So I have this thing for pesto…it’s a huge thing actually.  The flavor is just so satisfying to me! I ended up making a sandwich for lunch yesterday and it was kind of a kitchen sink project.  I had some veggie burger patties in the freezer, some lettuce, some avocado…and then I realized I needed some kind of sauce to put on it so it’d have a little flavor and not be too dry.  Typically when I have this problem I just use hummus, but I spotted a jar of pesto in my fridge and thought YES.  So after I ate that for lunch, of course my brain was like yeah…we’re gonna need infinitely more pesto ASAP.  Hence this dinner was born!

I’ve made this dish several different ways depending on what I have in my fridge that I can throw into it.  There have been times where I really wanted to make this but the only veggie I had on hand was frozen green beans and I used those…it was still good! If there’s a will, there’s a way…and there’s always a will for pesto.

This brand of gluten-free pasta, true Roots ancient grain pasta, has been on sale at my grocery store recently so I’ve been stocking up on it. It’s really great! It tastes hearty and healthy…kind of takes me back to the days where eating whole wheat pasta didn’t destroy my body (LOL GoOd TiMeS).  This cooks up really well and doesn’t get mushy! Has a good bite to it. I highly recommend it.

So I put my pasta in a pot and started getting it to a boil.  In case you were wondering, yes, this was a meal for 2 people…just me and my husband Adam.  I live by the rule “I’d rather have too much than not enough.”  So I used all of 1 bag and 3/4 of the other bag and I ended up with extra…you could probably just use a bag and a half…or one bag if you know how to practice self-control (WHAT IS THAT EVEN).

I recently was given a cast iron skillet for Christmas, and HOLY COW am I in love.  Just great.  Also makes me feel like a real southern bell…anyone watch Trisha Yearwood’s show on Food Network? I think I’m unconsciously trying to be her. Any who…great gift and I highly recommend! So I heated some olive oil in my cast iron skillet on medium heat.  I cut one large chicken breast into bite-size pieces. On the Food Network they are constantly hammering in the message that everything you cut needs to be equally sized…I try, but I like eating and I try to get to that outcome as quickly as possible! Once the skillet was hot, I threw my chicken in and then  quickly hit them with some salt and pepper.   Cook your chicken until it starts to get nice and brown.  I find that if I wipe the chicken with a towel before I put it in the skillet, it’ll get a better brown…less moisture! It was also at this point in my cooking that Adam yelled in “Why are you making it smell so good!?” Pretty sure it’s the magic of the cast iron that makes cooking just chicken smell like sweet bliss.

At this point, I also threw some frozen broccoli into a casserole dish and popped it into the microwave.  Sometimes I cook it in the skillet, but I was also planning to cook fresh veggies and I knew the cooking times wouldn’t be equal, so this was the best solution! If you don’t have one of these small casserole dishes, GET ONE.  It’s the best for steaming veggies in the microwave and I use it nearly every night.  My grandma did this, then my mom, and now me.  It’s great…super easy and fast.

Once my chicken was nice and brown, I scooped it out and put it on a plate.  Then I threw a container of mushrooms into the skillet, adding just a bit more oil.  These browned up quickly and beautifully! I tend to buy the pre-sliced medium-sized packages of mushrooms when I go grocery shopping.  I don’t always know what I’m going to do with them, but I find a use every week because I just love them!

Once they looked like that ^ I threw in my cooked broccoli and chicken and added 2 pinches of salt and pepper.

After that, I added in my store-bought pesto sauce.  I’ve been tempted to make my own…but pine nuts are hard to find and they’re expensive…and the store-bought tastes really good.  I just don’t think it’d be worth the time/money/energy.  I happened to have the Trader Joe’s brand on hand this week. Good stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added 2 tablespoons to the chicken/broccoli/mushroom mix and gave it a good stir.  Then I drained my pasta and added it in.

At that point, a normal pesto enthusiast might just mix everything around and call it a day. I am not that normal enthusiast.  I added about another tablespoon to the pasta/chicken/veggie mixture and gave it another stir.  I took my skillet off the heat and dusted a sprinkling of parmesan cheese (well actually it’s that Go Veggie brand that looks like this:

It really does taste like the real thing! My skin hates when I eat a lot of dairy, so I try to cut back in places that I don’t mind it.

After that, it’s done! Grab a plate and dig in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe

Serves 2-3

Cook time: ~25-30 min

• 1 large chicken breast
• a bag of frozen broccoli
• a medium sized-container of mushrooms
• a jar of store-bought pesto sauce (or homemade if you want to show me up)
• 12 oz of gluten-free pasta (any kind will work)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons of oil of your choice (I used olive oil, but sometimes I use coconut or canola)
• parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Boil 12 oz of pasta per instructions on bag or box.  Drain and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat
3. Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces (about 1 in) and add to hot skillet. Stir until chicken is browned and cooked through.  Place onto a plate.
4. Cook bag of frozen broccoli in the microwave per instructions on bag.  I used the whole bag because I like a lot of veggies in my pasta.  How much you use is really up to you! However much you actually want to eat.
5. Place box of pre-sliced mushrooms into the skillet that the chicken was just cooked in.  Depending on how heavy you went on the oil when you cooked the chicken, you may need to add more to the skillet with the mushrooms.  I know I did.  Cook until they are browned and soft.
6. Add chicken and cooked broccoli to the skillet.
7. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
8. Add 2 tablespoons of pesto sauce and stir, coating everything.
9. Add in cooked pasta and stir.  If it looks like you want more pesto, add another tablespoon.
10. Garnish with parmesan cheese if you want and then go to town!