I haven’t posted a recipe in a while… way too long, actually.  We eat a lot of Italian – I thought I’d share our pesto chicken – this is something we make ALL the time…probably every other week or so, and it’s ridiculously easy.  We usually eat it with (boxed) rice or risotto and a steamed fresh vegetable of some sort.

Pesto Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breasts
• 1 jar pesto, any kind you like (we use the costco brand, but you can use homemade if you want)
• Shredded mozzarella (optional)

Directions:

•  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Grab large baking dish.  I use a 9 x 13 to fit one pound of chicken.
• Spread pesto along the bottom of the baking dish.  You don’t need a lot here, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
• Place the chicken evenly in the pan.
• Cover the chicken with pesto.  To avoid putting the spoon back into the pesto after touching raw chicken, I use two spoons – one to drop spoonfuls of pesto, and another to spread the pesto onto the chicken.
• Put the chicken in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked though.
• If desired, sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the chicken and place back into the oven for a few minutes to melt.
• Enjoy your easy dinner!

Seriously, SO delicious and easy.  My sister stays with us once a week, and she requests it all the time.  In the winter, it was especially good with butternut squash, but now that it’s out of season, we’ve been eating it with steamed broccoli, green beans, or asparagus.  Try it out – you won’t regret it!  The leftovers are also great on sandwiches and atop homemade pizza – in fact, we’ll be having that tonight!

What are your favorite easy weeknight recipes?  I’d love some new ideas from your favorites!