Herb butter (several variations)

This isn't rocket science folks. You can just guess on amounts and tinker. It's very forgiving. In fact if you can tell by the amounts in my herb butter recipes. Why the strange amounts? I just eyeballed the amount of herbs I thought I should cut from my herb garden and brought them into the house. Then I wrote down how much I actually put in for a general guideline. I use half butter and half olive oil. This does two things. First it makes it mostly spreadable strait from the fridge and second it cuts the saturated fat almost in half. Herb butters are good on fish or under the skin of chicken to be grilled. If you like butter on your steak, this would be good. It's good on potatoes or on french bread to make garlic bread. Best of all it can add some zing to your veggies. I mostly use it for veggies. I'll add more variations as I go along. I'll add a basic herb butter with basil.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Process in the food processor until it is evenly mixed. The mixture may be a bit too "soupy" at this point to work with. If it is, put in the refrigerator until it solidifies enough to work with. When you have a semi-solid butter, put the mixture into the center of a sheet of waxed paper. Fold the waxed paper in half and hold the edges of the paper together. While holding the paper press the flat edge of a spatula against the table. Move the spatula toward the fold of the waxed paper until the butter is a uniform width and as long as you want. (Look at the dill butter picture. That should help explain what the heck I'm talking about.) When the butter is shorter then the width of a gallon freezer bag, fold in the sides of the waxed paper, and roll the butter in the excess waxed paper. Then place in a freezer bag. If you keep the herb butter in the refrigerator it will be (mostly) spreadable right out of the fridge. If you keep it in the freezer, it will keep for months

Lemon Dill Butter
INGREDIENTS
1 T dill
2 1/2 tsp lemon juice
zest from 1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 tsp parsley
2 tsp chives
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter

Lemon herb butter is good on fish or beets.

Sage Butter
INGREDIENTS
1/2 T thyme
3/8 tsp rosemary
1 T parsley
1 T + 1 tsp chives
2 T sage
1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter

Good on turkey, chicken, or potatoes.

Chipotle Lime Butter
INGREDIENTS
1/4 c butter
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c cilantro, loosely packed
1/8 c chives
1/2 lime, zest and juice
1 clove garlic
1 chipotle pepper + 1 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce in the can)

Chipotle lime butter is good on corn. You can also saute corn, chopped green pepper, and chopped onion as a side dish. I've seen is used on broccoli, but have never tried it. Good on chicken. Chicken pieces could be sauteed in this for a taco filling. I'm guessing this would be good on fish as well for fish tacos. I used this in place of the butter in a boxed mac and cheese. It's pretty good for a twist on boxed mac and cheese.

Basic Herb Butter
1/2 c butter
1/2 c olive oil
2 1/4 tsp parsley
1 tsp rosemary
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 T chives
2 T basil

Good on pretty much any veggie. Add fresh garlic and some grated Parmesan and salt. Spread on slice french bread and grill or broil for garlic bread.