Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Chicken

Who is already sore from tonight's workout? I am! Who is excited for 12.3? That's TBD...75 lb push press is no joke!

Tonight we ate Italian! The "pasta" is made from spaghetti squash and the pesto is made from pistachios and fresh basil. I have only ever had pesto the traditional way, which is made with tons and tons of parmesan cheese, and was nervous that this version wouldn't be as good. It did not disappoint!

Ingredients

• 2 small spaghetti squashes, halved, seeded (normally I would get 1 large squash but WF only had smaller babies)
• 3 large chicken breasts, sliced evenly
• 1 cup pistachios, unsalted and shelled (can buy in the bulk section of WF)
• 1 1/2 cups basil leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful of sun dried tomatoes, sliced, to garnish

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut your spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, use a spoon to scoop out the excess seeds and place open sides down on a baking sheet and cook for around 25 minutes or until spaghetti squash is soft.

post bake....cooling

• While your spaghetti squash cooks, put your pistachios in a food processor and pulse.
• Then add your garlic cloves and basil and turn food processor on.
• While food processor is still on, add your olive oil slowly until your pesto becomes your preference of “thickness” and then add your lemon juice.

• Heat up a large skillet under medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add your chicken to the skillet along with some salt and pepper and cook chicken on both sides until cooked through.

• When your spaghetti squash is done cooking and has cooled a bit, use a fork to pull the squash out of it's "shell".
• Place the spaghetti squash, chicken, and pesto sauce in a large bow and combine

•  Garnish each dish with the sliced sun dried tomatoes

recipe adapted from paleomg



It's not pretty, but its tasty! Mangia, mangia!!