Pesto Feta Chicken Casserole

Pesto Chicken Casserole with Feta

3 chicken breasts

salt and pepper, to taste

2 T butter 

1/3 c pesto

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c whipping cream

2 cans olives, drained and chopped

2 cans French-cut green beans, drained

8 oz feta cheese, cubed

 

1. Preheat oven to 400*.

2. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pan and fry chicken, in batches, over medium-high heat until golden brown.

3. In a small bowl, combine pesto, garlic, & whipping cream.

4. In a 9x13 pan, place chicken, olives, & feta; pour in pesto mixture.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and edges are slightly browned.

Chicken Caprese Flatbread

Chicken Caprese Flatbread
6 large flatbreads
olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
4 oz pesto
4 c mozzarella cheese
5-6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 c Parmesan cheese
1 c fresh basil, sliced
balsamic vinegar, opt

1. Preheat oven to 500* and line two sheet pans with foil or parchment paper.
2. Brush olive oil on flatbreads. Toss chicken in pesto.
3. Layer flatbreads with mozzarella, tomatoes, chicken, and Parmesan.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.
5. Top with basil and balsamic vinegar before serving.

(Chicken) Pesto Pasta

(Chicken) Pesto Pasta
16 oz penne or rotini
2-4 chicken breasts, diced (opt*)
salt, pepper, olive oil
1 1/2 c whipping cream
1/2 c pesto
1 c Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 roma tomatoes, diced

1. Boil noodles in salty water.
2. Pat chicken dry, season with salt and pepper, and cook in a little bit of olive oil.
3. Once chicken is cooked, stir in cream, pesto, and cheese.
4. Drain noodles and add to chicken; mix well.
Garnish with tomatoes and more cheese.
*If not using chicken, just mix remaining ingredients with cooked, drained pasta.

Pesto Chicken

Pesto Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/2 c pesto
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400* and line a cookie sheet with foil.
2. In a medium bowl, toss chicken in pesto.
3. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes.
4. Place tomatoes and cheese on chicken breasts; bake for another 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Serve over pasta.

Focaccia Pesto Pizza

Focaccia Pesto Pizza
4 c flour
1/4 t yeast
1/2 T salt
2 c water
2 T cornmeal
1- 8 oz jar basil pesto
3 c shredded cheese (I used a Cheddar/Jack, but Mozzarella would be great, too) 
2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced


1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Stir in two cups of water; stir until it forms a ball. Add a little bit more water if needed. The dough may be a little wet and sticky.
2. Loosely cover dough with a towel and let rest for 8-16 hours, depending on your timetable.

3. Preheat oven to 425*; cover two cookie sheets with foil, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cornmeal.
4. Dust your working surface and the top of the dough generously with flour.
5. Cut dough in half and roll each half to fit your cookie sheet; slather pesto on dough and sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of cheese on each pizza. Top with tomatoes.
6. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, about 20-25 minutes.

Sausage Pesto Pasta

Sausage Pesto Pasta
3-4 c uncooked rotini
1 lb Italian sausage
1- 8 oz jar pesto
1/4 c water
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1. Cook and drain rotini and set aside.
2. Place the same pot over medium heat and cook sausage, stirring occasionally, until browned; drain.
3. Stir pesto, water, and pasta into sausage; cover and cook until heated through.
4. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Pesto Ranch Chicken

Pesto Ranch Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1- 8 oz jar of pesto
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1/2 c chicken broth

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker.
2. In a separate bowl, mix pesto, ranch mix, and chicken broth; pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4 hours).
*I use some of the extra liquid in the slow cooker to make quinoa.

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken
2 large chicken breasts
3 T [light] sour cream
3 T pesto
3 T mozzarella cheese
1 egg
3 T panko breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)
3 T Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375*; line with foil and grease a cookie sheet or 9x13 pan.
2. You can either butterfly the chicken breasts or pound them (in a baggie or between two sheets of plastic wrap) until they are about 1/4-1/3" thick. [I butterflied them and then took a mallet to them.]
3. Combine sour cream, pesto, and mozzarella; halve pesto mixture and spread on either breast; roll up chicken and secure with toothpicks.
4. In a shallow dish, whisk egg; in another shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
5. Dip chicken in egg wash and then in breadcrumbs.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, remove toothpicks, and enjoy.

Lasagna Timpano

This recipe changes every time I make it, so the recipe is just a guideline.

Lasagna Timpano
1 1/2 boxes lasagna noodles
1 c alfredo sauce
1 c pesto
2 c marinara sauce
3-4 c cheese (Parmesan, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Provolone)
pepperoni, sausage, salami, ground beef, etc (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 350*; lightly grease a large, heavy oven-safe bowl.
2. Cook noodles to al dente; to make the crust, line the bowl with noodles, meeting at the center of the base of the bowl, hanging over the edge of the bowl, and overlapping a bit (this is the hardest part).
3. Now you layer. Sauce, noodles, cheese, noodles, meat, noodles, etc (or however you want to mix it up - make it your own). I recommend keeping things on the drier side (1/2 c sauce per layer) to keep it from falling apart when you flip it. End by folding the crust noodles in and covering the top of the lasagna.
4. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes; let rest for at least 20-30 minutes before attempting to flip it.
5. Place plate over bowl and quickly flip lasagna out on to plate; cut like a cake and serve with extra marinara sauce.

Cilantro Pesto

Cilantro Pesto
1 small-medium bunch of cilantro
3-4 cloves garlic
.25-.5c extra virgin olive oil
.5c Parmesan cheese
.25c chopped nuts (I use pecans, but pine nuts and/or walnuts are good too)

1. Wash and dry the cilantro.
2. Then mix all of the ingredients in the food processor (or a blender might work).

**If you mix it with a block of cream cheese, it makes an excellent spread/dip.**

Check out the post below...make a pesto pizza.
(The only mozzarella we had was string cheese. Go figure...)