Texas Pesto Shrimp and Pasta

If you have a lot of fresh basil in your garden right now like we do, you can whip up a quick pasta dish with a Texas taste.









3 garlic cloves, peeled, minced and sautéed in 1 T olive oil
3 cups fresh basil leaves
¼ cup toasted, smoked almonds
1/2 c. grated Parmegiano Reggiano cheese or Grana Padano
1/2 c. olive oil
½ cup Italian parsley
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 Tablespoon dried tomato bouillon
12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped into large chunks
1 can Goya black beans, drained
1 teaspoon chopped red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
Enough dried fusili or favorite pasta for 4 people (16 oz.)

Prepare Pesto
Saute garlic in olive oil and transfer to blender with basil leaves, almonds, olive oil and parsley. Combine sautéed garlic with basil leaves, almonds, olive oil and parsley and whir in blender until it forms a paste. Add grated parmesan cheese.


Prepare Shrimp
Add chopped green pepper, saute until softened. Add shrimp and sauté until pink. Then add sundried tomatoes and cook with shrimp until softened, a few minutes. Add tomato bouillon, lemon zest, black beans, pepper flakes and remove from heat.

Complete Pasta
Add grated parmesan cheese. Toss both shrimp mix and pesto with hot cooked pasta and serve.

Chicken Chorizo Salad for Two

Instead of serving meat or bean dishes over rice, pasta, or potatoes, try putting them on a salad dressed with a light lemony white wine vinaigrette. Many dishes you may think must be served over a starch go nicely over vegetables or salad, particularly in these really hot days of summer.





(Recipe easily expands to serve 8 or more)

½ lb. Homemade Chicken Chorizo (or ask your butcher to prepare it for you)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 4 Mexican Cheeses, grated (Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Oaxaca or Queso Blanco—or any mixture of yellow and white Mexican cheeses)
Canned black beans
¾ cup salsa
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped by hand
Mix of Butter Lettuce and Green and Purple Baby Romaine
1 container fresh grape tomatoes
1 whole avocado, sliced
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (low salt)
White Wine Vinaigrette (recipe below) or light bottled white wine vinaigrette

Homemade Chorizo
½ lb. ground chicken or 2 chicken breasts, ground
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ Tablespoon chili powder
3 sprigs fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon ground dried oregano
1 clove minced garlic, sautéed in a Tablespoon of olive oil until translucent
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
pinch salt
fresh ground black pepper

Prepare chorizo seasoning mix and allow to sit for at least an hour or purchase chicken chorizo. Saute chorizo in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add minced garlic and sauté. Add ½ carton of grape tomatoes and sauté. Pour beans, salsa, and chorizo mixture into a medium baking dish. Cover with cheeses, evenly sprinkled over top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

White Wine Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup white wine or leftover champagne
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon Mudhava agave nectar or brown sugar
1 cup light olive oil or ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup peanut or safflower oil
ground black pepper salt to taste

Whir first four ingredients in blender or food processor. Slowly drizzle in oil in top of blender, pouring in a thin stream while blending. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chorizo Salad Preparation
Arrange greens and remainder of fresh tomatoes on serving plates. Drizzle a little of vinaigrette over salad. Top with warm bean and chorizo mix. Sprinkle cilantro over chicken mixture. Cover with blue corn tortilla chips and sliced avocado. Serve with chilled white wine, dry rose’ or sangria.
Herbs, including cilantro, can grow in an outdoor garden, even in Dallas' 103 degree summers!

Chicks and Salsa Sangria

“Chicks and Salsa” Sangria
(with apologies to children’s book author, Aaron Reynolds)













As the author of the children’s book, "Chicks and Salsa" attests, the zest for salsa is shared by all species, particularly by one crafty rooster who tires of the same old Nuthatcher Farm feed everyday. This rollicking tale was read to all of the adults at my sister-in-law Annie’s birthday barbeque tonight. We sipped sangria, ate smoked ribs, chicken, brisket, and jalapeno cornbread and listened to my great niece, age 5, read this story to us. Then, she donned a sparkly turquoise feather boa and danced her recital routine as an encore while we all sang Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel" for her. Her three-year old brother tried to keep up with her in his grandmother's high heels. On a 100+ degree-day, it was just what our family needed to spice up a birthday party. You might enjoy this sangria recipe too, and you don’t have to be five to love Elvis and the book!

Sangria
3 bottles of hearty red wine
1 cup brandy
½ cup Triple Sec
1 quart orange juice
3 lemons, juiced
½ cup Madhava agave nectar
3 small navel oranges, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Low sodium club soda
Ice
Fresh mint, for garnish

Mix all liquor, juices, and nectar. Slice fruit, place in mixture, and mull in refrigerator for at least two hours. When ready to serve, fill glass halfway with ice, add soda ¼ of the way up the glass. Fill to top of glass with wine mixture, garnish with slice of orange or lemon and fresh mint. Then, get a young reader to tell you how bored chicks can make salsa and guacamole!

Easy and Healthy Blueberry Sundae

Individual Serving
½ cup Fage Greek yogurt
3 Tablespoons Madhava Agave Nectar
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
Sprig fresh spearmint (optional)

Place yogurt in a bowl and mix with 2 Tablespoons of agave nectar. Spoon into an individual serving dish, cover with blueberries, pour the remaining tablespoon of nectar over the berries, garnish and serve.

Grilled Chicken with Champagne Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Dressing
1 shallot, finely minced
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ cup champagne or white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Madhava agave nectar or honey
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon grill salt mix
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup – ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Saute shallot in small amount of olive oil until transparent. Whisk together shallot with mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, nectar/honey, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until dressing thickens or add oil slowly into vinegar mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.

Grilled Chicken
Marinate raw chicken breast in ¼ cup of dressing for an hour. Cook over hot grill. When cooked through, cool and slice. Place over mixed greens, sliced apples or pears, tomatoes, green onions, and walnuts. Sprinkle with champagne vinaigrette and serve.