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!  

Veggetti Review for Making Zucchini Noodles with Chicken

Happy Friday, let the weekend begin!

We are looking forward to the local Corn Roast this weekend, but before we get to that, I want to share with you my recent experience with the Veggetti, a kitchen gadget that turns veggies into spaghetti.

As you are probably aware, we have an abundance of zucchini, so I'm looking for a variety of ways to incorporate it into our meals.

These zucchini noodles, or zoodles, as I've seen around the web, are all the rage lately!

So, I went to pick one up to give it a try myself, or should I say, for Alayna to try, which is a pretty good sign it self!

All in all, I like the tool and the noodles have been enjoyed by all.

The biggest challenge is that the Veggetti doesn't work so well on zucchini much larger than what Alayna has in the first picture and many of our zucchini from the garden are too fat for that.

I did try cutting off the tip to see if I could get more use out of the zucchini, but once it is too big, it's no use. 

Especially since the zucchini noodles really cook down, quite a bit, about a zucchini per person would be recommended for a meal.

I'd love to make more zoodles, they are very versatile with lots of wonderful sauces to serve them with, but in order to feed my family, I'd love to see a larger version of the Veggetti.

As far as the meal…

Chopped onions were sautéed in bacon fat before the first batch of zucchini noodles were added. 

The zoodles were added, seasoned with some salt and tossed with tongs just a bit to cook them down. 

The juices along with the seasoning, bacon flavoring and onions made a terrific sauce. 

The swirl on the fork, just like the traditional pasta. 

The zoodles were topped with some seasoned, grilled chicken tenders. 

And, I'm pretty sure that everyone would have come back for more, had there been any extras.  

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1# chicken tenders

Zucchini - at least one person

Onion - chopped

Bacon fat (I always save this in a glass jar for cooking…a little bit goes a long way!)

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Directions:

Cook up chicken tenders and set aside to keep warm. 

Spiral the zucchini with Veggetti. 

Add onion to melted bacon fat, then the zucchini noodles. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Toss with tongs until softened. 

Top with chicken and serve! 

Enjoy this wonderful alternative to pasta and utilize some seasonal veggies at the same time!

Win:Win