Pesto Quinoa

Recipe Review: Great alternative to pasta or rice as a side. Was better cold than warm. Can also be made with pearled cous-cous.

It's been a little bit since I've made anything blog worthy. Life has been busy and I just haven't really felt like cooking anything major. Just as things were settling down and I was getting the bug I had a friend make a blog request! I had never had a blog request before so I was more than happy to oblige her request for me to try a quinoa recipe. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is technically a seed- not a grain, it is very high in protein and fiber, and gluten free. When cooked it is lighter and fluffier than rice or pasta and has a mild, slightly nutty flavor. I used "regular" quinoa (if thats even the right way to describe it) I've seen both red and black quinoa at the store, but haven't had the chance to taste either. 

Spinach & Pesto Chicken Rollatini

Recipe Review: Chicken, Pesto and Spinach- whats not to like? Looks fancy but its not- Can be prepped early and thrown in the oven later, 

I get so tired of just marinating and grilling chicken. It's quick and easy to make, but I get burnt out on chicken really fast that way. So I was looking for a new way to make chicken to jazz things up. Last fall I made asparagus stuffed chicken and really enjoyed the way the pesto tasted on the baked chicken. Some googling (and perhaps some olive garden ads) led me to the idea of doing a chicken "rollatini". Basically its a way to make stuffed chicken where you pound the chicken really thin and then roll it up with the stuffing inside. If done right when sliced you will have pretty little chicken pinwheels. I thought this would be good to make ahead and just pop in the oven, and it was!

Pesto Baked Chicken with Asparagus

I had half a jar of pesto sauce leftover from making some pasta salad a while back and was trying to figure out a way to use it other than just dumping it on pasta. (I had previously used the pesto to make a really yummy pesto and spinach pasta salad that I found on the food network website. It was a total hit at a bbq and I had to throw together a quick second batch when people gobbled up the first one.) Some quick googling led me to the idea of brushing the pesto onto chicken. Sounded simple and yummy enough! I decided to fancy it up but stuffing the chicken with asparagus and mozzarella, and made some sauteed spinach on the side.