Pesto Genovese

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic

1 small handful of raw pine nuts

3/4 cup parmesan - loosely packed and freshly grated

a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake" - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.

You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil.

Cottage Pie

2 tbs olive oil

2 medium onions - chopped

2 cloves garlic - crushed

500gr minced beef

1 medium tomato

1 cube beef stock

bunch of carrots, green beans & corn

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 C. Heat the oil in pan, add onions, garlic and minced beef, stir cook until mince is browned. Add carrots, peas, corn, puree, stock, salt and pepper - simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. While this is cooking, boil the potatoes and mash with butter and cheese. Spoon minced mixture into an oven-proof dish. Top with potato-cheese mash. Bake the cottage pie uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown on top.

Meatball In Mushroom Sauce

Meatball:
1 kg ground beef
2 eggs
a bit of flour
Salt and pepper lightly
Mix all the ingredients together and shape into balls (roll in the palm of your hand) then cook in olive oil.

Sauce:
150 gr of thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup of milk
15 gr of butter
1 heaped tbsp of flour
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oil and melt the butter in it. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are soft and dark in color. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Add the flour and pour in the milk. Mix the ingredients together, stirring continuously. Return the pan to a medium heat and cook the sauce, stirring constantly until it thickens. Season it with salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 5 - 8 minutes.

Pour souce on top of meatballs, serve with spaghetti or french fries.

Orange Rosemary Roasted Chicken

3 skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves, each 6 ounces

3 skinless, bone-in chicken legs with thigh pieces, each 8 ounces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons fresh rosemary (minced) or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

Rub each piece of chicken with garlic. Dab fingers in oil and rub with oil and sprinkle with rosemary and pepper.

Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish. Pour the orange juice over the chicken. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chicken and return to the oven until browned, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Baste the chicken with the orange juice from the pan as needed to prevent it from drying out.

Chicken Tomatoes

ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil

1 ounce chicken pieces

1 medium onion

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tbs oregano

few shallots

few garlic

Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sauté until browned on all sides. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Add onion, shallots, garlic to skillet and sauté three minutes. Stir in tomatoes and stock and simmer five minutes or until tomatoes are tender.

Return chicken to skillet. Add oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is tender.

Pan-Seared Salmon With Italian Salsa

2 salmon fillets

• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  4 tablespoons olive

Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Cook 2 fillets in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork. Top fish with salsa.

salsa ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained
1 can shoe peg corn, drained1 can black eyed peas, drained2 cans rotel tomatoes

3 green onions, diced
1 large bottle kraft Zesty Italian Dressing

Drain first 3 ingredients, mix all together and chill overnight.

Jive Potatoes

ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 small red or green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 small cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon seasoning (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice

Cut 2 pieces of aluminum foil to about 12x15-in then set aside.

Cut potatoes into slices about 1/16-in. thick.
Toss potatoes with onion, bell pepper, garlic, oil and seasonings. Distribute mixture evenly between the 2 pieces of foil. Drizzle with lemon juice. Wrap each securely, but loosely to form a flat package. Place, seam side up, on baking sheets.

Bake in 450ºF. oven about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.