One Pan Pesto Chicken

I created this recipe when my husband said he was craving my Chicken Pesto Pasta dish. I would have simply made that, except he's on the "Carnivore Diet" right now.

It's what it sounds like. Certainly no pasta. But yes to all types of meat and eggs. He includes plenty of fruit and sometimes a little cheese.

I like to help him stick to his "diets" (I dislike using that word. I think we are all trying for lifestyle changes, right? So really I'm helping him stick to the lifestyle he wants for himself.)

I wanted this meal to satisfy his cravings for the Chicken Pesto Pasta dish. So I added plenty of flavor with freshly made pesto (used jarred if you prefer), a little extra cheese, and a healthy amount of fat in the pan! I believe fat (good fat) is VERY healthy in a diet, and I add plenty to all my cooking!

We recently experimented making tallow for the first time, so I used the tallow and butter to pan fry the chicken. Use olive oil and butter if you don't have the tallow. I forgot to add the Parmesan cheese to the pesto when I was making it, but it tasted amazing! It was actually more "pesto-y."

The Recipe

Serves 2-3 people. Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the pesto:

2 cups basil (some stems left on is OK)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

1 T lemon juice (fresh or bottled)

For the chicken:

2 T tallow (use olive oil if you don't have)

2 T butter

2 chicken breasts, pounded to a uniform thickness and lightly salted

4 slices mozzarella cheese

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly salted

1 garlic clove, crushed

Instructions

1. Make the pesto first. In a food processor, combine basil and garlic and pulse until well chopped.

2. Slowly add the olive oil while the food processor is running to combine.

3. Stir in lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt. I used about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside pesto. (In the picture I included cheese in my pesto for a different recipe.)

4. In an oven safe pan over medium-low heat, add tallow (or olive oil) and butter. Once melted, lay chicken breasts in pan and fry on each side until almost cooked through.

5. Add halved cherry tomatoes and crushed garlic to the pan and let cook.

6. When the chicken comes to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, remove from heat and add mozzarella cheese on top. Broil until cheese browns.

7. Add a large scoop of pesto on each piece of chicken and enjoy!