So the other day we were told that the owners of the place that we were renting wanted to move back into the place. As our lease had come up to the end of its contract it meant that we had to move out in 3 weeks!After the initial shock and disappointment of having to move again (this will be the 6th time in 4 years) I quickly got on the web and started looking at places. Went to 2 inspections on Saturday and then found out this morning that we got accepted for the place that we preferred. So in 2 weeks we will be moving house.
So I am going to start using up a lot of things that are lurking in my freezer so we don't waste anything. One of the things that is now in my freezer is half a batch of this pesto that I made the other day. I bought some lovely basil to use in another dish and then I had a mass of basil left over so what better to do than make pesto. As I started to make it I realised I didn't have any pine nuts, but I did have a massive bag of almonds, so I substituted that instead. It worked out pretty well actually and the almonds gave a nice texture to it.
I decided to make a chicken pesto pasta and as I had a zucchini from my garden that I needed to use, I cut it into long strips and grilled it and then mixed it into the pasta at the end of cooking. It was very good. I also am now marinating chicken breast in olive oil and lemon (a tip I got from Donna Hay) whenever I cook with it as it makes the chicken so moist and tender and the lemon adds a great flavour too.
Nice fresh basil
Ready to be processed with other ingredients
The smells of this are fantastic
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Pesto
Bunch of Basil
Almonds (or pine nuts)
Clove of garlic
Parmesan Cheese - about 2 - 3 tablespoons grated
Salt
Olive Oil
Process the basil, nuts, garlic together, then add the cheese. Mix in as much olive oil as required and season with salt to taste.
Pasta
Half quantity of pesto
250gm pasta (use any, I usually like linguine or fettuccine)
500gm Chicken
Marinated/Grilled zucchini
Lemon
Olive Oil
1. Dice up the chicken and marinate in some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2. Get some water on the boil and add in the pasta
3. Fry the chicken in a pan until it's browned and cooked
4. Add the pesto to the chicken and cook until it's all coated and smelling wonderful
5. Drain the pasta and return to the pot
6. Add the chicken pesto and the grilled zucchini to the pasta
7. Serve with some extra Parmesan grated over.
16 comments:
Any chance you're moving more south-side? ;) In all seriousness, I'm so sorry you're having to move again! I'm currently waiting to hear back about my lease, but even then we may only get another 6 months. Gah, the trails of renting!
Im nuts for Pesto, it is a fantastic way to keep that yummy delish basil fresh and lovely. Your pasta looks delightful.
Im with you, hate moving, we have moved soooooo much, my thoughts are with you lovely! :)
Good luck with the move Susan! It can be so stressful can't it! But the reward is a new abode :)
Looks Good! I'm Hungry!
Papacheong
http://home-cook-dishes-for-family.blogspot.com
You poor thing, I just settled into our new place, so I feel your pain. Smart move using left overs, I had to borrow fridge space when I moved, lol.
lol, no Hannah we are staying in the Gungahlin area. Was thinking about moving south though, but too used to the north! Thanks for all the well wishes and I agree the exciting part is we are living in a new place and it's like a holiday! I just wish I could wave a magic wand and all the hard stuff would be done for me!
I make a similar pasta at home all the time but add olives, sun-dried tomatoes & cream on top of what you've added. It's pure comfort food :)
Ugh - moving house is never fun - but I am so glad to hear that you found somewhere so quickly!!!
Good luck with your relocation, just think of this wonderful fresh pesto if you start stressing out.
I can't imagine moving so many times but that's probably why I have so much stuff! And nice work with the almond replacement. I love playing fridge/pantry lotto!
Delicious looking pasta. Love the flavour.
Great stuff! I love chicken and pesto pasta - it's my standard order at our local Italian restaurant! Thanks for the recipe!
That pesto looks absolutely delightful - will definitely be trying this recipe!
My partner and I moved out of home for the first time. It has truly traumatised me. I have a HUGE cookbook collection and he has a HUGE comic book collection... it was a painful day. I feel your pain. I hope everything works out beautifully for you like this wonderful pesto pasta.
Ohmygod, you've moved 6 times in 4 years?!?! That is insane - hopefully this one will be the last for a while. Moving sucks!
UGH Renting sucks. We've had 5 places in 6 years here in Canberra :\
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