28 Nov 2007
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Here’s a great new recipe that I tried today for dinner! I found it out of my Healthy College Cookbook. It’s a very simple recipe that seriously took me all of nine minutes to prepare.
First things first. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 cup and 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 of a 16-oz of penne pasta
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken half-breast cut into strips
Tools:
- One food processor or blender
- One large pot
- One skillet
- One drainer
Steps:
- Combine the basil, Parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper in your food processor or blender; finely chop. Add the 1/2 cup of olive oil into the mix and blend until smooth.
- Fill the large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add your noodles and let it cook for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Warm the teaspoon of olive oil in your skill at medium heat. As soon as the oil is hot enough, place your chicken into the skillet and saute for about 10 minutes.
- Pour all of together and serve it hot or cold.
Ending Notes:
- You do not necessarily have to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Since I didn’t feel like waiting for mine to defrost, I just used the chicken in a can. I know that may sound gross but I found it to be quite good. Using the chicken from a can also cut down my sauteing time in half, so I saved some cooking time.
- The recipe calls for Penne pasta, but I just used regular pasta noodles since all I had was regular, Rigatoni and Angel Hair. I’m sure anyone of these pastas would work just fine; technically Rigatoni is the closest kind to Penne pasta I had, but I decided to go for stringy today.
Well I hope you enjoyed this recipe and I will soon be adding more tips and tricks over the next few weeks now that I have an amazing cookbook and I will be stretching my cooking skills. After writing this post I am motivated to begin a College Eating Series, with fun and amazing facts and tips you can enjoy.