Chicken with Tortellini and Pesto

Another favorite in our house, Pesto and Pasta. I usually use a store-bought Pesto from WholeFoods Market. Why go through all the fuss in making fresh Pesto when you can get a good one for 6 bucks? Fresh pastas and pre-made Pesto are ubiquitous nowadays. People just love their pasta or carbs. What the heck, we love it too. We have pasta atleast once a week. My hubby never used to like Pesto but on our recent trip to Italy, our host Vincenzo prepared a pasta dish with Pesto for lunch and it was "Delicioso!" I've always tried to convince my hubby to eat Pesto and thanks to Vincenzo for converting my hubby. Now, it's a staple in our house. That's the importance of travelling, you expose yourself to different cuisines and ingredients that you don't normally have back home. But he'll never ever eat anchovies. He still puts them on my plate.

This dish is so easy to prepare especially when i'm too lazy to cook and do all the prep. All I have to do is boil water, cook the pasta, drain and add pesto, salt & pepper. While the chicken is just seared in butter. I also saute sliced baby Portabella mushrooms after searing the chicken, less clean up. For the boiled Broccoli, I blanch it first before cooking the pasta in the same water, that way I only use 1 pot. Then reheat the Broccoli in the microwave before serving.

Chicken with Tortellini and Pesto

2 Chicken breasts

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Salt & Pepper

Flour for dredging

1 Package Buitoni Cheese-stuffed Tortellini pasta

4 oz Store bought Pesto

Olive oil, some

Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

8 oz Sliced Mushrooms

3 tbsp Unsalted Butter

Boil water in a pot. Add salt and a little oil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain in a colander and return to the pot. Add 4 oz. Pesto, add olive oil if too dry. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper.

Clean chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder. Dredge in flour. Heat 2 tbsp butter. Sear chicken breast atleast 7 minutes on each side or depending on the thickness. Set aside on a plate. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp butter, saute the mushrooms, season with salt & pepper.