Almond Pesto Chicken

I absolutely love chicken. Its so transitional and cheap. Especially when they run sales, I tend to stock up. Easy to feed a household of 6. This dish is a wonderful stretcher, very filling and easy to toss together. 

Almond Pesto Chicken

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup unsalted almonds

1 cup fresh basil, plus*

6 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 1/2 lbs chicken breast

3 Tablespoons cider vinegar

Optional add-ins: 1 large Tomato chopped, red peppers flakes, marinated olives

*1/2 cup of dried basil can be substitute but does not equal the same flavor as fresh in this dish

Slice chicken breast into stripes and slightly brown in a lightly greased skillet. Do not cook thoroughly. Set to the side.

Chop the garlic, almonds, and 1 cup basil in a food processor or blender. Fold in 1/4 cup oil, Parmesan, salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper to the mixture. 

Spoon 1/2 of your pesto over the chicken and broil in a grease baking dish for 10 minutes. Turn chicken and top with remaining pesto and broil for another 6 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. 

Mix remaining basil, 2 tbs olive oil, remaining pepper, and cider vinegar and your optional add-ins, in a small bowl and serve over chicken and toss with your favorite pasta.

The Good, The Bad, and The Cruddy

I consider myself a clean person and I keep my home in order. Dirt and clutter make me (more) insane. I get depressed and even more lazy if I don't keep on top of things. So I have a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly cleaning schedule list and I'm 98% perfect about keeping it checked off. Okay, I lied...maybe 75%....

However.....the refrigerator is my nemesis. I just hate taking out the shelves and really scrubbing them. Moving all the food, produce, and millions of little things that tend to pile up. I tend to just do a weekly wipe down and let it go...

Since my refrig is on the bare side and I really need to go shopping I thought I would get off my lazy bum and do a deep clean. Toss out the mess and really scrub it down. You know the four month old sour cream, the moldy green pepper that tried to commit suicide in the crisp drawer, and of course the millions of condiment bottles hanging out on the side...don't lie...you all have it. Come on...admit it....there ya go....welcome to normalcy. 

This is what was hidden behind the drawers and the crud build up (one weeks worth) on the shelves....Southern Sweet Tea is the house wine of the south...but it's a horror on refrigerator shelves...and onion skins are sneaky little noids. I really think they had a plan of attack in the works for the next person to venture into the white abyss. 

So my fellow bloggers...I am normal (I think)...and I'm not perfect. I had the crud. Wonder what I'll find the next time I venture down there...trust me...I will be awhile, but at least now I know I won't be attacked at least for the next month.