Kale Pesto and Roasted Tomato Sauce Spaghetti

Okay, I'm not the best at titles!

Today I decided to mess around and make some pesto using the ginormous leaves from my newly acquired basil plant and some kale that I had. I would suggest using a recipe if you are worried about quantities. Me? I walk the wild side and eyeball things. This isn't always a good idea, but sometimes it works out!

On the upside: this pesto tasted awesome when mixed into something.
On the downside: it's a tad bitter on its own due to the kale.

Pesto:
Basil (I used about 10 large leaves)
Kale (I only used a bit, maybe 1/8C chopped)
2-3 garlic cloves
Crushed/diced pecans (2-3 tbsp you can use pinenuts if you prefer)
Olive Oil (1/4C or so - start small, you can always add)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Blend furiously in the Cuisinart until smooth. Voila!

Then I had to decide what to do with the green goodness that I created. I had already intended to make spaghetti squash for dinner, so I got the squash into the oven and formulated a plan. Remember the steak recipe from the other night, and the can of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes that I only used half of? Yep, those were definitely going to be part of my plan. And some grass fed beef for good measure, because what's a meal without protein? (Hint: not a meal).

This is what came of it all:

And yeah, it was definitely awesome. Not too heavy, which is great because it's in the triple digits outside. But the flavours all blended well and I was very pleased with it.

To cook the squash:

Preheat oven to 375

Slice squash in half and clean out seeds

Place halves open side down in a large casserole dish

Add ~3/4" of water to the dish

Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on how well your oven cooks)

Once squash is cooked it shreds easily with a fork. I placed the squash "noodles" into a large bowl and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil to help it all spread around. If you aren't avoiding butter you could use Kerrygold or some other grassfed butter instead.

For the sauce:

In a large pan, brown 1lb grassfed beef. (If you don't use grassfed, be sure to drain off the fat before adding the other ingredients). Season beef with salt and pepper. 

Once browned, add 1/2C kale pesto and mix well. Once mixed, add the 1/2 can tomatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes or so. Taste to see if it needs more salt as oftentimes the tomatoes are unsalted.

This made approximately 3 servings, but it depends on your appetite. Could easily simply feed 2 people but you won't be left feeling like you ate too much. Also with the addition of a side of some sort this could very easily stretch to 4 people without issue.