Creamy, Cheesy, Healthy Pesto

Saw this today in the NY Times Recipes for Health column, and after just a few modifications, oh wow is it good!
We have tons of basil in the garden that needs to be harvested so this was perfect timing.
Our basil is spicy, and with the addition of a healthy load of black pepper, so is this creamy pesto.
Because all the creamy agents are fat-free, this stays pretty healthy, and as we learned tonight, is amazing smeared on top of some pan fried tomatoes (which are also exploding from the garden) or really any type of veggie or pasta (shown above with a layered veggie torte) -- highly recommend this one!

4 plump garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I used a good amount of both)
1 tablespoon plain nonfat yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the basil, and process until finely chopped. Stop the machine, and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and process until smooth and creamy. Serve with pasta, or as a dip or spread.

Yield: Makes 1 heaped cup (about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons).
Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. It will become more pungent, however, and the green will fade.

Nutritional information per 2-tablespoon serving (using fat-free cottage cheese): 43 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 131 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 4 grams protein

Chimichurri Sauce

I made this chimichurri sauce to coat our freezer-burned Omaha Steaks still hanging around from Christmas. The original recipe calls for hangar steak, and I'm sure that would work even better. I made some modifications to up the heat-content, and for once was pretty happy with how this sauce turned out. When I've tried chimichurri at home before it has always been too lime- or cilantro- heavy. This was mild in terms of flavor but packed enough of a hot/spice kick to make us happy.

1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley
1 jalapeño, seeded (I left a few seeds...)
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons minced mint leaves (I actually just used dried)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
3 tablespoons panko (I used extra)

Mince parsley, jalapeño and garlic (I threw it in the food processor for just a few seconds) and mix in a bowl with mint, oil and vinegar. Season with chili flakes, salt, pepper and cayenne until it has a kick. You can reserve part of the sauce at this point if you want some panko-free for marinating, or you can just add it all in.
Stuff or baste your meat with the sauce as desired (recommend 3+ hours marinating)

Garlicky baked panko shrimp

This is another great recipe picked up from Gimme Some Oven, who got it from Real Simple.
I made a few changes like adding a little broccoli and onion to it, and I can imagine a number of other twists with this basic template too.

Ingredients:
1 lb. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled (I used frozen cooked, thawed in refrigerator)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper
1 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
1 cup chopped onion
garlic salt and red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) melted butter
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian-leaf parsley, chopped (I used dried)
half of a lemon (optional)


Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, and white wine. Stir to combine, then pour into a baking dish. Spread out evenly, and then season with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat, saute onion and broccoli until both are tender. Stir garlic salt and red pepper flakes into pan, then transfer mixture into baking dish with shrimp.
In another bowl, use a fork to mix melted butter, Panko, and parsley until well combined. With your fingers, sprinkle the mixture evenly in the baking dish over the shrimp.
Transfer dish to oven and bake until the shrimp are pink and opaque, about 15-18 minutes.