Creamy Basil Pesto Pasta With Chicken

Creamy Basil Pesto Pasta With Chicken


Creamy Basil Pesto Pasta With Chicken

This is not traditional basil pesto, but a winning pesto recipe I made from Now Eat This! from Chef Rocco Dispirito, (pg. 205). I love this pesto for the creamy texture and robust taste. If you are a fan of traditional pesto, you will love this creamy and more calorie friendly version. I am proud to say we used fresh basil and parsley from Allen's indoor urban garden.

Creamy Basil Pesto

Ingredients
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (I used The Cheese Guy brand)

1 cup Light Sour Cream (I used Daisy)

2 cups Basil

1/3 cup Parsley (flat leaf or curled)

4 Garlic Cloves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons Walnuts or Pine Nuts (I used walnuts)

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Directions
Toast walnuts or pine nuts in a skillet or in oven for about 10 minutes or so.

Remove from heat, let cool.

Using a food processor or blender, add Garlic and Sour Cream and pulse until combined and Garlic is chopped well.

Add Basil, Parsley, Parmesan Cheese, Walnuts, Kosher Salt and Black Pepper and puree until smooth (about 2-3 minutes).

Pour into dish, taste and add more Salt and Black Pepper if needed.

Put aside for now.

Fresh Basil from Allen's indoor urban garden

Chicken

Ingredients
1 package of Chicken Cutlets or Chicken Breasts

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Directions
Wash Chicken Cutlets or Breasts and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Wash your hands.

Season Chicken with Kosher Salt and Black Pepper on both sides.

Take a skillet and heat to medium heat and coat pan with Vegetable Oil.

When hot, add and cook chicken on both sides.

Remove chicken, place on cutting board and cut into strips and then into 2 inch chunks.

Place chicken in skillet and cover. Put aside for now.


Parsley from Allen's indoor urban garden

Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 package Spaghetti (I used Barilla)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Butter

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tablespoon Basil

Directions
In a large pot, boil Water.

Season water well with Kosher Salt.

When water boils, add Olive Oil.

Cook Spaghetti until Al Dente.

Drain. Return Spaghetti to pot.

Add Butter and stir in until melted.

Add freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and combine.

Add Chicken and Creamy Basil Pesto and combine well.

Plate and add Basil garnish.

To order delicious cheeses like the Parmesan Cheese used in this recipe, go to: www.thecheeseguy.com.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Vigo Jambalaya Rice And Sausage

Vigo Jambalaya Rice And Sausage

Allen and I wanted to make Vigo Jambalaya Cajun Rice Mix for some time and finally tried it earlier this week. This rice mix is a quick alternative to making jambalaya from scratch without sacrificing flavor and great taste. I cooked sweet Italian sausage following package directions, let the sausage rest after cooking for 5 minutes and sliced it. When the rice was cooked, I added sausage and stirred together (see below). I topped off the rice with curled parsley from Allen's indoor urban garden.

If you have a large family just make 2 packages and add shrimp, pork and sausage. We served ours with a salad or serve with your favorite steamed veggies for a hearty meal.  

Directions

Boil 2 1/2 cups Water.

Add 2 tablespoons of butter (optional).

Add contents of 1 package of Vigo Jambalaya Cajun Rice Mix stirring while boiling for 1 minute.

Cover.

Reduce to low, simmer and cook for 20-22 minutes.

Add cooked sliced sausage, pork, shrimp or all three. Combine.

Remove from heat.

Let stand uncovered for 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and serve!

Sprinkle with a fresh herb, we used curled parsley.

You can purchase Vigo products at your local supermarket or for more information, visit them online: http://www.vigo-alessi.com/.

-Sophia/Two Frys

Chicken & Veggies Shish Kabobs

Chicken & Veggies Shish Kabobs

With Black Swamp Gourmet Habanero Barbeque Sauce - Sweet & Tangy Mild

Chicken & Veggies Shish Kabobs, 1 skewer is just chicken (hee hee)

Earlier this week, I made this easy Chicken & Veggies Shish Kabobs dish that is good for you and packed with flavor. The Black Swamp Gourmet Habanero Barbeque Sauce - Sweet & Tangy Mild tastes great on the veggies and chicken. This sauce has a tangy yet sweet taste with mild habaneros. I recommend this sauce.

Ingredients

4-5 Bamboo Skewers

1 Zucchini

1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper

2 Large Shallots

2 Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Barbeque Sauce such as Black Swamp Gourmet Habanero Barbeque Sauce - Sweet & Tangy Mild

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper


Chicken & Veggies Shish Kabobs About To Add The Sauce

Directions

Chop the zucchini, yellow bell pepper, chicken breasts in chunks or cubes. Try to make them the same size if possible so they cook evenly.

Slice the shallots in big pieces so they stay on the skewers.

After the goodies are on the bamboo sticks, brush the veggies lightly all around.

Coat the chicken generously with Black Swamp Gourmet Habanero Barbeque Sauce - Sweet & Tangy Mild or whatever BBQ sauce you have on hand.

Lightly add kosher salt and black pepper to both sides of the chicken and the veggies.

We are apartment city dwellers so we use our Foreman Grill. If you are grilling outside do it your way. For the Foreman Grill, you need to preheat it and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and veggies are semi-soft and everything has grill marks. Keep an eye on this as the foreman grill cooks on both sides and you will get grill marks but be sure to flip once on the sides to cook.

Cooking time took about 7-9 minutes.

Remove from grill and let it rest for a few minutes and serve with more Black Swamp Gourmet Habanero Barbeque Sauce - Sweet & Tangy Mild or on the side.

For a side dish, serve with a nice salad.

-Allen/Two Frys