Pesto - what do you do with it?

DianaCox

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I have a BUMPER crop of basil, and my son works (or did before the broken femur) at Whole Paycheck, so my daughter and I asked him to bring home some pine nuts and he brought nearly a pound (he gets a discount, fortunately!), so we made some pesto a couple of weeks ago to put on some raviolis from Costco. And it was delicious.

We just harvested another mess of basil, so I made a new batch of pesto - but I'm not sure what to do with it - I'm not interested in more pasta. Anyone have any ideas to share? Some kind of pesto chicken or something else?
 
Unfortunately I have no brilliant ideas. I love pesto and don't know what to do with it either. I don't buy the wonderful Costco pesto because there is no way I can use up that huge bottle...so hopefully other people will have some ideas we can both put to good use.
 
I have a BUMPER crop of basil, and my son works (or did before the broken femur) at Whole Paycheck, so my daughter and I asked him to bring home some pine nuts and he brought nearly a pound (he gets a discount, fortunately!), so we made some pesto a couple of weeks ago to put on some raviolis from Costco. And it was delicious.

We just harvested another mess of basil, so I made a new batch of pesto - but I'm not sure what to do with it - I'm not interested in more pasta. Anyone have any ideas to share? Some kind of pesto chicken or something else?

You on pinterest? There about 3.5 kajillion pesto-related recipes there. If you try them all, will you tell me which you liked best? (Mr. Sue not crazy about pine nuts.)
 
I have refused to join Pinterest - (1) I am so un-artsy-fartsy; and (2) they piss me off that you have to join to read, so I have refused. I'll make my daughter look for me :)
We were thinking chicken too - but I guess that has to be cooked in the oven, rather than on the BBQ.
 
Oops - it posted twice, and I tried to delete one, and somehow deleted both.

I refuse to join Pinterest - (1) I am SO not artsy-fartsy; and (2) I hate that they won't let you view the site without joining, so I refuse to join. I'll ask my daughter to look.

I'm guessing you can't make pesto chicken on the BBQ grill because the pesto would just slide off - so it has to be baked.
 
I marinate chicken in pesto when I have a bunch leftover, with some extra olive oil, salt & a little lemon juice, and then grill it. I LOVE IT.

*and by marinate, I mean at least overnight. If you do it for a short time, the flavor won't permeate enough and what's left on the outside will just stick to the grill and leave flavorless chicken.
 
Wilton came out with a 8 pack of icing scents that included basil that you could put in icing but you can also put it in other things.
 
Add a nice ripe avocado and some extra lemon juice pulse in a food processor until smooth and put over zuchini noodles. Add your favorite protein. I like it with steamed shrimp. Sprinkle with parm cheese.
 
You can use the Cipriani high protein pasta, and make killer pasta salad with pesto, super grape tomatoes, and baby mozzarella. Basil makes great vinaigrette for salad or chicken marinade, which you could then grill. Caprese Salad, low carb and very delicious. Mix pesto with mayonnaise and make chicken salad. Make bruschetta style chopped tomatoes and serve it over grilled chicken. Mix pesto with cream cheese for a veggie dip or sanwhich spread.
 
Unfortunately I have no brilliant ideas. I love pesto and don't know what to do with it either. I don't buy the wonderful Costco pesto because there is no way I can use up that huge bottle...so hopefully other people will have some ideas we can both put to good use.
That pretty much sums up 90% of COSTCO items for me and so many of their things simply are not a good value. For example, a pack of 3 Ribeye Steaks for $18.99 a pound. It is a big steak and good meat, but good gosh 6 people can eat that and $18.99 a pound is about $8-9 a pound more than what I can find at a great butcher who will cut any size and quantity I want.

That being said, I too love a good pesto but don't have any recipes either.but liek SPikey said, Pinterest has a bajillion recipes that I am sure are good.

Off the top of my head, a simple grilled or sauteed chicken would be awesome in a pesto sauce.
 
That pretty much sums up 90% of COSTCO items for me and so many of their things simply are not a good value. For example, a pack of 3 Ribeye Steaks for $18.99 a pound. It is a big steak and good meat, but good gosh 6 people can eat that and $18.99 a pound is about $8-9 a pound more than what I can find at a great butcher who will cut any size and quantity I want.

That being said, I too love a good pesto but don't have any recipes either.but liek SPikey said, Pinterest has a bajillion recipes that I am sure are good.

Off the top of my head, a simple grilled or sauteed chicken would be awesome in a pesto sauce.
I've not been able to find better prices for meat than Costco, unless there's a sale, or at walmart and their meat is CRAP. If you don't have the space, or you don't do freezer meals, Costco size products can be a waste, but they're great for me!
 

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