FOUR DAYS TO ALABAMA!
First of all, can you believe it’s April? I find myself constantly in disbelief come a new year or month.
When you’re a child, it seems as if time drags on.
When you’re an adult, you find yourself wishing for more time!
I am coming at you today with a revamp of an older post. I shared this pesto dish in my first month of Wholesome Joy and I have wanted to update it for months. Along with a revamp, comes an updated blog post!
We are down to the wire with this move! The apartment is about 40% packed and this weekend is it. Tonight we have a last dinner with our sweetest couple friends. Tomorrow we’re in Longview for my favorite Nephew’s first birthday. Sunday we pack, pack, and pack, and Monday we load up!
My anxiety is through the roof and my nerves are even higher! I can’t believe it is here! The last few weeks have been filled with people and plans and I haven’t been able to get anything finished on the blog. I am so behind on my book club posts and I have three recipes that I photographed throughout but not the final product. Don’t give up on me!
I am a mess but once the dust settles and I am back in Texas for work, I can not wait to share some things with you! I will be staying with my parents while I am in Houston and it may take a moment to adjust schedules but I am really looking forward to the time I will be able to spend with them. Especially my Mom, who has already made it known that the kitchen is mine. She is a few months in on Keto and I will be staying with a “Whole100” mindset. We’re ecstatic to say the least.
I am a big believer of “Home is where the heart is” so bare with me in my search for what to call my parents home. My home will be in Alabama so let the record show that “I am in Houston for work”!
Perhaps I will pick up “living quarters” again? When I moved off to the college I came home every weekend and every time my Father would ask when I was heading “home”, I would correct him with “to my weekday living quarters?”
Home truly is where the heart is.
This recipe takes a little work with the spaghetti squash but zoodles are always a fan favorite. In this update, I added artichoke hearts and mushrooms. If you’re feeling really fancy, I would throw in sun dried tomatoes!
The pesto does really well in a mason jar in the fridge for the week and if you’re a meal prepper, you may consider making the spaghetti squash a few nights before for a quick weeknight dinner!
Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fat (evoo, coconut oil, ghee, etc.)
- 4 chicken breasts
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 whole spaghetti squash
- 1, 14.5 ounce can of artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms
- 1 handful of fresh spinach, optional
- 1 batch of dairy free pesto (see below)
Pesto Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 6-7 large basil stem’s leaves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts + 2 tablespoons reserved
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Directions
- Cook the spaghetti squash as described in this post, or to the method of your choosing.
- Rinse and pat dry both sides of the chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Bring a large skillet to a medium-high heat. Add and warm the fat. Add chicken, and cook thoroughly. You may need to work in batches. While the chicken is cooking, make the pesto sauce. Remove chicken once cooked and set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the pine nuts, garlic, oil, and vinegar. Blend until pine nuts are fine, about 30 seconds. Open, scrape down the sides, and add the basil leaves and salt. Continue blending until leaves are incorporated.
- In the same heated skillet, sauté mushrooms, drained artichoke hearts, and spinach (if applicable). Add cooked spaghetti squash and pour in the pesto sauce. Toss the squash with a pair of tongs to cover all ingredients with pesto.
- Split and serve 4 ways topping with chicken and the reserved pine nuts.
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