Poached Cod with Pesto Wine Sauce

Poached Cod with Pesto Wine Sauce and green beans is the easiest recipe you're not making but definitely should be. In addition to cooking in one skillet and on the table in just 15 minutes from start to finish, this recipe is also good for you and packs a big flavor punch!

Caprese Sandwich Recipe

My Caprese Sandwich is a simple recipe that is big on flavor! The softest, most delicious ciabatta roll topped with fresh basil pesto, tomatoes, and creamy mozzarella cheese all drizzled with balsamic glaze just might be my new favorite sandwich! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Pesto Burger Recipe

My Pesto Burger Recipe is bursting with the classic flavor combination of basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese all atop a juicy grilled burger. Oh my yumminess! It is so good, y'all!

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes is a delicious blend of flavors and super easy to make! 

Homemade pesto is a truly beautiful thing. Basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil with a bit of salt - gotta have salt - all mashed together in delicious harmony. It's glorious!! I could eat pesto on just about anything! 

Now, you can buy pesto ready to go, but why do that? It's quick and easy to make homemade and tastes a million times better than what you get in a jar! It freezes well too! Seriously! If you haven't made fresh pesto, you are missing out!! and we can't have that!

I had some basil I needed to use up before it went south on me, so I whipped up some pesto and decided to make some sort of chicken pesto pasta dish, but....

Spinach Pesto Chicken

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-11-25

Spinach Pesto Chicken - you'd think that name is pretty self-explanatory, right? Think again!

What the name doesn't tell you is how unbelievably easy this beautiful dish is to make, nor does it explain how you can serve this to company and they'll be super impressed with your culinary skills! 

You can't tell from the name that this chicken cooks all-in-one pan and is ready in under an hour! Doesn't get much better than that?! Right? OOOOOh, but it does...

I saved the best for last! This lovely entree has a  beautiful secret! CHEESE! Yes! As if spinach and basil pesto isn't enough to make this chicken fabulous, we go ahead and top it with glorious Parmesan cheese, and that makes everyone happy! This is a real crowd pleaser, and will be making regular visits to my dinner table :)

Ore-Ida Pesto Chicken and Potato Patties

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-10-28

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh....wanna hear a secret? Ore-Ida Pesto Chicken and Potato Patties makes a quick, satisfying meal! Your fam will think you worked way harder to get these on the table, but we'll just keep that between us! Go ahead, let them stand in awe of your amazing abilities! Who knows, maybe they'll pamper you with foot massages and let you control the remote and fight over who gets to do the dishes!! Okay, so that's not gonna happen in my house either, but why not take a happy break and dream a little :)

I have another secret... I've actually NEVER used frozen hash browns before, so I had no idea what to expect with this product. Don was not looking forward to it either, but guess what he took for lunch today? Yessireeee! He took leftovers! He got creative and made them into a sandwich! He's so clever...sometimes. I will definitely be making these again!

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Italian Sausage

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-10-14

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Italian Sausage whips up in a jiffy! This dish gets its flavor from the Johnsonville Italian Sausage. It is sweet and spicy and satisfying! The flavors stick with you and help to curb any cravings all night long! I love that! Bonus - this makes a lot for a little, so you can feed the whole family for about $10!! Let me tell you what - you can't beat that with a stick!!

The gnocchi makes this a hearty dish so a little goes a long way, unless you're like my hubs and then you'll keep eating until you have to be rolled away from the table!! Poor guy - it's so tasty he couldn't help himself :)

Ingredients

• 2 (1 lb) packages gnocchi
• 1 package Johnsonsonville All Natural Sweet Italian ground sausage
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 medium red bell pepper diced
• 6 ounces pesto
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. After draining return them to the pot.
2. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over mid-high heat and saute the sugar snap peas and red peppers until tender to your liking. Toss into the pot with the gnocchi.
3. In the same skillet, cook the sausage until cooked through - about 8-10 minutes. Add the sausage to the pot with the veges and gnocchi.
4. Stir to combine the contents of the pot over mid-low heat. Combine 6 ounces of pesto with 1/2 cup of whipping cream and pour over gnocchi mixture. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Italian Sausage

Easy Foil Packet Fish Recipe

posted by Marion@Life Tastes Good on 2013-10-05

Tilapia with Pesto Potatoes and Peas bakes quickly in this easy foil packet recipe! This recipe is so easy you can have this on the table in under 30 minutes from start to finish!! It is so fast it will make heads spin and your family will be in awe of you!! Okay, so they probably won't even notice, but you can feel good about how fast and easy it is to put a flavorful and healthy meal on the table!

This one ranks high in my book for favorite fish recipes!! And that is saying a lot as I'm not a huge fan of fish, so I go for the very mild tasting tilapia nearly every time. I know what you're thinking... but you live in FL and you're a foodie - how can you NOT like fish?  I don't understand it either, but I can tell you it is NOT for lack of trying!! That being said you don't have to stick to tilapia for this recipe! Go ahead and make this with salmon but be sure to add a couple minutes to the cook time as needed.

Ingredients

• Cooking Spray
• 4 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cleaned
• 6 teaspoons Homemade Basil Pesto
• 4 Tilapia filets
• Frozen peas
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and heat a saucepan of water to boiling. Enough water to cover potatoes. You can do this on a grill as well! It's a great recipe for camping!
2. Slice the ends off of the potatoes and use your Food Processor to slice the potatoes. If you don't have a food processor, just go ahead and slice them thinly.
3. Salt the boiling water and blanch sliced potatoes for about 4 minutes. While potatoes are blanching, prepare 4 pieces of aluminum foil by spraying with cooking spray. Make sure the foil pieces are about 16" long.
4. Drain potatoes and run under cold water. Divide the potatoes evenly on the foil pieces fanning them out in the middle of the foil (see pictures below).
5. Top potatoes with 1.5 teaspoons of Homemade Basil Pesto each.
6. Season your fish with salt and pepper and divide evenly on top of potatoes. Top with a handful of frozen peas.
7. Bring the 2 cut sides of the foil together over the center of the fish and fold down 2 or 3 times. Fold in each side 2 or 3 times until you have a nice foil packet.
8. Place foil packets on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Carefully open the packets and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Pesto Panini

You don't need a Panini Press to make this sandwich! If you have one, it helps make things easier, but if not, this can be made on your grill or in your grill pan, and it turns out delicious!  Save your pennies and eat your paninis at home instead of that expensive place with all the fancy smancy sammies. This tastes much better and costs less too! Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by allrecipes.com Tubby's Pesto Panini

Pesto Panini

Ingredients (makes 2)
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
salt to taste if desired (the Parmesan will add salt, so be sure to taste first)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons Creamy Italian Dressing
6 thick slices Italian Bread
1/2 cup lettuce
4 slices of your favorite cheese - I used American for the creaminess
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions
Preheat your grill pan to 350 degrees F (or prepare an outdoor grill)

Place 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper into blender or food processor. Blend on high until combined. Traditional Pesto has pine nuts, so add 'em if you got 'em!

Grill chicken until cooked through. About 5 minutes per side, but this will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken. The internal temp should be at least 160 degrees F. and juices should be clear. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes.

To assemble sandwiches, use 3 slices of bread per sandwich. For each sandwich butter the outside of 2 slices of bread. On the inside of one of those slices spoon 1 tablespoon of the Creamy Italian Dressing. Top the dressing with lettuce, a slice of cheese, and another slice of bread. Top that slice of bread with half the pesto mixture, a chicken breast, a slice of cheese, and the last piece of bread (buttered side out). Place sandwiches in hot grill pan and cover for about 3 minutes each side until desired doneness.