Baked Goat cheese-stuffed Chicken with Pesto Risotto

What I used for inspiration:

Chicken breast in my freezer

Rice in my pantry

Herbed goat cheese

Mushrooms that were about to go funky

Chicken broth leftover from the pesto

Pesto from yesterday

As I was looking at the pesto and the chicken I thought, hmmm let's do that combo. And then I had an epiphany--if pesto goes with pasta, why not rice! And then the goat cheese said to me, stuff me inside of the chicken! (yes, my food speaks to me) So there you go!

I present to you:

Baked Goat cheese-stuffed Chicken with Pesto Risotto

For the risotto:

1 T olive oil

8 button mushrooms, quartered (I used baby portabella aka cremini)

1 C rice (I used arborio, the kind traditionally used to make risotto)

4 C (1 whole container) chicken stock

Dried parsley and garlic

1/4 C homemade pesto

For the chicken:

1 large or two small chicken breasts

2 oz herbed goat cheese

In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil and and then add the mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes, and then add some dried parsley and garlic for good measure, and then the rice.

While that's getting happy, prepare the chicken breast. The piece of chicken I had was pretty large, so I cut it in half and then sliced each piece almost all the way through, making a nice pocket in which to stuff the herbed goat cheese. Set aside.

When the rice is coated in the oil and a little bit toasty (takes a few minutes), add all of the chicken stock. Let simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. It should still be pretty crunchy (it'll finish cooking in the oven) and look something like this:

Then add about 1/4 C of the pesto--it gives the rice a subtle green color and of course adds a ton of flavor!

I decided to finish cooking the rice in the oven while baking the chicken, so pour the rice into a baking dish and place stuffed chicken on top

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.

To round out the meal, I lightly steamed some French green beans called haricots verts

What a beautiful dish! Looks great, tastes even better!!

Bon appetit!!

Pesto is the best-o!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Basil that was on its last leg

Having recently returned from a week-long vacation, I took a peek in my fridge to see what foods were on their last leg and needed to be consumed pronto. Surprisingly, some organic basil I had washed about a week and a half ago was actually still viable! But I knew it hadn't a ton of life left in it, and I surely couldn't consume a whole pack of basil over the weekend.

What to do, what to do...

One trick I use over and over is that if something's going a bit funky and developing brown spots, puree it! No one would ever know... ;)

So I look at my sad, sad basil, and remember I have some pine nuts in my pantry...but not enough to make pesto I thought! Oh no! Not to worry, walnuts came to the rescue. Olive oil is always on hand, so I streamed some of that in while my mini food processor was whirling around. To keep it light, I went easy on the oil and added some left-over chicken stock. After a taste I knew it needed salt and lemon juice. Sha-bang! Pesto in a flash! Although it doesn't have any parmesan cheese in it (didn't have any), it still tastes fab.

Some might shy away from pesto because of its caloric content, but I assure you this is one of the most nutrient-dense things you can make. Basil contains essential oils and other compounds that function as antioxidants, and they may also contain anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-microbial properties. Pine nuts are full of unsaturated fats and also provide B-vitamins and a bit of protein. Similarly, walnuts add some protein to the mix and are an excellent vegetarian source of omega-3 fatty acids. The king of oils, extra virgin olive oil, plays a prominent role in pesto--it binds everything together while lending even more heart-healthy unsaturated fatty acids. The nuts and oil make pesto pretty caloric, so feel free to lighten it a bit by substituting some of the oil with chicken or vegetable stock.

At 90 calories per tablespoon, pesto isn't typically thought of as a "healthy" food, but remember how it contains lots of healthy fats--you're getting a lot of bang for your caloric buck! Still, it's best to limit the intake and only use it as a condiment or accent to a dish.

With that said, here's my recipe for:

Pesto a presto!

1 bunch basil, thoroughly washed and dried

Handful of pine nuts

Handful of walnuts

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C or so of leftover chicken stock

Lemon juice

Salt

Whiz the basil and nuts in a food processor. While the machine is running, drizzle in some olive oil until the mixture is thick. Then, if you have it, throw in some chicken stock--by this point the mixture should be spoon-able (not too thick, not too runny). Add some lemon juice and salt to taste and voila! Parm cheese can of course be added--I happened to not have any on hand. But if you do add cheese, wait to season the pesto with salt at the very end (it most likely won't need any since parmesan cheese is pretty salty).

Serve the pesto on some toasted bread (crostini), mixed with pasta, or on top some chicken.