Grilled Chicken & Pesto Farfalle

This recipe was shared with me by my friend, Amy Ratliff! This pasta is as delicious as it looks!!!  I started by salting and peppering the chicken and cooking the noodles in the morning. I had angel hair noodles on hand, so that's what I used instead of the farfalle. Once the noodles were cooked, I drained them and ran them under cool water.  Then, I stored them in a Ziploc container with 1 T of olive oil so that they wouldn't stick and refrigerated them.  While I was finishing this up tonight, I realized that I could've also gone ahead and chopped the tomatoes and basil and added them in with the noodles to save a few minutes on the back end.  Tonight, I started the grill and cooked the chicken while I made the sauce.  To get the sauce to thicken to a consistency I liked, I turned the heat to medium high and let it cook a little longer than was suggested.  Be sure to stir the sauce frequently as the recipe states, especially after you add the cheese.  This would be a great thing to make if you had grilled chicken left over, and would come together really quickly.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp salt, divided
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
20 oz uncooked farefalle (bow tie pasta)
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
2 T all-purpose flour
1 (3.5 oz) jar pesto
3/4 cup half n half
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
4 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil.

Method:
From Cooking Light found on My Recipes website, HERE.

SERVE WITH:  I served this by itself, and it was very satisfying all on its own.

Happy Cooking!

Tomato & Mozzarella with Pesto Mayo on Ciabatta

Okay, it doesn't get much simpler than a sandwich for dinner, and this is a go to for dinner or lunch in my house. I buy the frozen ciabatta rolls and heat them according to the package instructions.  The last ones I got were rosemary & olive oil flavored, and they were delicious. You can change these up by using heirloom tomatoes, provolone cheese, and by adding herbs such as fresh basil or even some chives.  The key here is to use good, fresh cheese in the deli portion of the market.

Tomato & Mozzarella with Pesto Mayo on Ciabatta:
3 Roma tomatoes
1 ball fresh Mozzarella cheese
2 T prepared pesto**
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 ciabatta rolls (fresh or frozen)

Heat ciabatta rolls until halfway done per package instructions.  Meanwhile, slice tomato and mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices.  Mix
pesto & mayo together in small bowl.  Cut ciabatta rolls in half and spread mayo mixture onto each side.  Place two slices of tomato on one side and one slice of Mozzarella on the other of each roll.  Place open faced ciabatta rolls back into oven to roast tomatoes and melt the cheese (about 5-7 minutes.)  Press the tomato side and the Mozzarella side of each roll together and slice in half.

Serve with Cape Code Kettle Style Potato Chips

**You can make your own pesto by blending 8 cups packed basil leaves, 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, 2-4 garlic cloves, and 1/2 tsp salt in the food processor until smooth.  At the end, stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Happy Cooking!