Day 9: 10 Days of Real Food Pledge

One more day to go!  This has been a GREAT experience!

This evening, I am including another recipe.  I was glancing through some blogs at lunch and came up with this pasta meal as a combination of several recipes.  This was made up as I went and is a keeper.  It takes about 30 minutes to cook.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Pasta

Chicken Breasts

Olive Oil

Onion

Garlic

Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

Pesto

No amounts are given because I just made it up as I went.  You can make this for a large group or just for two, as I did.

Bake your chicken breasts in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  I drizzle my chicken with olive oil and season with lemon pepper.

Cook your pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Remember you only have one chance to salt pasta and be sure to add enough.  I cooked brown rice pasta tonight for my husband's preference.  Whole wheat pasta  or regular pasta would be fine, too.

In a skillet, heat about 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil.  Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and turning translucent.  Add grape or cherry tomatoes that have been cut in half.  I used a large handful for just the two of us.  Cover and allow the tomato skins to begin to burst.  Now add some pasta water (I began with about 1/2 cup) and pesto.  Stir and cook until the sauce begins to thicken.  Feel free to add more pasta water as needed to adjust thickness.

Remove chicken from the oven and slice on the diagonal.  Add sliced chicken to the pasta sauce and coat.  When the pasta is al dente, add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat the pasta.  Add pasta water if sauce seems too thick.  Serve with parmesan cheese.

We have a house guest this weekend.  Meet Coby!  He is a Shih Tzu puppy.  He belongs to a coworker and we have the privilege of spending the weekend with this ball of fuzz.  Our dachshund has adjusted to the house guest as well as can be expected.  At this very moment, my dachshund is in my lap and Coby is asleep at my feet.  How can a woman be any more loved than that?

Hope you enjoy the recipe and I'll post again on Saturday to close out this series with my thoughts on my diet, health, and real food.

Judy :)