Pesto Chicken Rolls with Chopped Tomato and Spinach Salad

Pesto Chicken Rolls
Recipe from Aggie's Kitchen

1.5 lbs of chicken breast
6-8 tsp of prepared pesto (I used Buitoni for a shortcut)
1 cup sun dried tomatoes (I prefer the ones not in oil, but either will work)
shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Take each chicken breast and place between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a mallet (tenderizer), gently pound chicken till to about 1/4 inch thick cutlets. Cut each chicken cutlet in half into same size pieces. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Drop approximately 1 teaspoon of prepared pesto onto the center of each chicken cutlet, spread pesto. Lay a few pieces of sun dried tomatoes over pesto. Sprinkle the shredded parmesan cheese over the sun dried tomatoes. Starting from the smaller side, roll cutlet being careful to keep filling inside. At this time you can seal the opening with a toothpick if you'd like.

Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil in an oven proof skillet and gently place each chicken roll in hot pan. Cook each side until golden brown, using tongs to gently turn rolls. Once all sides of chicken is seared to golden brown, place oven proof skillet into pre heated oven of 375 degrees. If you do not have an oven proof skillet, just transfer chicken into a baking dish greased with nonstick spray.

Cook chicken in oven for appoximately 20 -25 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through. Serve chicken rolls with salad, veggies or pasta!



Chopped Tomato and Spinach Salad
Recipe from Aggie's Kitchen

4-5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
handful of kalamata olives, chopped
2-3 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves
balsamic vinegar
olive oil, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes, onion, and olives in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, pour 2 -3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Toss to combine. Serve tomato mixture over a bed of fresh spinach, gently toss to spread dressing. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil if you prefer.

Soup Soup (Sausage, Vegetable and Bean Soup)

Soup Soup...aka Sausage, Vegetable and Bean Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 links chicken sausage (I used Aidells Chicken and Apple sausage), chopped in quarters
2-3 zucchinis, chopped into quarters
2-3 yellow squash, chopped into quarters
1 can light red kidney beans, with liquid
1 can northern beans, with liquid
1 box of organic chicken stock
1/2 10 oz bag fresh leaf spinach

Saute onion, garlic and sausage in 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat, for about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and squash and continue to saute for about 5-8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add both cans of beans with liquid, leaving 1/4 of the northern beans leftover in can. With spoon, mash beans into thick mixture. Add 1 TB of water to mashed bean mixture, swirl around, then add to soup pot. This will thicken up the soup a bit.

Add chicken stock and bring soup to boil. Once soup reaches boil, add spinach and bring down to a simmer. Simmer for about 20-25 minutes.