Basil Pesto Cream Sauce

Here is the recipe for the sauce that I used... again sorry for no pictures!

Basil Pesto Cream Sauce
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts, toasted
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Splash of Heavy Cream

For the sauce, In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil, salt, and pepper and process for a few seconds until the basil is chopped. Add the cheese, pine nuts, and garlic and, while the processor is running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream until a mostly smooth sauce is formed. Wipe out sauté pan and warm pesto just a bit. Add splash of cream and allow to heat through. (Note: Pesto may be made 1 day in advance and kept, refrigerated, in an airtight container, until ready to use. If making in advance, be sure to cover the top of the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the pesto from darkening. Pesto may also be frozen in the same manner in small quantities for use at a later date.)

Rosemary Bread

This is one of the recipes that I had at our dinner last weekend. It is very similar to the bread that is served at Macaroni Grill (which is Keith's all time favorite restaurant bread). I had to make to batches of it as my stupid salt grinder broke on top of the other loaf... I was not excited! Please excuse my horrible picture taking...

Rosemary Bread
Recipezaar.com

Ingredients
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosemary
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.

Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Add one tablespoon of the fresh chopped rosemary. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or in food processor about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary. Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel.

Let dough rise in a warm place for one hour until doubled. Punch down dough and divide in half. Let dough rest about 5 minutes. Spray baking pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray. Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface. Let loaves rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from oven, brush with remaining butter (and salt if desired.).

And here is the finished product. No I didn't cook it in the foil, that was just to keep it warm for the dinner!

Oh Hobby Lobby... How I Love Thee!

So I am yet to express my dear love for Hobby Lobby. But yes... I love it and I am slightly obsessed. When we first moved to Tyler and needed some decor for them home, I think I spent at least 500 bucks there... yes, it is ridiculous! Oh and at Christmas time, we bought at least 250 bucks of Christmas decor. Now I never buy anything there at full price, always 50% off, so double those amounts and that is what I would have spent. Now why Hobby Lobby doesn't just cut their prices in half, as I seriously don't know anyone that does buy at full price, I just don't know!

Well I had to take a break for awhile from Hobby Lobby, but we had received a gift card for Christmas, so I figured it was time to go and spend it. So off we went on Saturday afternoon, and we probably spent at least an hour there! So here is what I purchased... 104 dollars worth of stuff at 50% off... so 52 bucks... with a 30 dollar gift card... got 6 things for $22... Wonderful!

Also, Hobby Lobby has the Wilton Cake Classes and I have been eyeing them for the past 9 months... so I have finally decided to sign up for Class 1 and it starts April 6th! So excited! I will definitely share about it once the classes start.

I have also become very fond of cooking with fresh herbs lately thanks to all of my Food Network watching. So yesterday, off we went to Lowe's to make a small herb garden and to add a little decoration to the front of our house (saying the people that lived here before us destroyed the bushes in front of our door).
So there is our new little garden. I now have fresh cilantro, sweet basil, mint, rosemary, Greek oregano, and sage. I can't wait to use them in my cooking! I tried to find purple and gold flowers for accent, but they didn't seem to have them, so I had to go with a pinkish-purple flower and a orange-gold one.

Other than those 2 outings, the rest of our weekend was very uneventful. Just church and some grocery shopping. I am trying to do my best to clip coupons and search for the sales, and I saved 25 dollars between Wal-mart and Brookshire's. Not bad for my first try!