Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

I'm not sure where the past month went.  The end of school craziness have made the days fly by in a blur.  Resulting in complete neglect of many things, including things here at Everyday Mom.  I have a pile of yummy recipes I want to share, but haven't found the time to sit down and get them written up.  I would like to think that I will get caught up once school is out, but based on past experience I am guessing having the three monkeys home all day will make getting caught even more difficult.

One thing I couldn't let slide was this month's Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This month I got to check out Dancing Veggies.  Amanda focuses on cooking healthy vegetarian food on a budget.  Amanda participates in numerous food blog challenges and as a result has a lot of great recipes to choose from.

I had decided at the beginning of the month to make something from Secret Recipe to bring to my book club group.  It is one of those book clubs that is more focused on food and drink than actual book discussion.  I knew this audience would appreciate the idea behind the Secret Recipe Club and the wonderful dishes that come from it.  I had found a lot of great recipes I wanted to try, yet when it came time to actually making something I was short on time.  I needed a dish that would be quick to fix,  serve as a main dish, it had to be served at room temperature and it needed to be portable.  So despite the numerous choices, I went for a classic recipe Sun Dried Tomato Pesto over pasta.

This pesto gives a wonderful burst of flavor and can be served in many ways.  I served it over pasta, but it would be great with chicken, veggies or just smeared on bread.  I altered Amanda's recipe slightly by adding some pine nuts and a fire roasted pepper.  I like the texture the pine nuts provided and the pepper provided a little heat.  Either way you make it, this is a great recipe. It is super easy to make, which is perfect for those nights when time is at a premium.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

1 jar Sun Dried tomatoes in oil
1 fire roasted pepper
2 Tbsp. Pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (about 6-10 leaves)
3 cloves garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place all ingredients in food processor.  Blend until mixture forms a thick paste.  With processor running slowly pour in olive oil until paste thins out to desired consistency.