Asian Basil Pesto

Asian Basil Pesto
Recipe found on Food.com
Makes 4 Servings

2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
2 tbsp dry-roasted peanuts
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp salt
8 oz. spaghetti
16 oz. chicken, diced and salted

Cook spaghetti per package instructions. Drain, reserving ¼ cup pasta water. In the meantime, place all ingredients in a food processor, process until smooth. Add pasta water and process again. Heat large pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add chicken, cook until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add pesto and pasta. Stir 3-4 minutes until thoroughly mixed and heated through.

Nutritional Information: 417 calories, 43 carbs, 10 fat grams and 38 protein grams.

Review: Wonderful, nutty and flavorful pesto! I loved all of the Thai basil and what great flavor it gave (without the calories and high sodium from other sauces/mixes). It was super easy to put together with a small blender and ingredients we already had on hand - easy peasy! I highly recommend this. And note, it reheated well, but I did have to add a dash of water before microwaving, and a dash of salt to enhance the flavors that we re lost during reheating.

Thai Basil from  Austin's garden!

Thai Basil Chicken

Thai Basil Chicken
Recipe adapted from Sweet Tea in Texas

Makes 4 Servings

2 cups thai basil leaves, divided
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp siracha
2 ½ tbsp fish sauce, divided
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp splenda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 pound chicken, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup onion, diced
4 servings basmati rice

Place garlic, 1 cup basil and the siracha sauce in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, scraping bowl one time. Transfer 1 tbsp of this mixture to a small bowl with 1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Stir and set aside. Place remaining garlic/basil mixture into 12" skillet and set aside. Place chicken in a bowl with the remaining fish sauce and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Add add olive oil and onions to the skillet, and sauté over medium heat until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, stirring constantly, until it’s no longer pink. Add garlic/basil sauce mixture that you made previously. Cook for 1 minute. Meanwhile, dice remaining basil, add to the pan and cook 1 additional minute until basil wilts. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information: 348 calories, 38 carbs, 8 fat grams and 30 protein grams.

Review: Yum! So glad to find another go-to Asian-inspired recipe. This one tasted wonderful, and I was so happy to use the Thai basil Austin has been growing in the backyard! The splenda is once again a great substitute for sugar, and I left out the oyster sauce since I didn't have it on hand - worked great for me. The onions and the sauce went a long way, and while it's not a huge serving, it's filling, healthy and definitely curbed my appetite for wanting to order out! I also thought it was a pretty simple, short ingredient list - I had everything on hand without planning! I'll make this one again for sure but be forewarned, this one, like the pad thai that used fish sauce, does smell funny when you cook it but then tastes amazing and the smell goes away - so weird!