Pesto Chicken

Welcome September, back to school, routines and all good things that come along with it.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to reclaim my oven and slow cooker for warm, hearty and comforting meals.

Don't get me wrong, I love all of the grilling this summer....zucchini, wings, pizza, shrimp, burgers and more, but this mama loves me some soup and all of the wonderful smells associated with simmering and baking all day!

But, before we get to full-on cozy meals, I want to share with you a recipe for delicious and versatile Pesto Sauce, served here with chicken and zucchini noodles, but has since been used in pasta sauces and mayo for BLTs.

The options are endless!  

I'm so thankful for the bountiful basil growing on my deck and in my garden.  I love it for cooking, garnishing and moments of stopping-to-smell-the-basil.  Mmmmm!

After removing the stems, which can often be bitter, 

I loaded up my mini-chopper 

(not to be confused with a mini-cooper)

with fresh basil leaves, minced garlic and pine nuts.

Drizzle in about 1/3 cup of olive oil. 

Since I have to work in phases, this was the product of phase one,

before the remaining ingredients were added. 

Round out the ingredients with 3 cups of basil, 

1 tbsp garlic (could certainly use less), 

1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup pine nuts, in total. 

Blend it all up

to make about 1 cup of pesto…

which goes a long way! 

While all of this blending and chopping is going on, some chicken is browning in a sautee pan.

Just topped the chicken with the fresh, flavorful sauce and served over 

zucchini noodles for a 

fabulous, summertime dinner!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

3 cups basil

1 tbsp minced garlic (use less if preferred)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 tsp salt

Parmesan - optional

Directions:

Blend all ingredients and serve atop pasta or chicken, in tomato sauce or mayo. 

So versatile, so delicious!