Pesto is a mom's best friend...

I have this fantasy about being a stay-at-home-mom.  It involves waking up early, the family waking up to the smell of pancakes and bacon, and hours of fun family activities, all while I'm expertly juggling the housework, errands, and maybe even a blog on the side...  It's a lovely dream.  But we're poor.  So, I got a job.

A temp job to be more precise.  It's a great gig, actually.  I work at a great company, with nice people, doing very easy work for a modest wage.  But while I'm sitting here answering phones, I can only help but dwell on the fact that I haven't planned anything for dinner...  again.

While the hubbs gets home earlier than I do, I still feel like it should still be my responsibility to put a healthy meal on the table.  Maybe it's because of my OCD or possibly the fact that I'm a bit of a food nazi.  Or maybe my desire to be a super mom.  But I take a lot of pride in cooking for my family and want to feed them wholesome, homemade food.

Back to the haunting question...  What's for dinner??  Answer: PESTO!  With the weather finally turning cold and the last of the garden's offerings ready to be harvested, I have a monster of a basil plant that's been slated for the chopping block for awhile - just waiting for that desperate moment when I needed to prepare dinner in 15 minutes.

I don't even bother to pull out a recipe.  I grab the basil, throw it in the food processor, drizzle in some olive oil, and mix it with pasta.  It's really that easy.  I don't mess with adding superfluious ingredients like pine nuts, or whatever else they put in real pesto.  But I do like to add some grated parmesean at the end and I've been known to add a clove or two of garlic when I'm feeling spunky.  But if you're not having that kinda day, leave it out.  It will still be delicious.