Pesto Chicken Pasta

I love basil! Basil has such a strong aroma and adds an amazing kick to anything you put it in. You can add it to salads, put it in paninis, and garnish pasta. This was my first time making pesto chicken pasta and I just knew that I would fall in love with it because this recipe uses basil as one of the main ingredients for the pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pound of grilled chicken cubes, from previous post

2 cups rinsed basil

1/2 to 1 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)

4-5 cloves garlic

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 tbsp salt 

2 cups olive oil

1 box Penne pasta, whole grain
optional: 2 green chillies and some red chili powder

The night before:

1. Grill 1 lb boneless chicken and cut into small cubes if you haven't done so already from the previous recipe. While the chicken is grilling, move on to the next step.

2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and lightly toast the pine nuts until they are golden. Pine nuts are expensive, so you may also use walnuts, although I've never tried it. Stir frequently. Don't walk away from the nuts while they are toasting. I always make that mistake and I end up burning them. 

3. Blend together basil, pine nuts, and garlic cloves in a food processor. The basil already adds a zesty flavor to the sauce, but for an extra kick, blend in 2 green chillies and 1/2 tsp red chili powder. Don't worry, it doesn't make the sauce too spicy.

4. Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and some of the olive oil; blend well. Keep adding the olive oil little by little and blending to the consistency you like. If you want a thinner sauce, add more oil. You shouldn't have to use the entire 2 cups, I used only about 1 cup.

5. Save chicken and pesto sauce in separate containers and place in the refrigerator overnight.



After work:

6. Boil the *whole grain* Penne pasta, following the directions on the box. If you haven't tried whole grain pasta, you can barely taste the difference from white-flour pasta. I used Barilla whole grain pasta. Higher in fiber, lower in carbs.

7. In a pot over the stove, mix pasta with pesto sauce, adding only a little at a time until pasta is well covered in sauce. Warm up chicken and mix in to the pasta. Serve warm and enjoy!

8. You should have plenty of pesto sauce left over. You can save it in the refrigerator for later on in the week, or keep it in the freezer for next month. I used less than half of the sauce that was made with this recipe.