Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Pesto Sauce

I know, this looks kinda nasty. My husband even told me he didn't want the green stuff on his chicken the first time I made this. (He didn't get a choice the second time.)
I found this recipe in my Rachael Ray: 30 minute Get Real Meals cookbook. She did some other things, but I'll tell you what I did. If you want her recipe I guess you gotta go buy the book!

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Pesto Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always use tenderloins, 7-8)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (the plain old sprinkle kind for spaghetti is best)
Pesto (you can get this next to the spaghetti sauces at the grocery store) -I don't like to waste my pesto so I didn't pre-measure this. I just used a teaspoon to scoop some out when it came time.
Salt and pepper

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp of evoo. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dump the cheese onto a plate and press the chicken into the cheese, covering all the pieces in cheese on both sides. Add the chicken to the hot skillet, allowing it to cook for 6-7 minutes before moving it. Don't move the chicken around or lift it up to check it; the cheese is forming a crust and you don't want to mess that up. After 6-7 minutes, turn the chicken and cook for another 5-6 minutes. (I decreased my times by a minute or two since I was using tenderloins.) Top each chicken breast with a strip of pesto.

I served this with my favorite green beans. (I added a little butter this time too.)

Also, I fixed a little pasta. I filled a medium pot with half water and half chicken stock and boiled the pasta to the box directions. After draining the pasta, I added 1-2 Tbsp of butter, 1 Tbsp of pesto, and a half cup of Parmesan cheese. I mixed it all together and thought it needed some color so I chopped a few leaves of fresh basil and mixed that in too.

Fresh Potted Herbs: You can do it too!

I planted basil in my garden this summer. It was fabulous! I used leaves for at least 20 recipes from that little $3.00 plant. It only died about a month ago because we were living away from our house for a month and never got to water it.
I planted some parsley and oregano in a flower pot and had it in my kitchen for a while, but got tired of it cluttering my already small amount of counter space. I set it on the back deck right in the middle of the all day sun with no shade. The pot I had planted it in didn't have a hole in the bottom either. Those plants died in about a week (along with a few other flowers I'd put out there).
However, I have a few potted plants that I've managed to keep alive for more than 4 months. One is sitting on my front porch that has great morning sun, but not that hot and heavy afternoon sun. It is also planted in a pot with a hole in the bottom to drain the water.
This is how I've planted my new herbs so I hope they last! I'll let you know how they do to see if this is a good spot for herb growing.

Fresh Potted Herbs = Good Investment

Fresh herbs are a GREAT investment. Seriously. Well, if you like fresh herbs and buy them prepackaged then you will agree with me. I'm terrible at keeping plants alive. But I have tried several times to get better and slowly I am. I love to cook with fresh herbs - they taste so much better. But buying fresh herbs in the Wal-Mart produce section is $2.38 for a couple sprigs of rosemary, thyme, etc. I went to the garden section and they have the 5" potted herbs for $3.00. So, even with my terrible, non-green thumb I can manage to keep a plant alive for a couple weeks. So, if I can keep it alive all season then I have well invested my money. I suggest you try it too!