Intro: Welcome welcome to another episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes, sometimes breakfast, that you can get on the table any night of the week. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich.

Susie Weinrich: Who here loves breakfast for dinner? We love it as a change-up of flavors every once in a while. Sometimes my kids get a real craving for waffles or pancakes and I’m like, yep, it’s time for breakfast for dinner.

So I have a great recipe for you today that not only makes a great breakfast, it makes a great breakfast for dinner. It makes a great breakfast on the go. They could be put in the freezer and heated up in the microwave. Super easy. We’re making Sausage Egg Cups. 

Tips and Tricks: So let’s talk a little bit about this recipe before we actually get started. You can absolutely customize these egg cups, however you like. The base of the recipe is basically the eggs and the half and half and maybe the salt, but everything else you can customize. So I call for sausage. If you like ham, or if your kids like ham or ham are what you have, use that instead. My recipe calls for green onions. If your kids don’t eat onions, leave them out. If your kids love green peppers, add them in. I have spinach in mine. If nobody in your house likes spinach, don’t add it. It is so customizable to whatever your family likes. So I guess take this recipe with a grain of salt and make it your own. 

The other nice thing about this recipe is that can absolutely be made two to three days ahead. Cook them in the oven, let them cool, and cover them up with some plastic. Pop them in the fridge when you’re ready to have them for dinner, or if you’re serving brunch, you can just reheat them in the muffin tin that they’re in for about 15 minutes at 350. Or if you just need a couple of them, you can pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to one minute. Super, super simple. 

The other thing is they can absolutely be frozen. So you can freeze them and keep them for up to six months, and then just pop them frozen right in the microwave and they’re good to go. Great for a breakfast on the go, or a super easy weeknight dinner. 

Finally, before we get on to making the full recipe, you can make this into 12 really big egg cups, or you can do 24 of just a regular-size egg cup, depending on the size of your muffin tin. Both will work. 

Sausage Egg Cups Recipe: All right, so let’s get started. You’re going to start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees, and then you want to get a muffin tin. Like I said before, a 12-count or a 24-count muffin tin will be great. You’ll prep that muffin tin by spraying each cup very generously with cooking spray, or you can coat it with vegetable oil or olive oil. Then in a large skillet, you’ll add about one tablespoon of olive oil and cook some breakfast sausage and crumble it up while it cooks through. If you have a lot of excess oil in the pan, go ahead and drain that from the sausage before moving on. Then you’ll add two cups of fresh baby spinach and three-quarter cups of chopped green onions. You’ll stir that in until the spinach is wilted. It’ll take about five minutes.

Now, remove that from the heat, and you can stir in half a cup of fresh basil. Set that aside and let that cool. Now in a large bowl, you’ll whisk together eight eggs, one and a half cups of half and half, half a teaspoon of salt, and some pepper, if you like pepper. You do not have to add it if pepper is nacho jam.

So whisk that together until it is completely smooth. Grab that muffin tin that you had prepped in the beginning, and you will divide that sausage mixture evenly into the muffin cups, however many you are going to make. So if you’re going to make 12 big ones, do 12. If you’re going to make 24, divide it out into 24. Then you’ll pour enough egg mixture over top of that sausage mixture just so that each cup is about three-quarters of the way full. Then sprinkle each cup with Parmesan cheese. You’ll need about one and a quarter cups of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

Pop that in your oven for about 15 to 18 minutes until the cheese is bubbly on the top, and the egg cup is cooked through. Pull it out of the oven and let them cool for about five minutes. If you’re going to serve them later, you can pop them in the fridge, but if you’re going to serve them right away, you may want to run a sharp knife around the edge of each muffin cup to pop that egg cup right out of the muffin tin. 

When we serve this for dinner, I will serve maybe one or two per child, and then probably anywhere from two to four per adult. Then for side dishes, we like to keep it very breakfasty, so fresh fruit, maybe some toast, yogurt, granola, maybe some pancakes or waffles, or just some store-bought pastries.

That’s it. Super delicious. Breakfast for dinner. As always, I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes so you can make this for dinner whenever you’re ready. 

If you are loving these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you either rate and review or follow and subscribe to our show. 

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner, makes your dinnertime a little easier. See ya.

Intro: Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your very favorite audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can always get on the table. I am your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Don’t you love it when you have a restaurant-quality recipe that you know you can make at home? Not to mention that it can come together in under 45 minutes and is super impressive, slightly healthy, and delicious. 

Today we are making Shrimp Scampi. Basically, it’s a linguini pasta recipe that has marinated shrimp in a garlicky lemon butter sauce that’s spiked with just a hint of white wine. You are going to love it. 

Tips and Tricks: So let’s start by going over a few tips for this recipe. Number one, it comes together crazy, crazy fast. So we’re going to want to do something called mise en plas, which is just a fancy way of saying like, get your things together, right? So what you want to do is prep all of the ingredients before you actually get started. So you’re going to want to mince the garlic, measure out your olive oil, cube the butter measure out the red pepper flakes, and the wine. Zest and squeeze your lemon, chop up your parsley, and grate some fresh Parmesan. Get all those things ready so that when it starts to come together, you have everything and you don’t have to stop to chop or measure or pour any of those things. 

Number two, you want to use extra virgin olive oil. It is not the same as regular olive oil, and you will see the difference right on the package in the store. You will see the words extra virgin. Now, of course, they’re processed differently. It’s a different pressing, all of those things. But what we are interested in here is the flavor. Extra virgin olive oil tastes completely different than regular olive oil. You want that really pronounced buttery flavor of extra virgin olive oil.

This next tip is one of my very favorite kitchen tips. Did you know that you can freeze white wine for four to six months and use it in your cooking recipes? I love this tip because I am not a huge white wine drinker. It’s not like I would open the bottle, use a cup for the recipe, and then drink the rest with dinner. I would do that with red wine, but not necessarily white wine. So what I do is I like to buy, they’re like little cartons, not a box of wine, but they’re like little two or three serving cartons of wine. I pour out what I need, pop the top up because usually the top will flip up kind of like a juice box, and then screw the little cap back on and pop it in the freezer and it’s good for four to six months. It does turn into a slushy situation, but you just scoop out what you need and it works in any cooking recipe. Of course, don’t drink that wine after it’s been frozen. It won’t be delicious like that, but it will be perfect in your recipes. 

Shrimp Scampi Recipe: Let’s get on to making your Shrimp Scampi Linguini. You’re going to start with two things. Get a big pot of water and put it on the stovetop to boil. Then we’re going to marinate the shrimp while your water comes up to boil. 

So you need one pound of large-sized shrimp that has been peeled and deveined. In a large bowl, you’re going to combine the shrimp with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, one fresh minced garlic clove, half a teaspoon of lemon zest, one teaspoon of kosher salt, and half a teaspoon of black pepper. You’re going to toss this all together with the shrimp and let it marinate for about 15 to 20 minutes while that water comes up to a boil. Like I said in the beginning, at this point, you want to prep everything because as soon as the shrimp are done marinating and the water is ready for the pasta, things are going to move really quickly. 

You’re going to measure out three garlic cloves and get those minced. Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and five tablespoons of butter, and get those cubed. Half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Measure out half a cup of a dry white wine. So here you’re going to want to use a Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio. You need three tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Two tablespoons of parsley and get that chopped. Half a teaspoon of lemon zest, and then grate some fresh Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on at the end. 

Now at this point, your water should be boiling and your shrimp should be nice and marinated. So go ahead and take 12 ounces of linguini and get that in the boiling water to cook per package instructions. 

Then you need a large skillet that’s going to hold just about the entire dish. So something large, like a 10 to 12-inch skillet. Pop that over medium heat and add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Once that becomes nice and hot and shimmery, you’re going to add that marinated shrimp and saute it for about one minute per side. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so it doesn’t need a lot. Then once they are cooked, go ahead and transfer them to a separate plate and set those aside. 

In that same skillet, you’ll add three minced garlic cloves, and the red pepper flakes and saute for about 30 seconds. You do not want the garlic to brown here. Then you’re going to pour in your white wine and the lemon juice and simmer for about two minutes. Finally, you’re going to add the cubed butter and simmer it in the sauce until it’s melted and it starts to thicken, which will be about one minute. At the very end, we’re going to add the shrimp to the pan with any juices that have collected from that shrimp, the chopped parsley, and lemon zest, and what I like to do here is just transfer the linguini straight out of that boiling water right into the pan, instead of going through the process of draining it in a colander and then pouring it in. I just take tongs and grab the linguini and pop it right in the pan.

You’ll toss everything together so the pasta is coated with that lemon, garlic butter, and white wine sauce and it’s time to eat. You can just garnish this up with some grated Parmesan cheese. 

For serving, I just recommend adding a Caesar side salad and some garlic bread. That’s it. I’m telling you, this one comes together so quickly.

Of course, I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes for you to find when you’re ready to make dinner. 

If you’re enjoying these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you subscribe or follow your preferred podcast player. That will just make it easier for you to find all of our future episodes right in your podcast feed.

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner, makes your dinner time a little easier.

Intro: Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can always get on the table. That is my promise and my guarantee. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Today we talking about something fancy. Well, I should say it has a really fancy name, but it’s not necessarily a fancy dish. We’re talking about pork Milanese. Pork Milanese. I feel like you should cup your hand and bounce it up and down while you say that. I’m probably appropriating right now and I apologize. I definitely shouldn’t do that. But what I’m telling you is that pork Milanese is a traditional Italian dish and basically what it is, is breaded and pan-fried pork. It’s that simple. But with this pork Milanese recipe, we take it just a step further and we’re making a tomato basil and garlic compote that’s going to be served over top of your pork. It’s delicious. Even though we’re taking it a step further and making that yummy tomato compote, the recipe is still going to be ready in under 30 minutes, so this is also a very quick weeknight meal. Not to mention, we’re using pork cutlets, which are super economical right now, especially as all of the meat prices you see in the grocery stores are rising and rising and rising again. It’s almost shocking. So this is a great economical, pocketbook-friendly dinner that you can make any week.

Tips and Tricks: Couple of tips before we get started with the full recipe. Since we are pan-frying the pork, that means that we are going to be putting a breading on the pork. What this recipe calls for is Panko breadcrumbs. Panko is, it’s actually a crustless Japanese-style breadcrumb, and they’re much coarser and have a better texture than just a traditional softer breadcrumb. You can definitely find them in any grocery store near just the other traditional breadcrumbs, so don’t be worried that they have a fancy name and you won’t be able to them.

Next, since we are breading the pork, my best advice to make things run smoothly and cleanly in your kitchen is to set up an assembly line. So you’re going to start with three plates. One plate’s going to be for the Dijon, one plate’s going to be for the breading, and one plate’s going to be for the finished breaded pork cutlets. That’s going to make things go so much smoother and so much faster for you. 

The other tip is this recipe calls for four pork cutlets, which are going to fit in anywhere from a nine to 12-inch skillet. If you are doubling the recipe or tripling the recipe, you’re going to want to cook the pork cutlets in batches. Anytime your pan frying, you do not want to crowd the pan, because what’s going to happen is you’re going to end up steaming instead of frying. 

Pork Milanese Recipe: Let’s get on to the full recipe. You’re going to start with your four pork cutlets. Look for something that is a center-cut pork cutlet. They’re going to be probably about an inch thick. What you’re going to want to do is take a meat mallet or a meat tenderizer, and you’re going to pound them so they’re a little bit bigger and much thinner. You want them about a third of an inch thick. That’s going to help the pork cutlets cook before the breading burns in the pan. So it’s, it’s twofold. You’re tenderizing the pork and you’re getting it the right size to cook. 

So go ahead and pound those out and then set them aside. Now is the time when you need those three plates for assembly. On the first plate, you’re going to spoon out three tablespoons of Dijon mustard. On the second plate, you’re going to mix together one cup of panko breadcrumbs, half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, half a teaspoon of each one of these things from your spice cabinet – garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano, and fresh lemon zest. Then you need a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix that all together and then keep the last plate empty because that’s where your finished breaded pork chops are going to go. 

So get your big skillet, pop it on the stove, top over medium-high heat, and add a quarter cup of olive oil. Now it’s time to bread the cutlets. You’re going to brush each cutlet on both sides and the sides with that Dijon mustard. Then place the cutlet in the breading mixture and press it lightly and coat all the sides with that breading. Give it just a little bit of a shake to get any excess breading off, and then place it on your final plate. Repeat that with all of the other pork cutlets.

By this time, the oil should be nice and hot in your pan and ready to fry up those pork cutlets. Here’s another tip with pork. It does not need to be cooked to well. It only needs to be cooked to medium, which is 145 degrees internal temperature. I tested this recipe many times, and with that hot oil, the pork only needs to cook for two minutes per side. That cooks the pork and it gets that outer breading nice and golden and crisp. It’s perfect. So get those cooked and then set them back on that plate. Or you can set them on a sheet pan and just set them aside and let them rest. 

Turn back to that skillet that’s now empty. We’re going to make that tomato, garlic, and basil garnish that’s going to go on top of your pork. You can wipe the skillet out with a paper towel if you like, or if there are not a lot of breading crumbs left in the pan, you don’t even need to do that. What you’re going to do is add two tablespoons of butter, and one tablespoon of olive oil. Let that get nice and hot, and then add one cup of cherry tomatoes that have been halved, and let those saute in the pan for about one minute. Then you are going to sprinkle in two fresh garlic cloves that have been thinly sliced, two tablespoons of fresh, chopped, or torn basil, and then half a teaspoon of lemon zest. Just stir that around the pan for about 30 seconds and then remove it from the heat. 

The whole recipe is done. Now all we have to do is assemble it and get it served. So let’s talk about that. It’s very common and maybe even a little traditional, to serve your Pork Milanese on top of a bed of arugula. Arugula is a beautiful lettuce that some people say it’s peppery. I don’t find it to be very peppery. I actually find it to be very nutty. It goes really, really well with any type of light vinaigrette. So I would lightly dress some arugula with your favorite vinaigrette, pop the Pork Milanese on top, and then spoon that tomato, and garlic mixture over top of that. That is a perfect dinner. Now if you want to add a side dish, like a starch side dish, risotto is amazing with this. I know you’re probably like, I just made a 20-minute dinner. I am not making risotto that takes me forever. I totally agree. But if you have an Instant Pot, risotto, it’s like magic. The Instant Pot makes perfect risotto. I am not kidding you. You pop it in with all the equal ratios that you need and cook it. I think it’s for 17 minutes with maybe a 10-minute natural release and it is perfect. So I will link my recipe for a Parmesan Instant Pot Risotto right in the show notes for you. 

That does it for today’s episode of Let’s Make Dinner. Of course, I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes for you. 

You know what I’m going to ask now. I would love it if you would rate and review this podcast in your favorite podcast player. It just helps this show up for more people in all the podcast players. 

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner makes your dinner time a little easier. 

Intro: Welcome to Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can get on the table any night of the week. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Hello, hello everyone. It’s dinnertime. What are you making for dinner? I have a great recipe for you that’s perfect when you are craving pasta, but maybe you don’t want something really heavy like an Alfredo or meat sauce, or you don’t want to take the time to make homemade meatballs. We’re talking about a Lemon Penne with Roasted Broccoli. This recipe was actually created because I would make Ina Garten, Bow Ties, and Broccoli. It’s actually a kid’s recipe in one of her cookbooks. Over the years I have added this, changed this, roasted the broccoli instead of boiling it and it came out to be this Lemon Penne with Oven Roasted Broccoli recipe.

Intro: So there are really just three steps in making this dish. You’re going to cook your pasta, you’re going to oven-roast your broccoli, and you’re going to make a lemon garlic butter sauce. Then you’re going to mix it all together and serve it. 

Tips and Tricks: My one tip is to multitask with this recipe. So while the pasta is cooking and while the broccoli is roasting, go ahead and make that lemon butter sauce and it will make the whole recipe come together a lot quicker.

Lemon Penne with Broccoli Recipe: This is pretty much a straightforward recipe, so I don’t have a lot of tips to share with this recipe. So we’re just going to go ahead and get started. First, you want to go ahead and get your oven preheated to 400 degrees. You want to get some water boiling to cook your pasta. We use half a pound of penne pasta, just cooked al dente per the package instructions, and then drain that and set that aside until we’re ready to assemble.

Now for the roasted broccoli, you’ll need about three cups of broccoli florets that are cut into really bite-sized pieces because it’s going to be mixed with that penne pasta. So your best bet is to cut the florets to a similar size as the penne. Once your oven is preheated, you’re going to place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan that’s lined with foil or parchment paper, drizzle with a generous couple tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with some kosher salt and then toss it all together with clean hands or you can use a spatula or forks. You’re going to roast that in the oven for about 10 minutes. If you like your broccoli a little bit more roasty, then roasted it a little bit longer. This part is totally up to your preference. For the last, about a minute and a half to two minutes, you’re going to add two tablespoons of pine nuts. If you’ve never used pine nuts, they can be just a little bit expensive. They’re more expensive than walnuts or cashews. They’re delicious. They actually have a meaty flavor to them. I always compare them once they’re roasted, to bacon. They have a salty bacon flavor. They’re perfect in this recipe. So go ahead and add them onto that sheet pan and just roast them for about an additional one and a half to two minutes. Take that out of the oven and set that aside.

Now we’re going to make the lemon garlic butter sauce. So in a small saucepan that you’re going to put over low heat, you want to add two tablespoons of butter, and two tablespoons of olive oil, and you can use extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil will work here. Once the butter is melted, you’re going to add one tablespoon of lemon zest. That’s usually about the zest from one full, medium size lemon and two plump garlic cloves that have been thinly sliced. You’re going to cook that for about two to three minutes and just make sure that the garlic does not brown or burn. Once garlic goes to that burning phase, where it starts to turn really dark brown, it will get a little bit bitter, so you just want to soften it up and let it infuse its flavor into that butter sauce.

Pull that off of the heat, and then you’re going to pour in three tablespoons of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir that all together and now it’s time to assemble everything. 

In a really large bowl, you’ll want to add the pasta, the pine nuts, and the broccoli, and then drizzle that lemon garlic butter sauce all over the pasta. Then toss to coat everything with that lemon garlic butter.

When you serve this, you can absolutely grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over top, but it is not necessary. It is delicious as is. We kind of think of this as a complete meal, a vegetarian meal, and we don’t usually add any type of protein. Because you have your pasta, you’ve got the Pine nuts in there, and you have a veggie.

You of course could add some garlic bread or breadsticks on the side, or if you wanted to add a protein, a grilled chicken would be perfect here. If you’re feeding kids, add some chicken nuggets. 

That’s it for the super simple recipe. I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes for you so you can make this for dinner when you’re ready. 

If you’re enjoying these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you rate and review the show in your preferred podcast player which will just help other people like you find this show. 

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner, makes your dinner time a little easier.

Intro: Welcome to Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can get on the table any night of the week. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Hello, hello everyone. It’s dinnertime. What are you making for dinner? I have a great recipe for you that’s perfect when you are craving pasta, but maybe you don’t want something really heavy like an Alfredo or meat sauce, or you don’t want to take the time to make homemade meatballs. We’re talking about a Lemon Penne with Roasted Broccoli. This recipe was actually created because I would make Ina Garten, Bow Ties, and Broccoli. It’s actually a kid’s recipe in one of her cookbooks. Over the years I have added this, changed this, roasted the broccoli instead of boiling it and it came out to be this Lemon Penne with Oven Roasted Broccoli recipe.

Intro: So there are really just three steps in making this dish. You’re going to cook your pasta, you’re going to oven-roast your broccoli, and you’re going to make a lemon garlic butter sauce. Then you’re going to mix it all together and serve it. 

Tips and Tricks: My one tip is to multitask with this recipe. So while the pasta is cooking and while the broccoli is roasting, go ahead and make that lemon butter sauce and it will make the whole recipe come together a lot quicker.

Lemon Penne with Broccoli Recipe: This is pretty much a straightforward recipe, so I don’t have a lot of tips to share with this recipe. So we’re just going to go ahead and get started. First, you want to go ahead and get your oven preheated to 400 degrees. You want to get some water boiling to cook your pasta. We use half a pound of penne pasta, just cooked al dente per the package instructions, and then drain that and set that aside until we’re ready to assemble.

Now for the roasted broccoli, you’ll need about three cups of broccoli florets that are cut into really bite-sized pieces because it’s going to be mixed with that penne pasta. So your best bet is to cut the florets to a similar size as the penne. Once your oven is preheated, you’re going to place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan that’s lined with foil or parchment paper, drizzle with a generous couple tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with some kosher salt and then toss it all together with clean hands or you can use a spatula or forks. You’re going to roast that in the oven for about 10 minutes. If you like your broccoli a little bit more roasty, then roasted it a little bit longer. This part is totally up to your preference. For the last, about a minute and a half to two minutes, you’re going to add two tablespoons of pine nuts. If you’ve never used pine nuts, they can be just a little bit expensive. They’re more expensive than walnuts or cashews. They’re delicious. They actually have a meaty flavor to them. I always compare them once they’re roasted, to bacon. They have a salty bacon flavor. They’re perfect in this recipe. So go ahead and add them onto that sheet pan and just roast them for about an additional one and a half to two minutes. Take that out of the oven and set that aside.

Now we’re going to make the lemon garlic butter sauce. So in a small saucepan that you’re going to put over low heat, you want to add two tablespoons of butter, and two tablespoons of olive oil, and you can use extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil will work here. Once the butter is melted, you’re going to add one tablespoon of lemon zest. That’s usually about the zest from one full, medium size lemon and two plump garlic cloves that have been thinly sliced. You’re going to cook that for about two to three minutes and just make sure that the garlic does not brown or burn. Once garlic goes to that burning phase, where it starts to turn really dark brown, it will get a little bit bitter, so you just want to soften it up and let it infuse its flavor into that butter sauce.

Pull that off of the heat, and then you’re going to pour in three tablespoons of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir that all together and now it’s time to assemble everything. 

In a really large bowl, you’ll want to add the pasta, the pine nuts, and the broccoli, and then drizzle that lemon garlic butter sauce all over the pasta. Then toss to coat everything with that lemon garlic butter.

When you serve this, you can absolutely grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over top, but it is not necessary. It is delicious as is. We kind of think of this as a complete meal, a vegetarian meal, and we don’t usually add any type of protein. Because you have your pasta, you’ve got the Pine nuts in there, and you have a veggie.

You of course could add some garlic bread or breadsticks on the side, or if you wanted to add a protein, a grilled chicken would be perfect here. If you’re feeding kids, add some chicken nuggets. 

That’s it for the super simple recipe. I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes for you so you can make this for dinner when you’re ready. 

If you’re enjoying these episodes of Let’s Make Dinner, I would love to have you rate and review the show in your preferred podcast player which will just help other people like you find this show. 

Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner, makes your dinner time a little easier.

Intro: Welcome everybody to another awesome episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can always get on the table. Promise. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich. 

Susie Weinrich: Back in episode 16, we talked about making a fresh basil pesto, that is so delicious. But today we are talking about making a 15-minute pesto cream sauce that is so good and perfectly tossed with pasta for dinner. There are a ton of different options when you are buying pesto. Of course, your very, very, very best option is going to be to make your own fresh basil pesto, just like we did in episode 16. Of course, I will link that recipe right in the show notes here for this episode so you can find it.

Tips and Tricks: You’re going to need about one cup of basil pesto. If you don’t want to make your own. If you want to keep this super simple, you can absolutely use store-bought pesto. However, the quality of pesto ranges drastically. Your best bet for a store-bought pesto is going to be from the refrigerated section, absolutely, hands down. Now if your store doesn’t have that option and you need to get something shelf stable, your best bet is to turn over the bottles and look at the ingredients. You’re going to find that the shelf-stable pestos use a lot of fillers, and some of them don’t even have basil as one of the first ingredients, which is wild. Try to find one that uses Basil as one of the first ingredients. And doesn’t have a lot of fillers like potato starch, and spinach. Those are my best tips for finding a good pesto.

Pesto Cream Sauce Recipe: Let’s go ahead and get into making this recipe. If you plan on serving this overcooked pasta, then I recommend going ahead and getting your pasta boiling and just cooking it to al dente per the package instructions. Then take a large, non-stick skillet and pop it over medium-low heat. You’re going to melt two tablespoons of butter, and then you’re going to add two minced garlic cloves and just saute them for about one minute, so you can start to smell that delicious garlic flavor. Then you’re going to add one teaspoon of dried basil. My tip here with any dried herb that you add is, to measure it out, put it in the palm of your hand, and then take your fingers and just kind of rub it into the palm of your hand. What that’s doing is releasing those essential oils and bringing them to life again. So add that one teaspoon of dried basil, half a teaspoon of kosher salt, and then saute it for an additional 30 seconds with that garlic.

Here’s where your pesto comes in. You’re going to add one cup of good-quality pesto and one cup of heavy cream. Stir to combine everything, and then just simmer that over medium-low heat for about three minutes. Finally, remove that pan from the heat and stir in half a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

That’s it. That’s the whole recipe. You’re going to let the sauce cool and thicken for just a couple of minutes and then serve it tossed with your cooked pasta. You want to have a creamy and super decadent pasta dish that only took about 15 minutes to make, which is excellent.

If you like to grill, I highly recommend adding a little bit of grilled chicken on top, but it’s totally not necessary. I also have a recipe for a big Italian salad that would be great on the side if you want more of a big dinner. Then, of course, garlic bread. Who doesn’t love garlic bread? 

You could store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days. But when you’re reheating this, you have to be a little careful because just like when you reheat Alfredo, It can kind of separate, the oil and the cream can separate a little bit, so you want to reheat it in portions just for 30 seconds at a time. Give it a good stir. You may want to add a little more milk. Give it a stir. 30 more seconds and it should reheat okay. 

That does it for this episode of Let’s Make Dinner. As always, I will link all of the recipes right in the show notes for you to find when you’re ready to make dinner. 

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Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner Makes your dinner time a little easier.