Pesto Rice Salad

Whoot! First recipe post!

I actually found this recipe at The Nest.  It's a cute extension of The Knot website that soon-to-be-married couples love; The Nest is for newlyweds or any weds, really, filled with pics, tips, and recipes.
It was one of those nights when there's nothing in the fridge or pantry, grocery runs were not an option, but dinner needed makin'.  Luckily, I had chicken in the freezer and a container of pesto in the fridge dangerously near its due date, so I gave this rice/pasta salad a whirl. Umm . . . . YUM! (Chris thought it was awesome, but wants to try it again with bow-tie pasta as opposed to brown rice--picky, picky ;]).
It was super easy--just cook the meat and rice/pasta, and throw everything together in a pan! Voila!

Photo from TheNest.com

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts, cubed or shredded
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 T. garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped
• frozen peas (thawed)
• cooked brown rice or bow-tie pasta
• Pesto (I used a 7 oz package from Barilla)
• Parmesan or mixed Italian cheeses
• Fresh diced tomato (optional)
• 12 jumbo shrimp (optional -- I did not use shrimp because Chris isn't a seafood pasta guy; it was still delicious with only chicken!)

Directions:

• Cook rice or pasta according to package directions, drain, set aside. 
•  Heat olive oil in a pan on medium/medium-low heat.
• Add garlic and onion until translucent; raise heat to medium-high, and add chicken. 
• Cook chicken until no longer pink
• Lower the heat back to medium-low, and cook your shrimp until it turns from gray to pink
• If you like, splash in some white wine. I'm not a wine drinker, but I am a HUGE fan of using it in my kitchen. Not only does it make the entire room smell fantastic, but it gives your chicken a tender little kick. Yum yum. Allow the wine to evaporate for about a minute.
• Add your rice or pasta to the mix
• Now, add pesto, peas, and cheese. Keep the stove at low heat so the pesto and peas warm and the cheese melts
• Add whatever toppings you like -- the original recipe lists only almonds, but I threw in some diced tomato and it was delish! 
• Maybe sprinkle on a little more cheese. Come on, you know you want to!
• Dig in! Yummy! (Serves 4)

Original Recipe from The Nest

Photo from website  . . . my camera is no where near this nice and my cooking is hardly ever this pretty, haha. :) 

Enjoy, peeps!