Main Dish Monday

Happy Monday, I hope everyone is well!  I know most of us love a Monday because we can look forward to another episode of Hawaii Five-0 even though they are in re-runs.  Yet the good news is we are 4 Mondays away from the season premier, YAY!!!!! That said why rush the summer away.

So with Labor Day approaching, a lot of us may be firing up our grills, but remember that grill is what you make of it, it is just not for cooking burgers and dogs, and it does not have to be complicated.  So I thought I would share something real simple i threw together last night, should have you in front of the television in plenty of time to watch our favorite surfing crime fighters.

Pesto Grilled Chicken

Okay I said I was going to make this real easy for you, and yes you can make your pesto from scratch, but there are some great prepared pesto's on the market feel free to use them.  

4-  large boneless skinless chicken breasts ( sliced in half just make size even) 
4 Tbsp pesto 
olive oil
1 lemon
salt and pepper

1. Mix pesto with olive oil to thin pesto out, (add about 3 -4 tbsp) then add zest of lemon, and juice of half the lemon.  
2. In a large plastic bag toss chicken in with marinade and mix around. If you have time, (if you have no time that is fine it can marinate while grill is warming up)let it marinate in the fridge for 2-12 hours.   
3. Turn on grill, before placing chicken on grill sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, on a med-hot grill,  grill until cooked through.
4. Serve chicken sliced over the pasta of your choice tossed with pesto, along with some grilled vegetables.  there will be nothing left.

What I like about this dish is that the chicken can be cooked on a indoor grill or grill pan.  Hope you give it a try. 

Okay so you might want to give fresh pesto a try cause you bought some basil, or you have a crop of it in your back yard. Never fear here is a simple recipe, oh by the way I use walnuts instead of pine nuts, because they are cheaper, but use any nut of your choice, even substitute some spinach for basil, or arugula.  Have some fun.

2 cups packed basil leaves 

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Place basil, walnuts, cheese and garlic in food processor.  Start  to pulse, then add a little oil, turn on and add a stream of oil till blended.  
2. Taste for flavor, you may add salt and pepper.