Homemade Pesto, Chicken, & Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Pasta

Last night we had a really quick, easy and delicious dinner. First, I made a spinach & basil pesto (originally found here), served with chicken, pasta, and sun-dried tomatoes (recipe from here). The trick is lots of Parmesan! I cannot understate how much we love Parm - we regularly buy the big club size blocks.

To make the pesto, you will need:

• 4 cups of spinach
• 2 cups of basil
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup olive oil

To make the rest, you will need:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 lb fusilli
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
• salt & pepper

1. In a food processor or blender, combine spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, and Parmesan while streaming in the olive oil.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil & cook the pasta.
3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the chicken breasts. Season with salt & pepper. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and slice.
4. Add cooked pasta, chicken, pesto & sun-dried tomatoes to the pan, mix to fully combine & coat in pesto.
5. Season with salt, pepper & Parmesan to taste. Enjoy!

We like to keep frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Costco in the freezer at all times, and I really recommend it. They each come individually wrapped and are huge, hearty breasts. They cook really nicely from frozen, unlike a lot of other grocery store options. Of course, fresh would be ideal, but frozen is just way easier to maintain. This is the same way I feel about lemon juice - anytime I need lemon zest I will use a real lemon and its juice, but for juice alone, the bottle will work just fine. Real, fresh herbs and Parmesan is where I don't see the compromise worth while, stick to fresh.