Pesto Chicken with Tomatoes and Asparagus

I was looking for healthier, high protein recipes and came across this gem on Pinterest: One Pan Pesto Chicken and Veggies. I added the garlic to the original recipe, and I also recommend using the sundries tomato oil to cook the chicken for added flavor. In checking the recipe ingredients, 6 oz of chicken and veggies has 329 calories, 31.6 g protein, 17.1 g fat, and 15 g carbs. If you are sparing with the pesto, you should be able to lower the fat and carbs. No matter what, everyone who has tried this dish has loved it. It also reheats pretty well when I take it to work for lunch, which I count as a win! There is so much flavor in the dinner, and it is pretty easy to make, two more wins in my book. You're going to want to try this recipe.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1-1.25 pound chicken thigh or breast meat, boneless and skinless, sliced into strips
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil, chopped
1 pound asparagus ends trimmed, cut in half, if large
1/4 cup basil pesto
1 cup cherry tomatoes yellow and red, halved

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced (or use jarred minced garlic)

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes in half; cut ends off of asparagus; and chop sun dried tomatoes.

Slice chicken into large pieces.

Salt and pepper generously to taste.

Heat large skillet on medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes for additional flavor). Add chicken and add half of chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

Cook everything 5-10 minutes, flipping chicken a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through.

Remove the chicken and sun-dried from the skillet, leaving oil in.

Add asparagus, seasoned generously with salt and remaining half of sun-dried tomatoes.  

Reduce heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook several more minutes until the asparagus is cooked through. I cook just until the asparagus is fork tender.

Remove asparagus to serving plate. Add chicken back to the skillet, add pesto, stir to coat on low-medium heat until chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes, and pesto is dispersed. 

Add tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes; remove skillet from heat.

Serve chicken, tomatoes, and asparagus, and watch your family gobble it up!

Marinated Asparagus

I like quite a few more vegetables than I do fruit, but even so, I don't eat as much as I should. Oftentimes, my vegetables are simply steamed or boiled and plain, so I'm on the lookout for new vegetable recipes to try out. Asparagus is one of the vegetables that I really like. And this recipe is my own. I started fixing this as a fluke one night many years ago just to see how it would work. I'll give you some alternatives and tips throughout the dialogue, so here goes!

1/2-1 lb of asparagus

3-5 cloves of garlic, minced

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup Dale Sauce

optional - garlic salt, garlic powder, any other seasoning you like

Start by washing off and then cutting about an inch off the ends of your asparagus. This allows the asparagus to absorb more of the marinade.

Melt butter in the microwave in 10 second intervals until it is melted, and mince the garlic. Add the garlic to the asparagus, then the butter and then the Dale Sauce.

If you do not have fresh garlic, then you can use about a tablespoon of garlic powder. You can also use other types of seasoning. When I made this batch, I also added a few dashes of a roasted garlic and herb seasoning I have just to up the flavor a notch. I will also occasionally use garlic salt if I will not be able to marinate the asparagus long. If you are marinating it more than two hours, then don't add anything that has salt. Dale Sauce is naturally salty, and the asparagus will get saltier as it marinates. I normally try to marinate it about an hour, sometimes a little longer. When you are ready to cook, add 1-3 Tbsps of butter to your skillet (depending on how large of a skillet you are using) and a bit of the marinade.

Cook the asparagus, occasionally turning, until it is fork tender. I know this picture looks silly, and you do not have to cook the asparagus in small batches. I had two very large pots on my stove, and I did not have room for a large skillet. The asparagus is done when a fork goes through it smoothly. You don't want to overcook it. It tastes much better when there is a bit of a crunch left to it. 

Sometimes I will serve the asparagus with bernaise or hollandaise sauce, but whether with a sauce or not, this asparagus is amazing!