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Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe

This easy pasta recipe can be put together in no time and have any weeknight or lunch! One of the first times I made it, I was worried the kids wouldn’t like the homemade pesto sauce but I was wrong! They LOVED it! If you are looking to just have a side dish, then consider leaving out the chicken or leave it in for a complete meal. I hope you enjoy my Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe. Thanks to Good Cook for providing all these neat tools for me to work with. Be sure to see how you could win some of these great items!

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Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe #goodcookcom Homemade Pesto Sauce Recipe

Yield: 6-8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• [b]For the Pasta Salad[/b]:
• 1 (16 ounce) package dry penne pasta
• 1 small carton cherry tomatoes, rinsed, drained, and halved
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 cups Fresh Basil Leaves, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
• 3 cloves Fresh Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse Black Pepper
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

2. Slice your chicken breasts through the middle, length-wise.
3. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
4. Add the thin sliced chicken.
5. Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper, and a touch of salt as it cooks.
6. Allow to cook for about 3 or 4 minutes then flip and season other side with remaining seasonings. When chicken is thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center, remove the pan from the heat and squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over the chicken. Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board and set aside to cool.
7. Toast the walnuts in a shallow dish in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
8. Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water and drain well. Transfer cooked and cooled pasta to serving dish. Add the pesto {recipe below} and toss to combine.
9. Add chicken, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup crumbled feta (reserve remaining feta) and toss to combine. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and remaining 1/4 cup feta.
10. Serve immediately.
12. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for 5-6 minutes over medium heat until lightly golden in color and fragrant. Remove to cool.
13. In the bowl of your food processor add the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, garlic, both the zest and juice from one lemon and the salt and pepper.
14. Secure your food processors lid and turn on while slowly drizzling in the cup of olive oil.

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To properly make this Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe, we used 7 of the kitchen tools from the Good Cook shown below.

Check out the 15 Items in My Drawer:

1. Double Handle Colander
2. Candy/Fry Thermometer
3. Meat Thermometer
4. “Measure From Above” 3 Piece Liquid Measuring Cup Set
5. Nonstick Santoku 5″ Knife
6. Prep Bowls, 5pc Set
7. Double Sided Flip Measuring Spoon
8. Nylon Spaghetti Server
9. Collapsible Funnel
10. Salad Tongs
11. Wood Pastry & Basting Brush 2 pc.
12. Double Sided Flip Measuring Cup, Set of 2
13. Deluxe Melamine Lasagna Server
14. Strainer
15. Spatula Set, 2 Pc

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Head over to Good Cook’s site starting June 2 and choose up to 15 items that are specifically marked with the “Add Me” image pictured below. If you can’t decide what to choose, you can choose the same products as I have listed above or another blogger’s “drawer”. More details will be available once  the sweepstakes have started.

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If you liked our Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe, Be sure and check out all the amazing recipes made using Good Cook Products: