Basil/4 recipes

Chicken Provencale layers chicken breasts over cauliflower, tomatoes and carrots with a lemon-herb paste, all baked in a single dish. Light Mediterranean one-pan dinner.

Roasted vegetable soup with garlic blends caramelized eggplant, onions, peppers, tomatoes and roasted garlic into a velvety pureed base, finished with diced vegetables for texture. Vegetarian and full of smoky depth.

Sauteed shrimp and rice with fresh corn, white wine, basil, and thyme cooked in one pan. Summer weeknight seafood dinner ready in 40 minutes, equally good cold the next day.

French bread pizza hero loaded with homemade mushroom-pepper-onion pizza sauce and melted cheese. Split-loaf pizza with a sauce simmered 15 minutes for real pizzeria flavor without the dough.

Beef and stout casserole braises chunks of beef and bacon in a Guinness-thickened roux with shallots, garlic, and herbs. A traditional Irish slow-cooked dish served over boiled potatoes.

Herbed tomato spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, red wine, aniseed, and four fresh herbs added at the end to preserve their bright flavor. A vegetarian sauce simmered from scratch.

Ratatouille lasagna layers salted eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash with fresh tomatoes, herbs, and Parmesan. No pasta, no bechamel, just pure Provencal vegetables baked golden.

Beef shish kebabs marinated in oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and basil then skewered with mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Grilled and basted for a classic summer dinner.

Pasta al pesto with homemade basil and pine nut pesto, tossed with steamed carrots, sauteed zucchini, and snow peas. A fresh, vegetable-loaded Italian pasta dinner.

Louisiana-style shrimp and crab spaghetti with hard-shell crabs simmered in a chili-spiked tomato sauce. Pasta cooks straight in the sauce, soaking up every drop of seafood flavor.

Greek Isle bread machine loaf with feta, black olives, cucumber, yogurt, basil, and dill. A Mediterranean-inspired yeast bread that bakes itself in the bread machine.

Shortcut calzones made with refrigerated pie crust, hot Italian sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, pine nuts, and roasted peppers. Italian-American takeout flavor at home in under an hour.

An exotically spiced spaghetti sauce with meat -- This is a very adaptable sauce which can be used in any recipe requiring tomato sauces.

Arroz con pollo built on a hearty mix of brown and wild rice instead of white. Browned chicken simmered with tomatoes, white wine, almonds, peas and a Latin-style sofrito of onion, garlic and paprika.

Hearty burger soup with ground beef, tomato juice, cream of mushroom, peas, and noodles. A pantry-friendly one-pot dinner heavy on herbs and easy on the wallet.

Baked orange roughy with a Parmesan herb breadcrumb crust, white wine, lemon juice, sliced mushrooms, and slivered almonds. A mild, flaky weeknight fish dinner.