ZUCCHINI, CORN, AND BASIL FUSILLI WITH BACON

SERVES6

• ACTIVE TIME:10 MIN
• START TO FINISH:20 MIN

Summer's bounty gets even better when it's combined in a fresh-tasting pasta.

• 6 bacon slices
• 1 lb fusilli
• 3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1 1/2 lb zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 (5- to 7-ounce) container basil pesto

• ACCOMPANIMENT:

  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

• Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.
• Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.
• Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.
• Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

Chicken Breast with Mozzarella and Basil

Ingrediënten: 2 chicken breasts, mozzarella, basil, 1/2 tomato, capers, salt, pepper, 1 egg, breadcrumbs,

Number of persons: 2

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts open (like an envelope). Mix in a bowl mozzarella with basil, chopped tomatoes and chopped capers. Fill the chicken breasts with the mozzarella mixture. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Take both chicken breast through an beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish. Turn the ovenproof dish about 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Put the last 5 minutes the oven on the grill stand at approximately 250 degrees. Serve with a salad and baked potatoes. Enjoy!

Cumin Rubbed Sirloin with Basil Roasted Potatoes

Saturday night dinner is usually a bit more of a splurge, as we figure we are replacing going out to dinner. Even if we cook something fancy (like steak), it’s still cheaper than eating out. And honestly, this steak was better than anything I’ve ever had at the Outback.

This is our recipe. Simple but delicious. If you don’t know how to cook a good steak, go watch Good Eats with Alton Brown. That guy knows his stuff.

Cumin Rubbed Sirloin

INGREDIENTS
Sirloin or Ribeye Steak (approx. 1″ thick)
Cumin
Kosher Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat steak dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt, cumin, and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.

Preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium high heat. Sear steaks for approximately 4 minutes per side (turn steaks 45 degrees after 2 minutes to get nice grill marks). Finish steaks in the oven for an additional 4-8 minutes, depending on thickness of steaks and desired doneness.

Wrap steaks in foil and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Basil Roasted Potatoes

These are a staple in our kitchen. Delicious and tender, they go with just about anything. A great side dish. Also very versatile, try adding other herbs such as oregano, parsley, or rosemary, garlic, or other veggies to mix it up.

INGREDIENTS
Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced into 3/4″ wedges (bite sized)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Fresh Basil, chopped
Yellow Onion, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray glass baking dish with nonstick spray or lightly coat with olive oil. Place potato wedges in pan and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Sprinkle with chopped basil and onions. Toss.

Roast for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fork tender. Bigger pieces will take longer to cook.

Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

The roasting gives the veggies in this dish a wonderful rich flavor, not to mention beautiful with all the gorgeous colors. And couscous is a nice change from rice and pasta all the time. It also makes for great (and lots of) leftovers, which I am very much looking forward to tomorrow. :)

Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

Feel free to roast whatever veggies you like best, or whatever is in season at the time. This would also be good on the side dish of a nice roasted chicken.
Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs minced fresh basil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic gloves, crushed
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1” slices
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 (8oz) package mushrooms
3 cups hot cooked couscous
3 oz. basil-flavored goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ËšF.

Combine basil, vinegar, oil, salt, and garlic in large bowl. Stir well. Add vegetables and toss well to coat. Arrange vegetables in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan. bake for 35 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally.

Spoon roasted vegetables over couscous and top with cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Garnish with fresh basic sprigs, if desired.

Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Ok, so here’s the thing. Sometimes we do good. We find fantastic recipes and we enjoy them. Other weeks, we don’t do so good. This might be one of those weeks.

While I wouldn’t call this bad, it wasn’t jaw-dropping good. Taylor liked it more than I did. I love basil, asparagus, garlic, shrimp, and lemon… but this didn’t quite do such fantastic ingredients justice. Maybe I’m just not a huge fan of white wine sauces, and in that case I’m biased. It’s still worth a try. Maybe we just had some bad shrimp.

On a better note: at Farmer’s market this week, they had something we had never seen before. Fresh garlic. I was quite confused at first, because they were sitting in between green onions and leeks (fresh garlic looks like bulbous leeks or giant green onions, hence my confusion). We bought some anyway, as we’re always up for trying new things! It’s actually quite good! Milder and sweeter than dried garlic, I like it a lot! We used it last night in the garlic yogurt sauce, and tonight in this pasta. Next week we’ll have to look into some recipes that feature fresh garlic, could make for some good eats. :)

Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 2 servings (two BIG servings!)

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped red jalapeño chili
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
12 uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails intact
12 slender asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, sirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño; sauté 1 minute. Add wine and butter; boil 2 minutes. Add shrimp, asparagus, and lemon juice. Toss until asparagus is just tender and shrimp are just opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add 2 cups sliced basil leaves and toss until basil wilts and sauce coats pasta, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta between 2 plates. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and lemon wedges and serve.

Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Basil

It feels so good to be cooking again. I didn’t know how much more eating out my stomach (and wallet) could take…

This is a great summer meal. They can be served hot or cold, and make GREAT leftovers the next day (in fact, it may have been better the next day!). We added some tofu, just to give it more substance as a main dish. We just sautéed the tofu in a bit of oil, soy sauce, and siracha hot sauce until browned.

The part about sitting 1 hour… right. If you’ve read our blog enough you’d know we’re just not that patient. So we ate these hot. Still good, and much quicker. :)

Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Basil

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
11/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (or more) hot chili oil (we used Mongolian fire oil… not sure if that’s what the recipe was calling for or not.)
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles (about 1/16 inch in diameter) or fresh angel hair pasta
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves (or regular basil will work just fine)

DIRECTIONS
Heat peanut oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Add next 6 ingredients; whisk to blend.

Place noodles in sieve over sink. Separate noodles with fingers and shake to remove excess starch. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly and transfer to bowl with sauce. Add sliced green onions and toss to coat noodles. Let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour. Stir in peanuts and Thai basil; toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Zucchini Pancakes with Basil Chive Cream

I love potato pancakes (latkes) and these were a delicious variation…. a great way to use all that beautiful summer zucchini! They don’t get quite as crispy as potatoes do, but I thought the flavor was delicious. Topped with the basil chive cream, yum! We substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream, and it was still a cool and delicious topping.

We think it’d be fun to do a “mixed veg” pancake, a little zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato… it’d be pretty that’s for sure!

Zucchini Pancakes with Basil Chive Cream

Makes approx. 15-20. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
For basil chive cream
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For pancakes
4 cups coarsely grated zucchini (1 lb)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites
4 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

DIRECTIONS
Make basil chive cream:
Blend sour cream, water, basil, chives, and salt in a blender until smooth and pale green. Chill until ready to serve.

Make pancakes:
Put zucchini in a colander and toss with salt. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes, then wrap zucchini in a kitchen towel and twist towel to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer zucchini to a large bowl and stir in flour, sugar, and pepper.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt using an electric mixer until they just hold stiff peaks, then gently fold into zucchini mixture.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 5, spoon 2 tablespoons batter per pancake into skillet, flattening slightly with back of spoon. Cook pancakes, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes total, transferring as cooked to paper towels to drain and adding more oil to skillet as necessary.

Serve immediately, with basil chive cream.

Toasted Tomato, Basil, and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Another perfect summer meal. Full of fresh and bright flavors. This is one of those meals that is so incredibly simple to make, and yet when you’re eating it you feel like a true gourmet. We sliced up the rest of our heirloom tomatoes, using a combination of orange and green zebra tomatoes. With some goat cheese, fresh herbs (we used basil and tarragon), and tart kalamata olives, well, it’s 10am on Sunday morning and I’m craving a repeat.

The recipe calls for grilling the bread, but for us grill-less folk, it works fine toasted in a sauté pan. this is also a great use for the No-Knead Bread we love so much.

Toasted Tomato, Basil, and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Makes 4 servings. Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
6-8 slices crusty bread
1/2 cup olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as tarragon, thyme, and rosemary)

3/4 cup soft fresh goat cheese (plain, peppered, or herbed)
1 large heirloom tomato, thinly sliced into rounds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives

DIRECTIONS
Preheat barbecue or a large sauté pan (medium heat). Combine oil, garlic, and herbs in small bowl. Brush top sides of bread with half of oil mixture.

Toast bread, oiled sides down, until lightly toasted, about 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Remove from heat. Quickly spread toasted sides with goat cheese.

Return to pan. Cook until bottom sides are toasted and the cheese begins to melt, about 3 minutes. Top with tomatoes, olives, and drizzle with remaining herb oil mixture.

Chicken & Basil Stir-Fry

Day 1 of our Feed Us experiment. This recipe, a lovely and ridiculously simple chicken and basil stir fry was submitted by Lilie of A Planet 4 Creation (truly awesome jewelry), and Asian Buzz (her blog). Thanks for feeding us, Lilie! :)

We added a bit of sugar and spice to the chicken marinade, in the way of sriracha hot sauce and honey. We were worried at first that the dish would need more flavor, that lime juice and fish sauce wouldn’t be enough. But we were pleasantly surprised.

You might have noticed that we don’t eat chicken terribly often, and I guess we’re just not huge fans of it. But someone in this household, however, is…

Yes, kitty loves chicken. And turkey, too, for that matter. She’s a poultry fiend. Sometimes I think she smells the stuff before it even comes out of the fridge. Fish? Shrimp? She can take it or leave it. But unwrap a piece of poultry and she will be at your side. Don’t turn your back, either, or she might just reach up and snatch a piece right off the cutting board.

Chicken & Basil Stir-Fry

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 lime (2 tablespoons lime juice)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1” chunks
1 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon peanut oil
12oz trimmed green beans, each cut in half
2 tablespoons water
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup packed basil leaves, sliced
1 tablespoons less-sodium fish sauce
Cooked jasmine rice (optional)

DIRECTIONS
From lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. In medium bowl, toss chicken with lime peel, soy sauce, sriracha, and honey; set aside.

In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add beans and water; cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes or until beans are tender-crisp. Transfer to bowl.

In same skillet, cook chicken loses its pink color throughout, stirring often. Remove skillet from heat; stir in bean mixture, basil, fish sauce and lime juice. Serve with jasmine rice.

Zucchini, Corn and Basil Fusili with Bacon

Savor the last few weeks of summer produce with a recipe that really highlights its flavors. This dish a quick summer meal with minimal cooking, yet just as satisfying as something that took hours to prepare. Fresh corn is a must in this recipe. Frozen corn can’t even compare to fresh off the cob kernels of sweet corn. Delicious.

Zucchini, Corn and Basil Fusili with Bacon

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
6 bacon slices
1 pound fusilli
3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
1 (5- to 7-ounce) container
basil pesto

DIRECTIONS
Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.

Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quart water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.

Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.

Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Baked Parmesan Basil Fries

I hate deep frying. Not only is it unhealthy, but I hate emptying entire bottles of oil just to fry a few pieces of something. Plus oil spatters and makes me uncomfortable. So there.

While I have yet to replicate a true “twice-fried” french fry in the oven (they never seem to get quite as crispy as you’d like), they do come pretty darn close. So if you don’t mind softer fries, baking them is definitely the way to go. You only need a few tablespoons of oil rather than a few cups, and you can just sit back and wait for them to cook, rather than having to constantly watch as they sizzle (and burn) in hot oil.

If you had a fancy slicer/cutter thing, these would be super quick. But even cutting them by hand they’re still a breeze to make, tasty too!

Baked Parmesan Basil Fries

Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 medium red potatoes

DIRECTIONS
In bowl, combine parmesan cheese, oil, basil, and garlic powder. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch sticks; add to cheese mixture and toss to coat.

Spread evenly on a large cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan coated with nonstick cooking spray, trying to keep all the fries in a single level. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then flip. Bake 20 more minutes or until crisp and tender. Sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired.

Baked Panko Chicken Tenders with Basil Aioli

Call it a random desire to make chicken strips, paired with my gut’s disgust of fried foods, and you get an easy baked variation on a childhood favorite. Crunchy. Flavorful. Delicious. So good, in fact, that chicken just might be making a more regular appearance in our kitchen, but only as panko-crusted tenders.

If you can’t find or don’t want to spend the extra $3 a pound on pre-cut chicken tenders, simply take a whole chicken breast, put it between two layers of plastic wrap, and pound it until it is an even thickness (maybe 1/2″ or so). Then, slice into strips. Voila. It’ll save you a few dollars too – go buy yourself some chocolate or something. :)

This recipe is a guesstimate, as I didn’t really ‘measure’ anything as I worked. I grabbed a few random spices out of our spice drawer, tossed them with some panko breadcrumbs, and repeated a few of the same spices in the aioli. Use any spices you choose, really. Unless you go caking these in dill weed, I can’t see them tasting badly. They would also be delicious served with a honey-mustard dipping sauce, or without any sauce at all (they’re that good).

Best of all, no oil is needed to make these, just a light coating of cooking spray to keep them from sticking.

Baked Panko Chicken Tenders with Basil Aioli

Makes 3-4 servings (ish).

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or breast tenders
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
Cooking spray

For aioli:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350?F. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil and lightly spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl or shallow dish, season the flour with salt and black pepper, and lightly beat the eggs in another shallow dish. In a third shallow dish, combine panko breadcrumbs with basil, garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

If using chicken breasts, prepare by putting one breast in between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound to an even thickness of approximately 1/2″. Remove plastic and slice into strips.

Dredge tenders in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the floured chicken tenders into the egg and then coat the chicken tenders with the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strips.

Bake chicken tenders for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping once part way through the cook time.

To prepare aioli, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.