Pesto Chicken & Summer Veggies

Pesto Chicken & Summer Veggies

Ah. Summer meals. You can’t argue the fact that food just tastes better this time of year. With so many great fresh foods in season now, putting meals together should be easy-breezy. No need for takeout, or lots of ingredients when everything is at it’s perfect ripeness. And who wants to spend time slaving over dinner when you could be at the beach or out on the back deck enjoying a cocktail or lawn game instead?

I’m a big fan of shortcuts and being efficient in the kitchen, never more so than this time of year. The other night I didn’t even bother to cook my green beans before tossing them with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper- and then the next night  I did the same with corn on the cob. They are so naturally sweet right now, you really don’t need to, promise.  So when making some pesto chicken for dinner this week, I threw my veggies in there as well- shortcut. Love that. No need for a side dish or making a salad.  6 minutes of assembly time then coming back to a full pan of goodness when the timer beeps is my kind of summer dish, especially if you are blessed with some leftovers in the fridge. So enjoy that extra time you saved. You are welcome.

Ingredients:

• 1 6oz jar of clean pesto- all ingredients you can recognize, or make your own or use my cheeseless pesto version if you avoiding dairy.

• 6 thin-cut organic, pastured chicken breasts

• Green beans, asparagus & summer baby tomatoes (or whatever veggies you like)

• Organic mozzarella cheese (I used raw cheddar in my version, but mozzarella would melt much better here.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Wash and trim asparagus and green beans. Cut tomatoes in half and set aside:

Summer Veggies- Green Beans, Asparagus & Tomatoes

2. In a baking dish, spread a bit of pesto to cover the bottom of the dish. Rinse chicken and arrange closely in the pan. Cover with more pesto:

Pesto Chicken

3. Layer the asparagus and green beans lengthwise across the chicken. Add the tomatoes on the sides. Drizzle whatever leftover pesto you have across the top:

Layer the veggies over the chicken

4. Sprinkle cheese over the top- as much or as little as you’d like:

Some cheese please..

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 min. Check to make sure the chicken is done before you remove the foil and broil on high for 6 minutes or so, or until the cheese browns and bubbles on top:

A summer beauty