Yummy and easy Ideas

I was looking through my cookbooks again and found a recipe for spinach and pine nut pesto. Now, I'm not the hugest fan of pine nuts (only sometimes) so I decided to use roasted almonds instead. And then because raw spinach doesn't have the strongest flavor, I added parsley. And I think it was perfect! And super easy if you have a food processor.

Spinach Almond Pesto
enough for 2 lbs of pasta
4~5 oz baby spinach leaves
3/4 loosely packed parsley leaves
1 garlic clove
1/2~3/4 C parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 C olive oil
1/2 C almonds (I used slivered almonds because they were on sale, but use whatever kind you want)

1. Place the almonds on a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Let them cook, tossing occasionally, until almonds are golden and fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, add spinach, parsley, garlic (I recommend grating it to avoid big chunks of garlic), parmesan, toasted almonds, lemon juice and zest and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse, scraping down the sides periodically, until a chunky paste.
3. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the pesto is smooth.
4. Serve half on 1 lb of pasta, freeze the rest for another day.