I use mine on sandwiches instead of lettuce, yum. I put it in eggs with onions. I love any kind of basil.

I put it on tomato samdwiches. I also put a thin slice of tomato and some basil on grilled cheese. And sprinkle some in salads.

I chop it very finely and sprinkle it over sliced tomatoes and cucumber before serving. I also sprinkle it over a tossed salad. It's nice as a garnish, sprinkled over an omelette. I often make toast for breakfast, put on a few tomato slices, then some finely chopped basil, then a slice of cheese, then brown it under the griller (broiler). Very nice. Toss some into a 'greens' stirfry. Chop some into butter and chill, then serve slices of it over meat or vegetables (nice with a pinch of nutmeg added). Use basil instead of chives when you serve jacket potatoes with sour cream.

Ohhh... you all are making me sooo hungry. I don't know how I've been missing this GW forum. Yummmm!

I add basil leaves to tossed salads.

You can also make batches of your favorite Pesto, freeze small spoons of it on a waxpaper covered sheetpan, then transfer the frozen pieces to a jar or sealed bag and keep frozen until needed.

I freeze my pesto in ice cube trays and them put them in freezer bags.

Some easy basil recipes:

Fresh tomatoes and pasta:While your pasta is cooking chop several tomatoes, toss them with chopped basil, a touch of red wine vinegar and chopped garlic. When the pasta is just done, toss it with the tomato mix.

Potato pesto pizza: boil or bake small new potatoes until they are just tender. Cool them to room temperature and slice 1/4 inch thick. Slice a small red onion 1/8 inch thick. Spread the potatoes and onion over an oiled, unbaked pizza crust. Bake until almost done. Remove from the oven and spread pesto over the whole pizza. Bake another couple of minutes until the pesto starts to bubble.

Basil is also good in potato salad, with wild rice and in a tomato-mozzarella salad.

BBLT Sandwiches:

BBLT = Basil-Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato: Just add a couple or three whole basil leaves to the sandwich. A regular BLT will taste bland by comparison.

I made these recently and Hubby went nuts over them. I thought I made up the recipe myself but I see from above that it's actually very common. :-)

Lightly toast slices of bread on both sides under the broiler. Cover one side with whole basil leaves, then tomato slices, just to cover. Sprinkle grated parmesian cheese on top. Return to broiler just until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Great with vegetable soup!

WOW! Does that sound good right now.

Basil is marvelous in cold rice salad, in summer, with either red beans or cannellini, plus tuna and chopped green onions. You may add a little lemon juice, too. The basil also will enhance anything with tomatos in it.

OK, I know this is Italian but it is SO good. Cut a loaf of French bread (baguettes are good too) into 1" round slices. Layer each with a slice of fresh tomato, a piece of fresh (soft) mozzarella cheese and a basil leaf or two. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake or broil (be careful not to burn it if you broil it) for a few minutes until cheese is a little softer and bread is crisper. If you like the bread even crispier, toast the bread slices first before you put the other ingredients on and then bake it again to soften cheese. YUM!

here's a recipe (of sorts) it's my own work so if iVillage want to use it in their up coming books, I'll remind them that I have copyright - because it has been published elswhere

two big handfulls of basil leaves
chop finely
two large ripe tomatoes
chop finely
mix together and add some apple cider vinegar to moisten the mix (use your own judgment - too much - just add more sugar to sweten a little)
add two or three heaped teaspoons of raw sugar

mix and serve as a garnish for any sort of meat (works well with fish too)

bruise and coarsely chop a bunch of basil leaves and stuff them into a 3/4 full bottle of olive oil which you have heated in the microwave (or however) until fairly hot. Loosely recap the lid and let the mixture sit for two days or so, then refrigerate (to keep bacteria at bay). Warm the resulting delightful basil-flavored oil slightly before using.
Not exactly a recipe, more like an ingredient- but you get the picture!