Cooking Mommy: Pesto Chicken Florentine

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Pesto Chicken Florentine

I got this recipe on allrecipes.com and made a few changes, mostly to the amounts. I made it the other night for dinner, and it was delicious! All of my kids even liked it. It did have a bit of a strong garlic flavor (but we like garlic around here) b/c I added the pesto without heating it, but if you don't like a lot of garlic flavor, just add it to the alfredo sauce in a small saucepan and heat for a little while.

Ingredients
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1 lb chicken breasts, cut into strips (could leave out for vegetarian option)
-2 cups chopped fresh spinach
-1 jar (16oz) Alfredo sauce (can make your own or use dry mix to avoid egg whites)
-1/4 cup pesto (I bought a jar of premade basil pesto)
-16oz package penne pasta
-2 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (watch for allergens)

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute; then add chicken and fully cook. Add spinach and saute all together for 3 to 4 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix Alfredo sauce and pesto.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to box directions. Return to pot.

Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta, then stir in pesto/Alfredo sauce. Mix well, top with cheese and serve.

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Allergies and Intolerances

My son, Daniel previously had allergies to egg whites and peanuts. I am lactose intolerant. My nephews have allergies to many foods. I will try my best to label things to help those with allergies since I know it's difficult finding recipes sometimes when someone in your home has common food allergies. Make sure you check labels yourself. If it's marked soy-free or nut-free, it only means it doesn't have the soy or nut protein in it, not necessarily the oils. Look for dairy-free, egg-free, gluten/wheat-free, nut-free, and soy-free labels.

Egg replacements

If you need an egg free recipe, I have some great egg replacements. Now these really won't work in recipes that require a lot of eggs, like a meringue or cheesecake, but they do work well in most recipes I've ever tried.

Egg replacement #1: use 1 Tbsp ground flax seed and 3 Tbsp of water in place of 1 egg. Why this works? I don't know, but flax seed is extremely healthy for you, full of lots of omega fatty acids, so this is my preferred substitute.

Egg replacement #2: Boil 1 cup of water and 1 packet of unflavored gelatin together. In it's liquid state, use 3 1/2 Tbsp of this in place of 1 egg.

I have found sometimes one works better than the other. The flax seed seems to work better overall, I believe, but my mother-in-law made Christmas cookies with the gelatin and you couldn't even tell the difference.