Cream Cheese Spinach Pesto Recipes

SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor; cover and pulse until chopped. Add the walnuts, lemon juice and zest; cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream., Serve desired amount of pesto with pasta. Transfer remaining pesto to ice cube trays. Cover and freeze up to 1 month., To use frozen pesto: Thaw in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Serve with pasta.

CREAMY SPINACH-PESTO GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Cook gnocchi as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add onions; cook 3 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Blend cream cheese and pesto sauce in blender until smooth. With blender running, gradually add milk through feed tube at top of blender, mixing well after each addition. Add spinach; blend until smooth. Blend in onions. Pour into skillet.
• Drain gnocchi. Add to cream cheese mixture; stir until gnocchi is evenly coated with sauce. Cook 2 to 3 min. or until heated through, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Top with Parmesan and tomatoes.

CREAM CHEESE SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Combine ingredients in blender or food processor in listed order to insure proper and easy blending. Turn blender on high and run until pesto is a heavy liquid. May have to stop and push greens down once or twice.
• Pour into air tight container and refrigerate.

SPINACH-PESTO TURKEY TENDERLOINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, bring 1/2 in. water to a boil. Add spinach; cover and boil 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Drain well., In a small bowl, combine spinach, cheese and garlic. Cut a pocket in each tenderloin by slicing horizontally to within 1/2 in. of opposite side. Fill with cheese mixture; secure with kitchen string if necessary., Place tenderloins on a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan; brush with pesto. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 165°. Cut each tenderloin into 4 slices.

SPINACH PESTO CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix the spinach and pesto together in a bowl; spread half the mixture into the bottom of a glass baking dish. Place the chicken breasts onto the spinach mixture; top with the rest of the mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese has begun to melt and brown, about 15 minutes.