Sometimes simple is what you need. Simple foods, simple ideas, simple tasks, simple days. My days rarely seem simple even on the weekends, but when I can think up a recipe that is and I can produce it, I am so proud of myself! Most of my recipes are time consuming, though I have the tv on while I do them so that it doesn’t seem like it. This one though is truly a simple work of art. Creamy Cilantro Pesto that can be used as a salad dressing, which is what I did, or for your pasta for later in the week.

Pesto’s are truly the simplest things around, I don’t know why I don’t do them more often. I have done them here, here, and here. But it seems like I only do them every 3-4 months. About the time I get tired of cooking big meals? Possibly. This one is especially easy, and seems to have fewer ingredients than my other pesto’s.  This is also a super cheap pesto, since I had everything but the fresh veg. Cilantro and green onions were super cheap -both for $1 total- and I bought a bag of Dole’s spinach for $2.78…because 2 bundles of the fresh was more expensive than the huge bag of spinach! Can you believe that? Tragic! So including the tomatoes and 1 avocado this all came to about $5, but since I didn’t use the whole bag of spinach it was only about $3, and I only used half the pesto. Awesomely cheap! And the extra spinach I used to wilt down and made some pasta and poured the leftover cilantro pesto. Yum!

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Creamy Cilantro Pesto

1 Bunch Cilantro, washed
1/3 C Fisher’s Walnuts
2 C Dole Fresh Spinach
6 Green Onion Stalks, trimmed and chopped
1/4 C So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Bertolli Light Tasting Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Salt
3/4 Tsp Black Pepper

Salad
Spinach
Tomato
Green Onion
Avocado

1. Wash fresh produce. Set up food processor.
2. Tear cilantro and chop green onions and drop in food processor with the spinach, walnuts, garlic, salt and pepper, and coconut milk.
3. Put lid on processor and turn on. Drizzle olive oil through spout. Process for five minutes, scraping sides one or two times.
4. Place spinach on plate. Chop onion, tomato, and avocado and place on spinach.
5. Spoon cilantro pesto over salad as dressing.
6. Freeze a portion for pasta (this is awesome!), put in container for salad dressings later in week.
7. Enjoy!

This is another entry into the So Delicious Dairy Free Challenge, put on by DairyFree.org and So Delicious. This months challenge is 8 ingredients or less with S&P, oil and water being free.