My oldest daughter was going to coming home from college, and she told me that she wanted to try a pesto pasta because she loves pesto. Of course I had to come up with something for her to try. This was what I came up with, and I can tell you that it was so delicious!

I know that the cost of food is on everyone's mind, so I cut the basil with spinach. It will not change the flavor of the pesto, but it is much more cost effective than basil. If you wanted to cut the cost even more, you can substitute walnuts for the pinenuts. 

You can also adjust the amount of garlic you put in, but for this recipe you MUST use real garlic. I am a big fan of the garlic in the jar as it is a huge timesaver. For this though, that will just not work. Also, use shredded parmesan instead of the grated that comes in the can. The payoff is worth it. 

Enjoy, and let me know below if you try it!

Ingredients

• 12 oz.. bowtie pasta
• 1.5 lbs. chicken, diced into small pieces

• 1.5 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp dried oregano

Pesto ingredients:

• 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves

• 1.5 cups fresh baby spinach

• 1/3 cup pine nuts

• ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

• 4 garlic cloves

• Approx ½ cup olive oil

• Salt, to taste

• Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Make pesto by putting basil, spinach, pine nuts, cheese and garlic in a food processor. Pulse to break everything down into tiny pieces. Put the food processor on low and slowly stream in olive oil until desired consistency is reached. Mix in salt and pepper to taste. Store in fridge until chicken and pasta are ready.

Step 2: Boil noodles to al-dente in heavy salted water. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water after pasta is done cooking.

Step 3: While pasta is cooking, cook chicken in a large skillet with whatever seasonings you like. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano.

Step 4: Once chicken is cooked, add pesto into the chicken. Add in noodles and mix to combine. Add in some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce comes together and coats the noodles evenly.

Step 5: Assemble! Plate the pasta and top with additional parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper. Enjoy!