Shrimp with Roasted Garlic Pesto Pasta

If you are a garlic lover, like myself, then you are going to love this dish. This dish, Shrimp with Roasted Garlic Pesto Pasta, is a Sunny Anderson recipe. I have seen her show a couple times on the food network but do not watch her on a regular basis. I have been wanting to make a pesto since I got my food processor, and this one jumped out at me during a search on the Food Network site.

Ingredients
15 garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 head)
1 cup olive oil, plus extra for tomatoes
1 pound cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup packed basil leaves
1 pound linguine
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

The How To:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place garlic cloves in a single layer in a small baking dish. Add 1/2 cup olive oil to cover cloves, cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes, until golden brown and fork-tender. Meanwhile, in another baking dish, toss tomatoes with enough oil to coat. Lightly season with salt and pepper and roast at same temperature until tomatoes blister, about 25 minutes.

Strain garlic cloves and set aside in a small bowl, reserving infused oil separately. In a blender, add the roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, Parmesan, and basil. Pulse until combined. While machine is running, drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil until pesto comes together. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and reserve.


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and saute until the shrimp turn pink and is cooked through.


In a large bowl add the linguine and some of the pesto. Toss to coat and top with the shrimp. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve.


Note: There will be leftover pesto.

The Verdict:
For my first pesto, I have to say I was impressed. I am a huge fan of garlic and live by the motto in cooking that you can never have too much so this was a winner in my book! The Doc even enjoyed it. For those who don't like (or can't eat) shrimp, I am sure it would be just as good with some diced chicken.

Double-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Since finding out that baby #3 was on the way I have been too tired to even think about cooking. I am talking about the kind of tired where you can barely keep your eyes open. Unfortunately for my waistline and our budget that has meant a lot of ordering take-out and no new dishes to post on the blog.

Enough was enough! I got my new Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine in the mail along with my Food Network magazine and told myself that I needed to start cooking again! Not only are we saving money but I also dropped 2 pounds!

This dish, Double Stuffed Chicken Breasts, from the October issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray, says "you'll never have to choose between chicken parm and stuffed shells again!"

Ingredients:
1/2 cup small shell pasta
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
Four 8- to 10-ounce chicken breasts
3 cups store-bought marinara sauce (or if you're feeling ambitious you could always make your own sauce!)

The How To:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 4 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a bowl and add the mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan and 1/4 cup parsley; season with salt.

2. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Place the breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl.

3. Stuff the pasta-cheese mixture under the skin of each chicken breast. Dip the stuffed chicken breasts in the eggs, roll in the breadcrumbs, then place skin side up on the prepared pan. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the breast registers 165°, about 50 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the marinara sauce. Serve each breast on a bed of sauce, topped with 1 tablespoon parsley.

The Verdict: I meant to take pictures of the cooking process, however the whole tired thing got in the way, and I was just happy to have a home cooked meal on the table! The Doc, thought that while it tasted great, he would prefer to just have his pasta on the outside! I thought it was delicious and I loved having the pasta in the chicken! The kids even loved it.

I used garlic and herb flavored bread crumbs and used 1 cup of pasta instead of the 1/2 cup because, well we all love our carbs in this house. I placed the extra pasta/cheese mixture so that it surrounded the chicken in the baking dish.

The only downside to this dish is that it's not a 30 minute meal, this dish is going to take at least an hour to prepare/bake. So make sure you give yourself enough time or you'll end up eating at a much later dinner, like we did!

Ham and Cheese "Magic Bread"

If I ever had a cooking show it would probably have something to do with skipping going to the grocery store every time you want to make something new and using what you can find in your fridge and pantry. As Phil says, we could probably eat for a week off of everything we have stocked in the cabinets, freezer and fridge, but most people don't know how to combine it all together. So here's what I came up with one evening.

Ingredients:
*3/4 package of Hormel All Natural Deli Ham
*1c shredded mozzerella
*4 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Swiss Garlic and Herb cheese
*1 small package crescent roll dough

The Making:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Stack the ham into one big pile and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. In a bowl combine the ham, mozzarella, and the Swiss (broken apart and crumbled). Mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Open the crescent package and separate the triangles. Place so the the long straight side is to the right, and the short straight side is towards you. Put a heaping tablespoon (or more) of the ham mixture on the bottom of the dough. Fold the bottom corners up and start rolling towards the point. Place on a pizza stone (or a baking sheet lined with parchment). Bake according to the crescent package directions. Serve warm.

Tips and Talk:
Miles named this, and it will forever be known as "Magic Bread" so I think he liked it. I made this with Whole Steamed Artichokes and salad and it made a really nice weeknight meal. I'm sure you could substitute the ham for pepperoni, broccoli, spinach, anything you have. These could also make great appetizers for a party if you cut the dough in half before rolling.