Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Broiled Pesto Chicken

This is a quick and very tasty way to cook boneless chicken breasts in the broiler. I typically keep a stash of frozen pesto in my freezer and the brand I use is Armanino as it reminds me of homemade pesto.

This whole meal won't take more than 20 minutes or so. First turn the broiler to high and line a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Next place your chicken breasts in a plastic bad and give them a few whacks with a meat tenderizer. This will flatten the breasts out and allow for more even cooking. Place the breasts on the cookie sheet, apply pesto to the tops of each and place in the broiler. (When you flip the breasts you will add more pesto to the other side.)

You can make any type of side to go with this; mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, pasta salad. In the picture, I chose to use a pasta grain blend that I find locally. It has quinoa, couscous, orzo pasta and lentils that cook up in about 10 minutes.

After I put on the pasta grain blend to boil and set the timer for 10 minutes, I check the breasts to see how they are coming along. It has been about 5 minutes so I take the sheet out of the oven, turn over the breasts and coat the other side with pesto. I then pop the cookie sheet back in the oven and let cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. [Depending on the temperate of your broiler you may need a bit less or even more time. It is important to not overcook the breasts to avoid having them dry and stringy.]

When the breasts are done and the side it cooked have everyone serve themselves. We decided to forgo the vegetables this evening but you can make a salad as a side to this for your greens.

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