Pesto party

I have a confession to make.  I've never had pesto.  {collective gasp from the crowd}

It sounded good.  I had good intentions to make it because I've always had tons of basil go to waste every year so I had no good excuse.  The excuses stopped when I was encouraging my cousin to make pesto from the basil plants I gave him and realized I was being a little hypocritical since I'd never made it myself.  I had nuts left from my cashew date balls, plenty of basil and such so I figured I'd give it a go and throw it together.

Here's what I used for mine:

20 big basil leaves
2 oz raw unsalted cashews  (Nut Bar brand)
3 1/2 tbsp olive oil (I had 4 tbsp on hand in case I needed it but I didn't)
1 oz Trader Joe's Parmesan, Romano & Asiago Cheese blend
1 cup Trader Joe's organic baby spinach
(Makes 10 servings)

I put the basil, cheese and cashews in the food processor and gave it a whirl while drizzling the olive oil in the escape hatch.  (I always picture the ingredients hatching a plan to get out of the processor before I press the pulse button.  This is what lack of co-workers does to me.)

Then when it's broken up and just starting to come together, I grab the spinach and add it to the pesto party.

The finished product is a great marinade for meats or coatings for pasta or whatever your little heart desires!

I know...there are people gasping in disapproval that there's no garlic.  I didn't have any.  I didn't need it because it was awesome on its own.  I'll make it with some in the future but I actually made something better with it but you'll have to wait until next week for that one!

Ooh...cliffhanger.

Nutritional Info (per serving- recipe makes 10 servings):  Calories 78  Total Fat 8g Sat Fat 1g Poly Fat 1g  Mono Fat 4g  Cholesterol 1mg Sodium 15mg  Potassium 5mg  Total Carbs 2g Protein 1g  Vitamin A 4%  Vitamin C 2%  Calcium 2%  Iron 3%


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