I have a full day off today and I will be using it to finally get into the kitchen and prepare a delicious home cooked dinner!! There are a ton of recipes that I have to try and I am so excited to eventually share them all! Today I will be making a creamy lemon-pesto sauce with chicken over rice for my housemates the amazing Harrison family.
Ingredients:
- 1 Lemon
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto
- 6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast
- 1 tbsp lemon-pepper seasoning
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 2 plum tomatoes (optional-for garnish)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (optional-garnish)
To prepare:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Season the chicken with the lemon-pepper seasoning. Cut the lemon and use the juice to season the chicken as well (about 2 tsp) if desired. Place the chicken onto a baking dish/pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. To ensure the chicken is cooked, cut into the thickest part of the breast, if it is slightly pink bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
- To make the sauce, first zest the lemon to measure out 2 tsp. Combine the butter and flour in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the lemon zest, milk, and garlic, to the butter mixture and whisk well. Microwave, covered, on HIGH for 3-4 minutes (or until thickened—stirring every 60 seconds). Add the pesto and mix well.
- Prepare the rice according to the package directions.
- Pour lemon pesto sauce over cooked chicken and serve over rice.
It was a hit for sure! The kids didn’t like it, however I really expected that from them. The mild taste and creamy sauce really complemented the chicken and rice. This recipe originally calls for linguine so I’m sure it would be just as delicious with cut up chicken and pasta!
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