My basil plants are growing by leaps and bounds. Beautiful plants! They do not seem to mind the heat at all as long as I give them a drink every other day. Now, what to do with all this bounty? I love to make Pesto every summer and freeze it. We have enough for all winter off of 2 or 3 basil plants. You can cut your plants tops off and leave 1/2 the plant to regrow, thus getting 2 crops of basil.
If you have never made Pesto, it is really easy. Just put some basil leaves, garlic, pinenuts or walnuts, olive oil and parmasan cheese in a blender. Pulse and you have it! I will post recipe I use below, but there are lots of them on the internet with different proportions. Pinenuts are great in it, but sometimes hard to fine and pricey. Try it with walnuts instead. I can not tell much difference.
So tonight, I decided I needed to use some of my Pesto from last year along with the fresh herbs now growing in the garden and a few of my tomatoes that were not pretty for slicing. So this chicken is what I came up with. We enjoyed it and it will be enough for 2 meals for the three of us.
Pesto Chicken with Mushrooms
3 chicken breasts,sliced into medallion about 1/2 inch thick
1 med. onion, chopped
2 banana peppers, or 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
4 med. tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano,cup up
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme,stripped off the stem
1 Tbsp. parsley, cup up
12 large basil leaves, cut up
4-6 Tbsp. basil pesto
1 carton baby portebello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup lite sour cream.
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. canola oil or olive oil
1. Brown sliced chicken in a small amount of oil. Set aside in a bowl.
2. In same pan, cook onions and peppers until onions are soft.Add a little more oil if needed.
3. Add tomatoes and mushrooms and bring to boil. Add chicken back to pan, along with salt and pepper and herbs.
4. Cook on medium heat, covered until chicken is completely done. Add water if more liquid is needed. (Alot of water will come out of the tomatoes and the mushrooms.)
5. Turn down the heat to low. Stir in the Pesto and the sour cream just before serving. Do not let it return to boiling or the cheese in your Pesto will get gummy.
Serve over whole wheat or regular pasta with a green salad and french bread. Should feed 6 people.
Pesto Recipe:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Special equipment needed: A food processor or blender.
1. If you are using walnuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times in a food processor.
2. Combine the basil in with the nuts, pulse a few times more.
3. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
4. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.
5. Add the grated Romano cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Makes 1 cup.
(I reduce the olive oil to 3/4 cup for a double recipe.)
Line metal or glass 9x13 pans with plastic wrap and spread pesto out on it. I put 4 recipes into one pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until hard. Cut frozen pesto into squares, package in small freezer bags or seal-a-meal and freeze for individual use. I cut the 9 x13 pan into 8 squares. Each square will cover a 16 inch pizza or cook this chicken dish above.
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