At this time of year, I have an over abundance of Basil and pesto is delicious and a great way to use up that basil. You can do this recipe with spaghetti squash as I did or you can use actual pasta. I’ve been watching those carbohydrates and calories, so I decided to try this with squash and I absolutely devoured it.
Keep in mind, you can use store bought pesto, but if you have fresh basil, I encourage you to make your own. There’s just nothing like it!
What you’ll need:
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs of chicken cut into bite sized pieces
- Pesto (I’ll include my recipe at the end of this blog)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Salt
- Italian seasoning
- Olive oil
- Parmesan for garnish
What I did:
First, cook your spaghetti squash. I do this by heating the oven to 425 degrees, cutting and gutting the squash, slice in half, olive oil then salt, pepper, Italian seasoning sprinkled over. Lay face down on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
Next, heat a skillet with some olive oil over medium high heat. Place chicken in the skillet, sprinkle salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic salt over the chicken. Cook until chicken is done and remove from heat.
Break up spaghetti squash with a fork and mix in 2 to 3 tablespoons of pesto into each side of the squash. Serve with chicken on top and shaved Parmesan to taste.
Pesto:
- 2 cups of basil, packed
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1/3 cup of pine nuts
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 T red wine vinegar
Place basil, garlic, pine nuts and red wine vinegar into a food processor. Give it a few pulses to make a paste. Add in the cheese and a few more pulses. Then turn on the processor and slowly drizzle the olive oil in.
You can store in an airtight container for 3 days refrigerated or put into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. This will stay good for about 3 months and you can always toss a cube into warm pasta or spaghetti squash and BAM! Pesto!