Food Friday: Recipes for Chicken Pesto and Basil Carrots

This looks similar to ours.
Photo courtesy of Bestdailydiet.com

The Food Friday recipes are on four different posts this week--check them all out!

The Recipes are for Chicken Pesto, Basil Carrots, Popovers, Crispy Pretzel Bars, and Chocolate Peanut Grahams.

Tuesday we had the privilege to visit some new friends who have 3 girls aged 10-12 (they are a blended family), a boy who's 9, a 2-year-old and they're expecting a baby in 2 weeks! The mom is very busy, needless to say.  Her girls are at varying skill levels, but are a huge help and could be even more in the next years, especially with the cooking, which isn't something the mom really loves to do. My goal was to increase their skill and excitement about cooking and encourage the mama, who just needed fellowship with another mom and to talk.

So! I thought it would be fun and a help to have Kelsey, who loves to cook, make a simple meal with the girls, rather than just bringing a meal to them.  One thing the girls don't get to do very often, due to life, is make desserts.  The girls love to make desserts!  So, Kelsey found two that were fun and easy! (They actually made 3 desserts that day, if you can believe it, because they had extra chocolate they "had to" use up.  The last one was kind of like Scotcheroos!)

One of the girls was sick, so we hope to include her next time and get to know her better, but we all really enjoyed ourselves and our time with them, and hope to visit and help more after the baby comes.

Do you want to encourage your girls to cook? Or just want some easy recipes? Here are the recipes for the meal that our girls prepared!  The meal was delicious!

This isn't a traditional pesto, but tastes like it.

Chicken Pesto

Serves: 6 (we doubled this recipe to serve the 10 of us)

Ingredients: These are for reference, as you will have to adjust to your own taste, and for the number of people you're serving.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup olive oil, plus oil for cooking

2 Tbsp basil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup walnuts, chopped

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with liquid from 1 can

Small box of angel hair pasta

Directions:

• Cook the chicken breasts in a large deep pan (you'll use this pan throughout) in oil, until no longer pink.  Cut into largish 1-inch chunks.

• Cook the pasta as directed on the box.

• While the pasta's cooking, using same pan, cook the tomatoes in oil with the garlic powder.  Add the cooked chicken to tomatoes.

• Add oil, salt, basil and chopped walnuts to taste.

• Add this chicken mixture to the drained pasta and mix together. Do another taste test, and add more of the oil, salt, garlic powder and basil if needed.

• Sprinkle parmesan cheese to taste over all. 

Basil Carrots

We have this recipe often, because it's so Super Simple!

Well, it's also healthy, and delicious, but easy often wins out, you know.

Directions:

• Peel, wash and cut up carrots enough to feed your family.
• Cook until tender.
• Drain, and add butter and basil to taste. (For 6 servings, start with a tablespoon of basil and butter, each, and mix together.  Add more, if desired.)

Click here or at the top to see the other recipes! They'll be posted very shortly, if you don't see them here yet.

Chocolate Peanut Grahams, Crispy Pretzel Bars, Chicken Pesto, Basil Carrots, and Popovers.

Enjoy!