Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta w/ Spinach and Blackened Chicken (Two Recipes in One)

That was a mouthful to say, wasn't it? 

This one is also a yummy mouthful, as well!

I found this yummy recipe on Pinterest, via Bake Your Day

This post is actually going to be two recipes in one from that site: the recipe for the meal, and then the recipe for the pesto used in the meal.

Feel free to just use a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto bought at your grocery store (I saw some at Target in the pasta section). We'll get right into the main recipe, and then I'll post the recipe for the sauce at the bottom if you want to make your own.

What You Need:

-1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you may want to pound these down so they are thinner and cook through a little easier)

-3/4 pound of linguini or another pasta

-1 tsp paprika

-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp smoked paprika

-1/4 tsp cumin

-1/4 tsp onion powder

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-1 shallot, minced

-1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp from jar)

-2 cups baby spinach

-3 tsp grapeseed oil, divided (I used EVOO since I couldn't find grapeseed oil at the store)

-2 cups (1 recipe) sun-dried tomato pesto

-1/4 cup pasta water

What You Do:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. When draining the pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the water for later.

2. Mix the paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub it on both sides of the chicken breasts.

3. Heat about a 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook through, about 7 minutes on either side if your chicken isn't too thick (mine was, so it took almost 10 minutes on both sides). The outside of the chicken should be kinda blackened. Set them aside.

4. Using the same skillet, add in the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp of oil and add in the shallot and garlic. Cook through until soft and fragrant. Add in the spinach and cook until it becomes wilted. Stir in the sun-dried tomato pesto until warmed and well combined.

5. Add in the cooked pasta, along with the 1/4 cup pasta water. Mix until combined. Plate it up, and top with the chicken:

Enjoy!!

Recipe #2: Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto:

 What You Need:

-1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I used a 9 oz jar, also found at Target

-1/4 cup parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup fresh basil leaves*

-1 clove garlic (or 1/2 tsp minced garlic from jar)

-1/4 cup olive oil (can use the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar)

-salt and pepper to taste

*to be honest, I couldn't figure out how many basil leaves translated into 1/4 cup so I used half of the package seen in the photo above. If you like it extra basil-flavored, use the whole package.

What You Do:
1. Take the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, basil leaves, and parmesan cheese and put them into a food processor (and if you're me, you realize that you need to add a food processor to your wedding registry because all you have is a Magic Bullet). Pulse it a few times to combine them a bit.

2. Slowly add in the olive oil and continue to pulse, until it's well combined and look like a pastey sauce. You may need to scrape the sides of the container to get it all combined evenly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*I know this doesn't LOOK that appetizing, but it really is yummy*

I hope you find these as yummy as we did!