Pesto Chicken and Baked Vegetables
Senior year is winding down and options for "roomie nights" are getting slim as we all begin to go our separate ways in less than a month. One's moving to Atlanta, one's staying here, one's moving to Spain (casual), and I'm not really sure what I'm doing. The only comfort we can have in parting ways is sharing a few more meals together, so I decided to bake us a little dinner to cherish our last weeks as roommates. *tear*
INGREDIENTS (serves four):
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp pepper (I should just make these two a given)
1/2 tbsp of Cavender's greek seasoning
8 slim chicken breast tenders
2 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini
1 squash
2 sweet potatoes
1/2 yellow onion
Mushrooms
1 tbsp lemon zest or 1/4 of a lemon
PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES
1: VEGGIES
Wash all vegetables. Chop squash, zucchini, and sweet potatoes into cubes and put in a large glass baking dish. Mix in olive oil, seasoning, salt, and pepper. Make sure they are evenly distributed in the dish and the sweet potatoes are touching the glass. These suckers take forever to cook, hence the roughly 40 minute wait time. While you're waiting, make sure to turn everything in the dish so they don't all burn on one side.
2: WINE?
Always optional, never unnecessary. Unfortunately we all had work to do tonight *more tears*
3: CHICKEN
Slice into each piece of chicken in a cut down the middle, not penetrating the other side of the breast. Place in dish and brush on oil. Make sure to get under the chicken with the oil so they don't stick to the pan. If you don't have a brush, you should obviously buy one, but if you spent money on your wine instead, you can "brush" on the oil with your (washed) hands. See why the brush is important? Now, brush/rub pesto on the chicken, making sure to cover it with specks of basil. Not completely, but not bare of specs. Pesto freckles only. Get pesto into the crevices of where you cut into your chicken breasts. Squirt the lemon on it and throw it into the oven for thirty minutes.
4: SAUTE OTHER VEGGIES
In my opinion, it can't possibly be a full meal unless sautéed vegetables are involved. Cut onions and mushrooms into reasonably small pieces. I like to remove the stem, then cut an X on top of mushrooms because it's fun and usually the perfect size. Sauté with oil and salt until browned and squishy, then throw them into the oven on top of the chicken to keep them warm and give them a little of the pesto taste. These don't take long, so leave about ten minutes left on your chicken when you start them.
5: CHEESE AND SERVE!
Shake some parmesan cheese on the chicken before you serve and voila - an easy (mostly) baked meal for four.
Enjoy!
PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 375 DEGREES
1: VEGGIES
Wash all vegetables. Chop squash, zucchini, and sweet potatoes into cubes and put in a large glass baking dish. Mix in olive oil, seasoning, salt, and pepper. Make sure they are evenly distributed in the dish and the sweet potatoes are touching the glass. These suckers take forever to cook, hence the roughly 40 minute wait time. While you're waiting, make sure to turn everything in the dish so they don't all burn on one side.
2: WINE?
Always optional, never unnecessary. Unfortunately we all had work to do tonight *more tears*
3: CHICKEN
Slice into each piece of chicken in a cut down the middle, not penetrating the other side of the breast. Place in dish and brush on oil. Make sure to get under the chicken with the oil so they don't stick to the pan. If you don't have a brush, you should obviously buy one, but if you spent money on your wine instead, you can "brush" on the oil with your (washed) hands. See why the brush is important? Now, brush/rub pesto on the chicken, making sure to cover it with specks of basil. Not completely, but not bare of specs. Pesto freckles only. Get pesto into the crevices of where you cut into your chicken breasts. Squirt the lemon on it and throw it into the oven for thirty minutes.
4: SAUTE OTHER VEGGIES
In my opinion, it can't possibly be a full meal unless sautéed vegetables are involved. Cut onions and mushrooms into reasonably small pieces. I like to remove the stem, then cut an X on top of mushrooms because it's fun and usually the perfect size. Sauté with oil and salt until browned and squishy, then throw them into the oven on top of the chicken to keep them warm and give them a little of the pesto taste. These don't take long, so leave about ten minutes left on your chicken when you start them.
5: CHEESE AND SERVE!
Shake some parmesan cheese on the chicken before you serve and voila - an easy (mostly) baked meal for four.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment