Easy Pesto Linguine Recipe

So you come home after a long day at work or from a stressful day in college or university and you don't feel like making dinner. Many families today have so little time during the week that dinner can often consist of greasy fast food in front of the TV, but mealtime doesn't have to be a big production.

Here is a simple recipe for delicious pesto linguine with chicken using my favorite pesto sauce by Classico. This is so easy anyone can make it and it requires minimal cooking time and almost no prep time!

All you need is:
* 2 Garlic cloves
*1 small onion
*Red pepper flakes
*Thyme (I prefer the packaged thyme leafs without the stems)
*Dried/dehydrated parsley flakes
*A few of your favorite spice blends, I used Mrs Dash original blend and an Italian herb seasoning
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*Classico Pesto sauce, this pesto is delicious and very flavorful, you won't need to add anything to the sauce because all the ingredients are already in it. I would advise you not to substitute this sauce unless you absolutely cannot find it.
*Linguine pasta noodles

Directions:

Chicken

1. Cut 2 chicken breasts into bite size portions or small chunks. The amount of chicken you use will depend on how many people you are feeding and how much pasta you are making so adjust accordingly.

2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with thyme and seasoning, I used Mrs Dash original seasoning along with Italian herb seasoning. If your seasoning is salt free you can add salt to taste.

3. Sprinkle chicken with red pepper flakes (to taste) and parsley flakes.

4. Mix chicken so it is coated with seasoning.

5. Heat a pan with oil, (I prefer olive oil) and add finely diced onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes.

6. Add chicken to the pan and cook fully. To make sure your chicken breast pieces retain moisture and do not overcook and become dry, cook chicken on high heat. The chicken will cook very fast because the pieces are small.

Pasta

1. In a pot bring water to a boil. You can add a bit of salt if you like.

2. Cook pasta until it is al dente - meaning until it is firm but not hard.

3. Strain pasta in colander.

Combining chicken and pasta

1. In a large pan on low heat add the cooked pasta and coat/toss the noodles with Classico pesto sauce. Tongs are helpful to use when tossing and mixing.

2. Add chicken pieces to the pasta and toss. 

3. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

That is it! No blending basil leafs with pine nuts, just a quick and delicious pasta recipe that the family will enjoy. This is one of the best pesto sauces I have tried!

Easy Dinner or Lunch Idea: chicken salad

I don’t feel like making anything big for dinner tonight, I just want to plop down and relax. I made an easy chicken salad sandwich.

I purchased my roasted chicken at Highland Farms, which is my local grocery store. The whole chicken was $7.99. You can purchase a chicken, make a chicken, or use leftover chicken from a previous night’s meal.

You can have this chicken salad as a sandwich or you can have it on its own, it is completely up to you. 

This is my own recipe so you can add amounts of each ingredient to suit your individual preferences.

What I used:

- 2 roasted chicken breasts (without Skin) shredded or flaked using a fork

-Green Onion

-Celery (1 stalk)
-Sprinkle of garlic powder

-Baby spinach chopped (I used organic spinach)

-Cheese (whatever kind you prefer) diced in very small pieces; low fat cheese is a healthier option

-Black pepper

-An all purpose seasoning mix. I like Mrs. Dash original but today I used Olde Thompson hot and spicy seasoning. (make sure you watch the salt content if your seasoning has salt in the ingredient list)

-A very small dash or pinch of curry powder

-Pepper sauce or tobasco sauce, to taste (optional)

-Mustard about 1/3 teaspoon

-Chopped red pepper (optional)

-Low fat mayonnaise

 I had my sandwich with fresh strawberries and mango.