Pesto Recipe

The Pesto recipe is on a previous blog

Lettuce, Lettuce, Everywhere

We Planted our Lettuce on May 6th 2011, the last picture that you see is on May 28 2011.  We have had 2 salads, alot of sandwiches and some decor lettuce while the lettuce has been growing.  It is still big and bushy.  The lettuce tastes wonderful.  I just planted spinach seeds. I can't wait for those to sprout.   We have planted Pesto Basil on May 7th and have made 3 batches of Pesto.  Yummy Yummy.  We will post the recipe soon.  Yesterday I had Chicken, Noodles and Pesto for lunch.  Plenty of Pesto left for a few more meals.  Watch for the recipe,  Hope your day is Glowing with Happiness and Health

Harvested Basil!

Ok So this is Cortney, Cris' Daughter, I also have an Aero Garden and was able to trim my basil today. I planted them on the 7th of May and was able to get almost 2 cups packed basil. I thought I would share what I did with it!
First I made home made pesto... (yummy) Did you know you can freeze Pesto for up to 6 months! I love anything that you can freeze and get a longer lasting use by date!

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (I used 1 3/4 cup basil ad 1/4 cup spinach it helps keep that bright green color)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Then I made Pesto Chicken Florentine! My Whole family loved it and ate it all! Yes even my picky 4 year old and my 1 year old devoured it!

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• 1 (4.5 ounce) package dry Alfredo sauce mix
• 2 tablespoons pesto
• 1 (8 ounce) package dry Penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute; then add chicken and cook for 7 to 8 minutes on each side. When chicken is close to being cooked through (no longer pink inside), add spinach and saute all together for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare Alfredo sauce according to package directions. When finished, stir in 2 tablespoons pesto; set aside.
3. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.
4. Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta, then stir in pesto/Alfredo sauce. Mix well, top with cheese and serve. 

Enjoy!!
Cortney

Let-us all have salad

Exciting times, our lettuce will be ready to eat in about 1 1/2 weeks.  Look how it has grown.  The Egg Plant has grown a lot too. 
Hope your day is Glowing with happiness and health.

Getting started with the Aero Garden

Does your garden glow, Mine does.
As a matter of fact all 5 of mine do. We were so excited to get our first Aero Gardens. These gardens are Aeroponic Gardens, with grow lights and nutrients. The company first created the gardens in 2002. We planted Herbs, Lettuce, Flowers, as well as a Salsa Garden,which includes two Tomato and a Jalapeno Pepper plant. You might ask, how much time do these gardens take? Well, we put together the machines, put a gallon of water in, shook and put in one packet of nutrients, put in the pods and plugged them in. All 5 gardens in just about 20 minutes. We do not have to weed, water or worry about the weather. The Gardens even tell you when to add water and more nutrients, which we have not had to do yet. We spend a lot of time just looking at them. I have posted pictures of the Herb garden that was planted on 4/21/11, the Lettuce which was planted on 5/6/11. The Lettuce sprouted in just two days. The Salsa Garden was also planted on 5/6/11 and sprouted in about 5 days. We are very excited to see the gardens grow each day. We go to sleep at night and wake up seeing the growth. Before we knew about these wonderful gardens we planted a garden out side. My husband planted Egg plant seeds in started pots and they did not sprout for about 3 weeks. When we got the Aero Garden, I wanted to see how the seed would grow in the Aero Garden compared to a starter pot. I planted 3 Egg Plant seeds in one pod and waited for them to sprout. It was amazing, all three seeds sprouted in just 4 days. The plants are now as tall as the plants in the starter pots. All this with just water, light and nutrients. The pots are about 5 weeks old and the Aero Garden pods are just 10 days old. In our Herb garden we have cut and used our Basil and it has only been 25 days.
We have loved our Aero Gardens, It is so exciting to get up in the morning and see what has happened over night.
Stay tuned for some Recipes and great ideas on what I am doing with my fresh veggies and Herbs.
If you would like your garden to Glow visit this link, Aerogrow
Hope your day is glowing with happiness and health.