Pesto Chicken Pasta & Dairy-Free Diary

I can’t believe it’s already Friday. Spring break has come and gone, and that makes me extremely sad. But on the upside, we only have another couple months of classes and then it will be summer! But not yet. Right now it’s time to persevere through the rest of the semester and try to study as hard as I can and not pass out when I inevitably get called on by my professors in class.

This is a really fast and simple dinner recipe, it takes less than an hour total to put together. Basil is naturally so delicious, it’s great how little you have to do with it because it already has so much flavor. Love it!

Simple Chicken Pesto Pasta

• 5 oz. fresh basil
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 t. salt
• 3 garlic cloves
• (Parmesan cheese to taste if you want)
• 10 oz. spaghetti
• additional olive oil for drizzling
• additional salt and pepper to taste
• 1 c. cooked chicken, cut in small chunks

-Rinse and dry basil and remove any stems.

-Place basil leaves in food processor on their own, processing until the basil is very finely chopped.

-Add in the olive oil, salt, and garlic. Process until it makes a smooth sauce (you might have to scrape down the bowl a few times).

-Set the pesto aside. Once salted water is boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente.

-In a large shallow saucepan over medium heat, heat the chicken pieces and then remove them to a plate to keep warm.

-Lower to heat to medium-low. In the same pan, drizzle a little olive oil and add the cooked pasta. Add half the pesto and toss slowly as everything heats.

-Once it’s well combined, add the rest of the pesto and the chicken pieces. Toss until well combined, drizzling in more olive oil if needed. Serve hot and enjoy with a glass of white wine if you like!

Delicious!

So as you may know, this is my first week going completely dairy-free (actually it hasn’t been a full week yet. I thought it might be interesting to check in once a week or so about how it’s going. One of the products that I’ve been LOVING over the past month or so is almond milk. It is absolutely amazing. If you have not tried it because you think it sounds weird, you should change your mind. 🙂 It is creamy, light, and delicious. Not to mention it has great nutritional value without all of the unnecessary fat and cow hormones. It’s loaded with protein, magnesium, vitamin E, potassium, and calcium. To me it tastes even better than soy milk. These are the three brands that I have available to me in my area:

(I took that with the camera on my phone, not too shabby!) Blue Diamond makes Original, Vanilla, and No Sugar Added (if there’s a chocolate one I haven’t seen it). Trader Joe’s makes Vanilla and Original. Silk makes Vanilla, Original, Dark Chocolate, and Unsweetened.

I think that Silk’s is the best in terms of taste, it’s the one I would most prefer to drink on its own. It’s very rich and creamy and the vanilla flavor is delicious. But in my grocery stores, Pure Almond is an entire dollar more expensive that the other brands (making it close to 5 dollars) which to me isn’t worth it. Trader Joe’s brand is…not great at all. It has a strange consistency and I can’t even stomach drinking the vanilla flavor on its own (sorry TJ’s, I do love you so much but not for your almond milk). Blue Diamond is my favorite. Their Almond Breeze is still creamy and has worked for me in all sorts of recipes. And best of all the price is right! All of their flavors are yummy. I now can’t live without out it!

Even if you have no dairy allergies or anything, you should really give this stuff a whirl. It’s delicious and great for you, and PERFECT in Green Monsters! 🙂

Thanks for reading!