus on the baking sheet.  toss with additional oil and season with salt and pepper.  roast for 10-12 minutes until tender.  set aside to cool.  once cool, cut into small pieces.

in a large bowl, combine the pasta and the pesto.  toss well to make sure the pasta is evenly covered.  mix in the asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, and mozzarella.  refrigerate until ready to serve.

enjoy!

love, laurie

lemon orzo with parmesan and peas

a few months ago, i stumbled across kelsey nixon's blog.  i started watching her show on the cooking channel, and following along with her on instagram.  she is so cute and down to earth (and she lives in brooklyn)!

last week, kelsey posted a few of her family's favorite go-to recipes on instagram.  when i saw her recipe for simple lemon orzo i couldn't wait to try it.

this orzo was so easy to make, and it was so flavorful.  the fresh lemon zest and lemon juice give it such a bright flavor, and the parmesan cheese and half-and-half make it decadently creamy.  the peas give it a great pop of color too.  i served this orzo along side these tuna cakes.  it was a great combination!

lemon orzo with parmesan and peas
prep time: 5-10 minutes
cooking time: 15-20 minutes
yields: 8 servings
adapted from kelsey nixon

ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion
16 oz. dry orzo
3/4 cup white wine
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 lemon (zest + juice)
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions:
heat the olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion until translucent.  add the dry orzo and the wine.  cook until the wine is absorbed.  add the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.  reduce the heat and cover the pan.  cook for 10-12 minutes, until almost all of the broth is absorbed and the orzo is tender.  zest and juice the lemon.  stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, peas, parmesan, cream, basil, and pepper.  serve warm.

enjoy!

love, laurie

sun dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and italian parsley

when i think of pesto, the first thing that comes to mind is traditional basil pesto.  my mom makes amazing pesto with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.  it's so good, and i could spread it on just about anything.  basil pesto is a classic and i absolutely love it.  however, from time to time, i like to change things up a bit and put a new twist on some of my favorite classic recipes.

this week we made a different type of pesto.  it still had garlic and olive oil in it, but we replaced the basil, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese with sun dried tomatoes, toasted almonds, and italian parsley.

the sun dried tomatoes were a great base for this pesto.  the toasted almonds gave the pesto a deep rich flavor that perfectly complimented the bright flavor of the italian parsley.  we decided to put our pesto on veggie pasta and grilled chicken.  it was super yummy, and it was a nice change from traditional marinara sauce.  you could spread this pesto on just about anything.  (i bet it would be great on a piece of toasted italian bread too!)

sun dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and italian parsley
prep time: 5-10 minutes
yields: approximately 2 cups of pesto
adapted from the daily muse

ingredients:
7 oz. sun dried tomato halves
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 large handfuls of fresh italian parsley
4 garlic cloves
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
in a small pan, over medium heat, toast the almonds until they become fragrant and brown (about 5 minutes).  remove the parsley leaves from the stems, and roughly chop the parsley leaves.  in a food processor, mix the tomatoes, almonds, parsley, garlic, and olive oil until smooth.  add more olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency.  season with salt and pepper to taste.

enjoy!

love, laurie