Pesto Chicken Pasta

Original recipe here

What you see HIGHLIGHTED is what I do different from the original recipe to make it work for me.

The orginal recipe didn't come with any type of meat in it, so of course I had to add some chicken. GREAT CHOICE!! Its good to eat both hot and cold. Leftovers are just as good too! OH and it doesn't require you to make any side dish! HOW FREAKING EASY IS THAT! Ya'll, for real. I love one pot meals. Less dishes, less trying to get everything cooked at the same time. SO EASY. 

• 2 cups whole wheat or gluten free any shape pasta, uncooked  
• 1 cup pasta water
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pesto, divided (organic or all natural) I just bought a packet of pesto and mixed it up by following the directions on the back.
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in halves
• 4 cups small broccoli florets
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced I did not buy these. 
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, shredded. I just sprinkled parmesan cheese on top before I served it.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp or more red pepper flakes
• 2 CHICKEN BREAST

     

 

Directions

1. Cook pasta as per package instructions, reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain and set aside.
2. WHILE PASTA IS COOKING - SPRINKLE SOME ONION AND GARLIC SALT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CHICKEN. ADD A LITTLE OLIVE OIL TO THE PAN ON MEDIUM HIGH. COOK CHICKEN THROUGHLY. ONCE DONE LET IT COOL AND GO TO NEXT STEP.
3. While pasta is cooking, get all ingredients ready. Preheat large deep skillet on medium heat and add olive oil and garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add 1 tbsp pesto, tomatoes and stir. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes and stir again. Cook another 1 - 2 minutes. Move to one side of the skillet and make sure the empty side of is positioned directly over heat. Add 1 tbsp pesto and broccoli, stir and cook for 4 minutes, stirring once.
4. CHICKEN IS COOLED OFF BY NOW, SO I CUT IT INTO BITE SIZES. AND THEN ADD IT TO ALL OF MY OTHER INGREDIANTS.
5. Remove skillet from heat and add remaining 1/4 cup pesto, sun dried tomatoes, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, pasta and pasta water. Stir gently and let flavors marinate for a few minutes. Do not cover because broccoli will become a mushy mess. I also like to add half Parmesan cheese (I WAIT UNTIL THE VERY END.) in this step and the other half right before serving. Serve hot.




Storage Instructions: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 - 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

Ok, guys... I am going to try, TRY to write out a new recipe each week. Now don't hold me to that. School has started and I have a little munchkin that likes to occupy every second of every day. Which is fine, but you know it would be lovely to pee alone every once in a while. As I am typing this sucker out, I am watching him talk to himself while laying in his crib. He's been running a fever the last few days, so it's nice to see him back to his chipper self.
I know you didn't come to read about my life but to find a yummy, shove in yo' mouth recipe. Now on with it....

Original recipe is here

I absolutely love this recipe because it is a crockpot one. However, it requires you to create hamburger patties, flour, and brown them and THEN put them into the crockpot. If you're like me, I want a crock pot meal that requires little, to no effort at all! Ain't no body got time for that!! I cooked it in the crockpot for 2 hours on high, but you can cook do longer, I'm sure. I just forgot to get it started and after the 2 hours it was perfectly fine to eat.

Here's my super easy way!
Items needed:
1 can cream of chicken
1 envelop of onion mushroom soup
1 small can of chicken
1 pack of au jus
1 frozen bag of meatballs
Half a cup of water.

*BUY CROCKPOT LINERS! They are absolutely amazing and easy clean up! Basically a gift from God. TRUST ME. Like for real. Stop reading this and go get some right now if you don't have them already.

I put everything into the crockpot and mix it well. I poured in about 1/2 the bag of meatballs because that's all we really need for us, but there's going to be plenty of gravy if you need to do all of the bag.
Mix the meatballs up so that the gravy is covering the meatballs. Throw the lid on and let it cook on high for at least 2 hours.

When it was about done, I made some homemade mashed potatoes. I added some onion and garlic powder to give it some more flavor. Throw in some cream cheese for some even more yumminess.

When the meatballs were done, I plopped a nice spoonful of potatoes into a bowl and had a heaping amount of meatballs and gravy right on top!

So much easier than the originally recipe, especially if you don't have the prep time beforehand.

Enjoy!!