Lemon Basil Pesto Chicken Breast Recipes

LEMON PESTO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Roll lemons on cutting board to activate juices. Squeeze juice from two lemons, should be approximately 1/4 cup lemon juice.
• Whisk pesto, lemon juice and black pepper.
• Place chicken in marinade (be sure it is thoroughly coated), cover, and refrigerate for 2 -24 hours. Remove from refrigeration.
• To bake: Pour marinade and chicken into glass baking dish. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165.
• To slow cook: Pour marinade and chicken into slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours.
• To grill: Place chicken breast cutlets on grill over low heat. Grill 5-6 minutes on each side, brushing with marinade after turning.

CHICKEN AND PASTA WITH LEMON PESTO

Steps:

• Enjoy.

BASIL PESTO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. Spray a 9" x 12" (or 8.5" X 12.5") baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don't cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.) When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted. After I melted the cheese for 5 minutes I switched my oven to broil and broiled for 5 minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned. Serve hot. There will be some flavorful juice in the bottom of the dish when this is done, so you may want to serve with rice, couscous, or quinoa to soak up the juice, or just pour over the chicken.

PESTO AND LEMON GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine all together in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid, or a sturdy zip lock bag, or a non-metallic bowl. This will make about 2 1/2 cups.
• Before adding your protein or veggies, save back about 1/2 of the marinade to baste while cooking, or reserve to top after your dish is plated. You'll probably have enough to use for another purpose (use on pasta, pizza, etc).
• In the remaining marinade, add your protein or vegetable of choice and let rest for the recommended length of time: chicken about 1-2 hours, seafood, and fish no longer than 30 min, veggies 30 min, firm tofu (pressed dry) 1 hour, and beef 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Grill until cooked through, set aside, and let rest, then slice and spoon or brush with reserved marinade.

LEMON PESTO BAKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken, pesto and lemon juice into a large zip tight freezer bag.
• Remove air from bag and close.
• With your hands massage bag to combine chicken, pesto and lemon juice. Set aside.
• Load cheese into a small freezer safe zip top bag. Squeeze out air and close.
• (This is an optional step to keep everything together). Take another large zip tight freezer bag and place both the chicken and the cheese bags inside. Remove air and close.
• Label outer bag using a permanent marker with contents, date assembled and cooking instructions.
• Freeze.
• Remove contents from outer bag.
• Place cheese bag in the refrigerator.
• In the refrigerator thaw bag of Lemon Pesto Chicken over night.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• When thawed place Lemon Pesto Chicken into a 9x13-inch casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, covered.
• Remove foil and sprinkle cheese on the top of the chicken.
• Bake for 5 minutes.
• Turn broiler on high and broil for 5 minutes.
• Serve over pasta.

LEMON BASIL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. Flatten slightly using the smooth side of a meat mallet. Dust both sides lightly with flour.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling. Saute chicken breasts until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add chicken stock, lemon juice, basil, and lemon zest. Cover and simmer until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a warm platter. Cover loosely to keep warm. Boil remaining liquid over high heat, uncovered, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Spoon sauce over chicken.

PESTO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking dish.
• Spread about 2 tablespoons of pesto per chicken breast over the top of each breast, and wrap each breast in prosciutto slices to cover the entire breast. Place the wrapped chicken breasts into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink, the juices run clear, and the prosciutto is lightly crisped, about 25 minutes.

LEMON PESTO CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place deep non-stick skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.
• When oil is just hot, don't let it smoke, add boneless skinless chicken breast strips, turning a couple of times and cook 6 to 8 minutes until done.
• In same skillet, add the soy milk and creamy pesto seasoning mix, stir until seasoning mix is blended inches
• Add the lemon juice and artichoke hearts.
• Let simmer over low heat about 5 minutes.
• Serve over the hot fettuccini noodles.