Started off this past weekend with a bang (food wise).

I had a long Lunch at Slanted Door with co-workers:

Dinner with friends at Zuppa:

Made another Pumpkin Loaf (this time I added pecans!)

I did some Christmas decorating around the house on Saturday:

Stayed up late (2:30AM) because I got the cleaning bug! I wished that happened more…

Got some excellent makeup from a wonderful friend!

Went out to coffee with the hubby.

Spent time warming up in the sun with my kitties. So cold lately!

Drove into Half Moon Bay for drinks with family. Saw a wonderful sunset!

We had crab!

I’m exhausted. This weekend was supposed to be the calm before the storm! Every other weekend for the next month is gonna be PACKED with holiday activities!

Time to recharge my battery….

Today’s Lunch:

Turkey Pesto Sandwich with Parmesan Cheese

Take your leftover pesto:

Spread a LOT of it on two pieces of sourdough toast:

Top each slice with a little bit of parmesan cheese:

Roll up some slices of turkey and put that on top:

Place one slice on top of the other slice:

Cut in half (or not) and EAT:

Whenever I make pesto, I always try to make a huge batch. Because there’s nothing more disappointing than eating pasta that doesn’t have enough sauce on it!

If you don’t have a food processor, a blender works fine. If you don’t have either- hope your knife skills are excellent!

Ingredients were all from Trader Joes:

• 2 containers fresh basil
• 2-3 cloves fresh peeled garlic
• 1 lemon squeezed
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 large handful of pine nuts
• 4 heaping tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

Chop up a few cloves of garlic (I used 3 for this batch)

Now add the basil. Make sure to leave off the stems. You can see I left one on! Woops!

Make sure to scrap down the sides…

Now, start adding your olive oil.

I added a little over 1/4 cup of the oil to get the consistency I wanted.

I tossed in a handful of pine nuts (they’re even better when toasted)

I added 1 fresh squeezed lemon to the mix (prevents discoloration)

A dash of cayenne pepper for spice.

Some fresh ground pepper to even out the flavor….

Now put about 4 heaping tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. (Skip this part if you’re vegan)

The cheese is in place of salt.  It adds a LOT of flavor. Mix that all up!

Now we have some pesto!

When I made dinner the other night, I added some of the pesto to my shrimp (with red pepper & olive oil) to make jazz them up before grilling:

I put those on skewers (4 to a skewer-except 1 had 5!)

I grilled them on high heat for about 2-3 minutes per side!

I think this weekend I’m going to have a slice of bread toast with pesto on it. Stay tuned.

Pesto Recipe/Garlic Bread Recipe/Grilled Pesto Shrimp Recipe… to follow.

Everything from Trader Joe’s!

This weekend was chilly.

I spent time on my computer with a slice of buttery toast and a cup of coffee.

Yes, it is a Halloween mug. Yes, I know it’s December.

I did some landscaping in the backyard:

The weather kept changing on me:

I soaked in all the beautiful colors of the fallen leaves:

I made a very yummy rustic/savory tart with carrots, sweet potatoes, bacon, goat cheese, red onion, rosemary & butternut squash:

I watched Gilmore Girls with Whitney.  I think we got in 6 or 7 episodes!

I made more mushroom soup.

I drank a lot of coffee.

I got my hair colored.

I went to the library & got some cookbooks to admire.

I did some glittering.

We bought our Christmas tree & did some decorating.

Oh! I finally did the dishes:

Now it’s time to watch some Dexter.  I hope you all had a good weekend too!

Phew!  That was a quite a project I got myself into!  I just wanted to thank all of you who stopped by & commented.  You kept me going!  It makes me thrilled to hear from other Trader Joe’s lovers out there!  And thanks to you, I have some new items from Trader Joe’s in my pantry right now!  Thanks for the recommendations!! I’ll let you know how it goes.

For those of you who wondered if I will be continuing this—-FEAR NOT, I will be posting more Trader Joe’s Favorites/Concoctions.  The frequency might not be as great….but for now my goal is to post a few items/favs per week!  So look out!

Thanks once again!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

-Tracy