Pesto Shrimp

You will notice two things from my recent posts.... i seem to be looking at healthy food, and basil.  Both are on my mind.  I'm thinking healthy and we have a ton of basil as the season is closing out.  I saw this recipe for Pesto Shrimp on Skinnytaste.com ages ago this summer, and I've wanted it ever since.  I am a lover of the pesto, and lately seem to be more pro-shrimp.  We have been grilling shrimp this summer, but mostly with a chili sauce that includes David's new favorite thing, Sriracha Rooster Sauce.  We were finally around and had time to defrost and marinade the shrimpies, so we decided it was finally time to give this a try.

Ingredients
Approx 15 shrimpies, peeled and devined, defrosted
1 cup fresh basil packed
a squirt of lemon juice
4 -5 garlic cloves smached and chopped
3 tbl of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup or so of parmesan

Started off with the pesto -- combining the basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and parmesan in the food processor.  I pulsed it until it was well mixed and even the garlic was pureed.  Added a couple of streams of olive oil and called it good.  I removed the pesto from the food processor and put it in a little bowl.

I marinated the shrimp in about a third of the pesto for a couple of hours prior to skewering them and grilling them.  I froze the rest of the pesto for later -- and will be doing the same with the rest of the basil in the garden :)

Verdict -- yummy.  David had some shrimp with his free lobster, i just did the shrimp.  Rumor has it the shrimp was better than the lobster.  Very easy and I foresee this becoming a regular, particular if we can get a good supply of pesto stocked up.

Italian Turkey Meatballs

I saw the crockpot version of these on Skinnytaste.com. I totally intended to make them for a nice homey Friday night dinner after a busy week.  I had great intentions.  Then i woke up and walked out the door Friday without even thinking about it, and had a long day at work.  By the time I got home at 7 I felt lazy, but summoned my inner strength and cooked these bad boys up based on her stovetop directions while David enjoyed the Pitt game (yet another loss :( ).

Ingredients
Meatballs:
1 Package ground turkey (99% lean)
handful Italian Breadcrumbs
handful grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
3 garlic cloves smashed and minced
salt and pepper to taste


Sauce:
1 can tutturosa crushed tomatoes with basil(28 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
5-6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
Olive oil
oregano, salt, and pepper to taste (you know me, i don't measure)
a handful of fresh basil, chopped

Directions
I started with the sauce -- sauteeing the garlic in a little olive oil in the bottom of our pan I carried home from the honeymoon (its really heavy and heats up way to fast and easily, as I remember every time I use it).  Once the garlic was slightly browned I added the remaining sauce ingredients and turned it to as low as it goes to simmer while I made the meatballs.

I pretty much combined all the ingredients and mixed them up pretty well.  I formed them into smallish meatballs, aiming for about golf ball sized.  Once completed I added them directly to the sauce and gave it a gentle stir, covered with foil (the pan lacks a lid) and cooked for about 20 minute until cooked thoroughly.

Verdict
These were pretty good.  I was able to go from start to finish, including picking the basil from the garden, in about 40 minutes.  I think next time i would spray the meatballs with some olive oil and let them bake for a few minutes to get crispy on the outside before putting them into the sauce.  I had my doubts on putting them directly into the sauce, but it cooked through and worked.  David seemed to enjoy them despite the healthy factor.  The only other issue was that by using the pot without a lid the sauce was a little too clumpy for me.  Next time I'll use a different pan so less moisture boils off and possibly use two cans of crushed tomatoes instead of a crushed and a diced.