Do you want a great quick throw- together dish? This Chicken Pesto Tortellini is a must have in your recipe box!
Hey y’all, GOODe Ole Boy here!
The other night Cris was running a bit late with meetings and such and called ahead asking me to make dinner. I figured since it was my day off and all I didn’t have much room for complaint! The first thing I thought about making was a phone call to our local pizza joint, but the wallet was running a bit low on green that night so I had to resort to…wait for it…DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNN…cooking.
I went straight to the GOODEness Gracious library of cookbooks, took the elevator up to the Gooseberry Patch floor and perused the vast collection of culinary greatness submitted from all over the nation and found a basil chicken & tortellini dish that a bloggy bud of my wife submitted to Good for You Everyday Meals.
It looked delicious and not at all too complicated for this redneck to make. Big props to Cris’ bloggy bud Kristin over at DelightfulCountryCookin.com for the original recipe!
Then I ran into a couple speed bumps. The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts and basil pesto sauce. We were out of BOTH! Since the snow and ice were still piled up right outside our front door I didn’t feel like making a run to our local grocery store and since I had a conscience I didn’t feel like making the pizza delivery dude drive all the way out to the sticks in that mess, so I improvised.
Chicken Pesto Tortellini
Instead of using chicken breasts I dug into the fridge and used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I also found a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto in the fridge. After using the thighs I may never use breasts again. I cubed them just the way you would normally do the breasts and browned them in the skillet and they were tender, juicy and down right tasty! The tomato pesto turned out great as well! The tomato added a little extra zing with the chicken.
Chicken Pesto Tortellini (GOODe Ole Boy Style!)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 c. cheese tortellini uncooked
- 14- oz. package frozen broccoli flowerets
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 1 t. minced garlic
- 1/2 cup tomato pesto sauce
- 1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 t. water
- 1 T. chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook tortellini according to pasta package directions, adding broccoli along with pasta;
- drain
- Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick skillet with non-stick vegetable spray.
- Over medium-high heat, cook chicken with garlic for about 2 minutes, until chicken is golden on all sides.
- Add remaining ingredients, stirring to mix.
- Reduce heat to medium low.
- Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken juices run clear.
- To serve, spoon chicken mixture over pasta and broccoli.
- Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.
Cris made it home safely that night. She was quite happy that her man had made a delicious dinner for the family AND didn’t lose any fingers in the process 🙂 Looks like I might just be sharing a few more recipes on here in the future! Stay tuned!!!
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Alicia J. says
Without even going to their website, I think I’d try the chicken pesto tortellini. Some without the broccoli for the kids of course.