Pesto is such a wonderful, misinterpreted sauce and it is so very versatile that to try and tell you that this is all you will have have to know about Pesto would be unkind of me.
Pesto in so many ways can really sum up Italian cooking. What most people here in America seem to think is that Italian cooking is just one nations type of cooking but what they don't understand is that Italy is a country of vastly different cultures and traditions. Think of it like New York style pizza and Chicago pizza. Order a pizza in New York and you're going to get a thin crust simple topping pizza. Order a pizza in Chicago you're going to get a deep, dish, lots of sauce, cheese, and toppings type of pizza. Same idea different follow through but try to tell one that the other is better and you'll loose a finger or two.
Northern Italy has traditions and ways of cooking that are not the same as Southern Italy. Sicily is well....let's just leave Sicily out of this because honestly Sicily does their own things and this, this I like. But the point is that Pesto is not just your everyday green sauce we as Americans lump it into. Pesto really is just any sauce where the ingredients are raw and ground together then put over something. Pesto in Italian means "pounded" and when talking about cooking Pesto means a "Raw, pounded sauce". Though we know it mostly as a basil sauce, this is just not the honest case. There are lots and lots of different ways to make Pesto and I encourage you all to try many different ones out.
This is my favorite way to make Pesto.

What you need:
 
  Pesto:
     a bundle of FRESH cilantro
     3 tbsp Your favorite olive oil (preferably nothing with too strong of a flavor that it will out weigh the    cilantro)
    Roughly a handful of  Walnuts
    3/4 a cup  Parmesan-Reggiano
     2 gloves of garlic

4 chicken breast
1 large onion
pasta
cherry tomatoes


Rules:
   Always wash your fresh herbs the minute you get them home from the store. Cilantro is pulled right from the dirt...you need to wash it really really well.
  don't buckle yourself down on the garlic, go with what you like add a little more or a little less for taste.
Not a Walnut fan than change that too. Go for the more "traditional" pine-nut instead.


Start:
   Put Noodles in boiling water.
Cut onions, then chicken into bite size pieces and place in large skillet to cook on medium-high heat stirring occasionally.
In a food processor add your garlic, and nuts then give it a few pulses.
Add in cilantro and give it a few more pulses.
Then turn it on high and while the processor is turning add in your olive oil.
Take off lid and pour paste into a bowl.
Sprinkle in the Parmesan-Reggiano and mix together.
I don't like to add the cheese into the food processor because I feel like it warms the cheese up too much. So I do it by hand.

Add 2 tbsp of Pesto into the onions and chicken mix and allow to cook until chicken is done

Pour 1/4 cup of the water from the pasta into the chicken mixture before draining the rest of the water out into the sink. There is lots of flavor still in that water. you want.
In the pasta pot add in the rest of the Pesto and mix together.
Then add in chicken and onion mixture and stir.
Serve up on a dish toping each serving with freshly cut cherry tomatoes.

Okay I'm going to be honest. I'm not a big supporter of pre-made mixes. I'm all for cutting corners but when it's at the expense of taste I whole heartedly forbid it. There are so many pre-made seasonings that you can make yourself and then personalize without even having to bat and eye. Taco seasoning is one of them. I love to make a big batch of this and bring it out whenever we're having tacos. Sometimes depending on what I'm making I'll use a little more or a little less. Ten a screw the lid back on and put the rest away for next time.

What you'll need:

    2 tsp dried minced onion
    1 tsp chili powder
    1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
    1/4 tsp oregano
    1 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp corn starch
    1/2 tsp garlic powder
    1/2 tsp cumin

Rules:
   this is for one serving. If you were going to make a big batch of this (like I do) you would double, triple, quadruple whatever it takes to fill the container you're using. Just remember to have the rations correct.
Want it a little hotter add more chili powder. Want it less spicy put in less. Add in a little Paprika to give it a slightly sweeter taste. That's what is great about making it your own...you can explore.


Start:
mix all these ingredients together. Mix them well and sprinkle them over your meat. Add in a 1/2 cup of water mixing well so that all the ingredients mix and there are no dried spots. Then let simmer until all the water is evaporated.

If I had to pick on Asian Sauce to live off for the rest of my life it would be Teriyaki. I can't help it. I love it. The biggest thing that saddens me about Teriyaki though is that people so often think it has to be served with rice. Don't get me wrong as we have pointed out I'm a pretty big rice fan, but Teriyaki is a sauce for all man kind. It does not discriminate against any type of side, I SWEAR!!!

What you'll need:

Sauce:
    1/2 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup water
    2 tsp sesame oil
    2 tbsp sweet rice wine
    2 tbsp brown sugar
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 gloves minced garlic
    1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
    1 tbsp cornstarch
    dash of water

3-4 chicken breast
1 Large onion
2 cups fresh green beans
any type of noodles you like

Rules:
    cornstarch is a preference. If you want your sauce thicker add more is you want it a little more on the watery side add less.
Cook sauce first and let it sit. The longer it's on the stove simmering or in the fridge sitting the stronger the flavors will be.



Start:
Cut large onion and set aside.
Mince Garlic and set aside.
Cut chicken breast into small bite size pieces and set aside.
Put noodles on to boil in a large pot cooking as directions for your noodles requires.
Mix all ingredients for sauce together except cornstarch and dash of water on the stove top in a deep pot on medium high heat. In a small cup combine cornstarch and a little bit of water. Just enough to dissolve the cornstarch. When sauce has reached a boil pour cornstarch mixture in and stir. Let simmer on low heat while you cook your chicken.
In a large skillet put in your cut up onion and chicken. Cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes or until chicken in completely done.
Add chicken, onions, and green beans to large pot with sauce and cook until green beans are cooked. You want them hot but still crisp.
Add noodle and stir all ingredients together. Serve.

There is a world of cooking out there that goes underappreciated and sometimes completely unknown. Cooking with fruit. We tend to see fruit as a dessert or morning snack but really fruit is so good when added to dinner. Sure we almost all know that pine-apple in stir-fry is yummy or that lemon and chicken are a perfect match, but what about all the other fruits just hanging around on trees and vines? Well there is a place for them too I swear.

What you'll need

4 pork chops (boneless or none it doesn't matter)
olive oil for your skillet
1/2 cup of your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette (I use Kraft)
1 large onion
2 gloves garlic
1 tbsp dried rosemary if use fresh I would double it.
4 fresh ripe pears or 1 can pear halves.

Rules:
 don't get tied down on how much oil to use. This oil is only to help your pork from sticking to your skillet. Use more is your skillet is newer and hasn't been used a lot. Use less if you've got your grandma's well season iron skillet.
If pears are really solid to the touch then I would leave them out on the counter overnight and let them ripen a little more before cutting into them. Pears should cut like butter not like an apple.

Start:
Cut pears into halves.
Mince Garlic.
chop onions
pour oil into skillet.
Turn heat to medium heat and let it heat up.
When skillet is warm place all four pork chops onto skillet and let cook for 3 minutes on both sides.
We're going to just brown the outsides first. Take the pork chops out and set on a plate while you cook your other ingredients together.
In same skillet place half your Balsamic dressing, onions, garlic, and rosemary. If using dried rosemary you can add it just like it is rubbing it between your hands to break it up a little bit. If using fresh rosemary remember to pull it from the stem.
Let all ingredients cook for about 3 minutes and then add pork chops bake to skillet, adding in the pears and the remaining Balsamic dressing.
Let cook for 10-12 minutes or until pork chops are done.

Serving:
 Add pork chop and pear to dish and pour a spoon full of the yummy sauce.....YUMMY!!

mmm blueberries. They are, next to raspberries, my favorite berry. To be honest I'm just a pretty big berry lover all around but I think blueberry gets forgotten sometimes on the coolness level. One, blueberries, like many berries are incredibly good for you. I mean the whole reason they're blueish/purple in color is because of their large level of anthocyanidins, and if you aren't aware what anthocyanidins are then I'll share with you that anthocyanidins are an antitoxin that helps rid the body of unhealthy toxins you put into your body each and everyday, but that's not all anthocyanidins are anti-inflammatory AND they help the body absorb other needed vitamins. That's not even including the natural vitamins the blueberry has just sitting inside of it. Vitamin C, and E, high in dietary fiber and manganese. This berry loves you so love it back a little. And what better way to do that then to jump in and add it to your morning routine right. This Danish is so easy to make and so yummy!!!

What you'll need:
A roll of refrigerated crescents rolls (like from Pillsbury)
cream cheese
1/4 a cup sugar (or powder sugar)
2 tbsp to 1 cup blueberries.
2 tbsp butter
extra cain sugar to spinkle on top

Rules:
 Pre-heat oven to 350.
    Take the cream cheese out, put it in the bowl you will be using for mixing and let it sit out in room temp to soften up.
    Decide before you start if you are going to use powder sugar or cain sugar, because it will determine how you add the blueberries. Powder sugar will thicken up your cream cheese and make it more like a frosting. If you add the blueberries to the cream cheese using powder sugar then you can mash the blueberries up and blend them together with the cheese but if you use cain sugar then you are going to need to use your blueberries whole. Decide because it makes all the difference.

Recipe with Powered Sugar.

In your mixing bowl where you have let the cream cheese sit to soften up add 2 tbsp of blueberries. This will not look like much.
With a fork or hand mixer blend blueberries into the cream cheese.
Once combined slowly add in 1/4 cup of Powder Sugar.
If your blueberries were extremely juicy add a little more Powder Sugar.
Set mixture aside.

Open your refrigerated crescents rolls and with your fingers make the triangle rolls into squares.
Spoon 2 tbsps of cream cheese mixture into the center of the dough and bring two opposite corners together.
Repeat on all six rolls.
melt 2 tbsps butter in sauce pan.
Softly brush butter over tops of danish rolls and sprinkle desired amount of cain sugar over tops.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe for Cain Sugar:

In your mixing bowl where you have let the cream cheese sit to soften up mix in 1/4 cup cain sugar.
Add in 1 cup whole blueberries and softly fold mixture together.
Set mixture aside.

Open your refrigerated crescents rolls and with your fingers make the triangle rolls into squares.
Spoon 2 tbsps of cream cheese mixture into the center of the dough and bring two opposite corners together.
Repeat on all six rolls.
melt 2 tbsps butter in sauce pan.
Softly brush butter over tops of danish rolls and sprinkle desired amount of cain sugar over tops.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

First thing to know:

                       I love rice.

If there is a way to add rice into a meal I will do so. I have to tell myself over and over again to stop making it a "rice dish" because if I don't tell myself that......everything I make would be a "Rice dish". You think I'm kidding but I swear to you I am not.

What you'll need
2 bell peppers (red, green, yellow, orange, whatever floats your boat)
1 Large Onion
1 lb thinly cut steak (whatever cut you like)
3 gloves of Garlic
1 tsp ground pepper
pinch of salt
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
3 tbsp butter
Rice.

Rules:
      Always start your rice first in your rice cooker....Don't have a rice cooker? Go get one. No really this won't work if you don't have a rice cooker because truly they are the most amazing kitchen item ever.
cut all your veggies first, then your garlic, then with the same knife (but on a different cutting board) cut up you steak. The less dishes you can use from the start the happier you will be when you're all finished.
since your rice is in the rice cooker everything else can be done in 1 pot.


In a large Skillet add butter, peppers, and onions.
let all these cook for about 3-4 minutes on medium high heat.
Add your steak, garlic, ground pepper and pinch of salt. Cook for another 3 minutes
Then while meat is still cooking add Soy Sauce. Cook for 3 more minutes of until meat is done.
Add in BBQ and cook until everything is heated though (meaning that the BBQ sauce you just added is now all hot and bothered) Give it a small taste. If the BBQ sauce is too overpowering add a little more Soy Sauce.
Let simmer on low heat until rice is done which shouldn't be long (if you're using a rice cooker)
When rice is done spoon desired amount over rice and enjoy.

What you'll need:

A sharp chef's knife. This is the knife that you see every cooking personality chopping with when they cook.
and a
A bulb of garlic

The rules:

1:) remember you own that garlic
2:) accept that your hands are going to smell
3:) step up and go for it.

Step one:

I didn't take a picture of this because well I thought it would just come as common sense and then I said to myself "Libbie pretend that you are reading this" and that when I knew I should have taken a picture. but anyways. Take your garlic bulb rub your fingers around it to loosen up of that lovely papery skin and then pull off as many cloves as you need for your dish.

Step Two: Beat the garlic

No Seriously. Put the cloves one at a time under your knife. With your knife laying flat against the garlic smack your hand down on top of it with all your might. This will do two things. One it will completely break the garlic flesh from it's very thin paper shell and two it break down the garlic making it easier to chop.

Step three: Chop it up

Start off cutting the garlic like you would a Tomato. Thin, long slices. Starting out at the tip of the garlic farthest from you and cutting it all the way back until all you are left with are slices of garlic looking more like little chips then like garlic you can cook with. If you were going to make a broth that you strained all the ingredients from before using it. You could stop at this first cutting step, but this is about chopping garlic up and making it your bitch. So we're going to keep going.
With the garlic still in it's nice little row of sliced up peices your going to attack it. Again starting at the front of the garlic farest away from you, you are going to quickly chop though your garlic, choping towards you.

tip: always leave the tip of your knife on the cutting board as you chop. Moving the knife in more of a fluid wave type of motion then an up and down aggressive chop will give you more control of where it goes and what you are chopping.

As you bring the knife towards you slide it along your cutting board as to bring all the garlic back together again in a group and start chopping again. Do this over and over again until the garlic is chopped to the thickness that you like it.

Remember if leaving the garlic in the sauce the smaller the peice the better. You don't want someone chomping down on a big peice of garlic.

One last real good tip from me to you.....a secret if you may.

Right before you put your garlic in the pan take your sharp chef's knife and flatten it against the garlic. Pressing the garlic between the knife and the cutting board. i find that doing this a few times really starts to break down the garlic and the oils are more willing to soak out into your dish.

I'm going to be honest right up front and say to you that this recipe is so ridiculously easy that it makes me pee myself. I'm also going to say that not only is it easy but it is CHEAP!!!!!

What you will need:

1 lb Hamburger meat
1 large Onions
3 tbsp Seasoning Salt
1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 gloves Garlic
4 tbsp BUTTER

Here are the rules:

1:) All of these things taste better if you make your own and save them in your pantry. Okay well not like "everything" everything because you know who can slaughter their own cow but the Seasoning Salt and Worcestershire Sauce is better because you can make a big batch and have it on hand for whenever you need it. i'm going to have to post how to make those now and I will, but for future Sloppy Joe endeavors remember that.

2:) Do not be afraid to flavor. My theory "when in doubt use more butter".

3:) have fun. Cooking is to be enjoyed. It is not a chore. It is a hobby.

Okay we got our ingredients, we got our rules, we're ready to start.

First cut up your onion to however you like it. Long strips? Cool. Chunks? Cool. Itty Bitty bite size pieces....okay sure.
Then we're gonna mince 2 gloves of garlic. Just slaughter the hell out that garlic. The smaller the better.
Grab the biggest skillet you have and throw in 2 Tbsp butter.
Melt the butter down and throw in your onion.
We're going to soften up the onion but we don't want it to completely caramelise so just a few minutes on the stove top, let it turn into a deep yellowish color but not yet browning on the sides just enough to get the flavors seeping out is good.
Then pour the onion onto a plate and let them sit while we cook the meat....in the same skillet. This is important because we want all these flavors to just soak each other up.
Before we put that meat on the skillet though lets just mix it up with some added flavor.
Grab the seasoning salt and just sprinkle that salt all over that meat. I mean really get it in there.
This is all to taste. I could give you a number but it doesn't really matter go with what you like.
I'm not big on the measuring part of cooking but if you really needed a number I'd say I use about 3 tbsp of it.
Use you're hands to mix it really good into that meat.
Add the meat to the skillet and let the meat brown for awhile.
Just before it gets all the way done throw in about 1/2 cup of the Worcestershire sauce, the garlic, the onion, and another 2 tbsp of butter.
Turn the heat down to nice simmer and let it cook for awhile.
While the meat is cooking toast your hamburger buns. Trust me on this people toast your hamburger buns.
When your meat looks good and done take a taste.
The sauce is going to cook down a little bit so if you decide you want more sauce to pour over your meat add a little more butter. Scoop up the meat and onions pile it onto of your toasted buns and if you're anything like me take a spoon and add some of that wonderful sauce on top. MMMMM GOOD!

Cooking is always better with help. Even if that "help" is not all the helpful and really they just sort of get in the way, it doesn't matter. Cooking is better with help.

It's hard to trust a small being in the kitchen. It's hard to relax and not think that at any moment they are going to loose a finger or maybe even burn the house down but here's what you really need to remember.

You can still live a long and happy life with nine maybe even less fingers, and a house is just a house filled with stuff you can live without, but the memories your kids will have from helping you cook will last a lifetime.....I promise!

Before anyone write me an angry letter let me clarify. I'm not saying hand your two year old a butcher knife and say okay I'll see you when dinners done, but I AM saying that it won't kill anyone to let your two year old help make the salad. Kids are so much more capable that we adults would like to believe.