Aprilanne.com

Aprilanne's Hot Tip: Fresh ingredients are the key to success.

 Aprilanne’s Authentic Italian Pesto Sauce Recipe takes just 5-minutes to make, and is Party Girl Diet approved.   You can enjoy this rich and decadent sauce “guilt free,” as the olive oil, walnuts, and garlic are 3 of The Party Girl Diet’s Top 10 Super Foods proven to enhance health and longevity. You will also get your share of healthy, “good for you”omega-3 fats from the olive oil and walnuts, and anti-imflamatory benefits from the basil.

Aprilanne’s Hot Shopping Tip: By cooking with ingredients that are fresh & local, and in season, you will experince foods at their peak of flavor AND you will save money because the more plentiful the product, the lower the cost to you.

Ingredients (For 6 servings)

• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup low-salt chicken or vegetable broth to thin mixture (optional)
• Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon (This helps to keep the basil from turning brown)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon course sea-salt

Directions

1. Place olive oil, basil, chopped walnuts, garlic and salt in food processor (or blender).
2. Blend until thoroughly combined.
3. Add Parmesan cheese and blend 5-10 seconds more.
4. To thin the mixuture, add a little bit of chicken or vegetable broth in and mix. Consistency should be thick and smooth, not lumpy.

Aprilanne’s Hot Serving Tip: If you have stored the pesto in the fridge, just before serving, add 2 Tbsp of hot water or broth (the hot pasta water from your cooked pasta will work great).

Enjoy this fresh pesto sauce over veggies, as a healthy switch-up from red pasta sauce, and/or as a healthy marinade for your grilled fish, chicken, and meats.

Aprilanne’s Hot Cooking Tip: Make double the recipe and freeze the extra sauce in an ice-cube tray. This way, you will have extra pesto sauce on hand to whip up other delicious dishes. This recipe is great on steamed veggies, chicken, fish, and meats, and is delicious on pasta and pizza.

Until next time -”keep it healthy…and keep the party going” - Aprilanne

Meet BIG RED – our “impostor” in the hen house (see post below) who has turned into a really sweet addition to our California farm.”

While he is pretty cool with me – read:  “the one who feeds him everyday” – BIG RED  does find my husband’s presence somewhat of a threat (although sometimes I think it may be the other way around!)