Avocado "Pesto" Sauce

This might be the EASIEST recipe I have ever made in my entire life.  Seriously.  I think it took me less than five minutes to make. I added more garlic or more lemon to temper the taste of the avacado.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 2-3 garlic cloves, to taste (I used two)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta 
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.  The sauce will be thick, almost like guacamole.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. The warmth of the pasta will thin the sauce.  Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. (Don't try to save any of the sauce because it will go brown due to the avocado.)  Makes 2-3 servings.

Cranberry Chicken

Rachel keeps telling me over and over that she's the only person ever to post on this blog anymore, so I decided to contribute something new.  If you think about it, our lack of posts should just serve to reassure you that we truly ARE lazy chefs!  We are never going to be like Rachel Ray, whose recipes in her "30 Minute Meal" cookbook take me hours to make!  Sheesh!  No experimenting in the kitchen around here!

This recipe was my favorite of the loads of freezer meals that my awesome mother-in-law made for us when my son was born.  I love my meat a little sweet.  I haven't really made it a ton since then, but last month Rachel and I did a big cooking day when we made several freezer meals in one day---once again, so we could avoid cooking for a while---and we made this meal.  It reminded me of how crazy-easy it is.  You can throw all of the ingredients in a ziploc bag or a small foil pan in the freezer, or you could make it fresh.  Either way, it's yummy and great served over rice.

Cranberry Chicken

Chicken Breasts (4 - 6 or more....depends on how much sauce you want)

1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 package dry onion soup mix
8 ounces catalina dressing

Mix ingredients together.  Pour over chicken.  Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.  (Depending on whether or not it's totally thawed.  I usually bake it for an hour.)  Serve over rice.