Pesto Pasta & Chicken

Alright Everyone - Time to start posting again! It's fall time and we all need good ideas so let's follow Caitlyn's good example and get cooking and remember to take pictures! Don't forget the rules (see the header!).

Pesto Pasta & Chicken:

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts

Italian Seasoning or Pesto

1 LBS Bowtie Pasta

2-3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Cup Pesto (homemade or store bought)

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese ( I prefer Fresh but any will do)

Directions:

Slice Chicken breasts in half width wise (so you have 4 very thin chicken breasts). Now sprinkle liberally with Italian seasoning or rub with pesto. At this point I always cook the chicken on the grill, but you could also bake it or saute it - whichever you prefer.

For the pasta, Cook the pasta as directed on the box. As always, I like my pasta al dente so usually about 8 minutes in some boiling salt water will do the trick. Once the pasta has reach your desired tenderness, completely drain the water from the pasta. DO NOT RINSE!!!!!!!! In a mixing bowl mix the pasta with the pesto, olive oil, and Parmesan. Now it is all ready to eat. I generally garnish this with a little more Parmesan cheese, but it is more for looks than flavor.

Keep in mind this is not an exact science. If you want it to have a more bold pesto flavor, add more. I always end up adding more cheese because I love the Parmesan flavor. This one is awesome because it can be cooked up in 20 minutes or less and again is SUPER cheap.

NOTE: You can find delicious but cheap store bought pesto by the spaghetti sauce. It should be $2-$3 a jar. If you buy it in the prepared foods section be prepared to pay more. If you want to make your own let me know and I'll email you my own pesto recipe. ENJOY!