Basil Pesto Chicken and Pasta

         My mom works at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater in Old Town Temecula, so over the summer I am routinely biking down and bringing her lunch.  The tricky part of that is finding lunches that don't have to be refrigerated or kept hot that I can be packed in a container.  Two of the easiest things that fit into that that category are pasta or salad.  That was how I came up with:

Basil Pesto Chicken and Pasta:

    Ingredients:

         10 chicken tenderloins or 3 chicken breasts 

         2 cups rinsed basil leaves

         1 cup rinsed spinach leaves

         2 tablespoons pecans

         2 tablespoons pine nuts

         about 1/2 cup olive oil

         salt

         pepper

         1 package spaghetti or pasta of your choice

         2 medium tomatoes

  Instructions:

1. Place chicken in a container and sprinkle with salt and pepper, set aside
2. In the bowl of your food processor or blender, place basil leaves, spinach, pecans, and pine nuts.  Turn on food processor
3. Once the paste is turning smoothly around the sides, open the smaller lid on top and drizzle in olive oil until mixture forms a thick liquid, there should be a small amount of oil you an see on top:
   
4. Add salt and pepper to taste then set pesto aside
5. Turn grill on to medium-high heat and place a piece of foil on the grate.  Drizzle oil on and place chicken on
6. Once the first side is cooked but not browned, turn each piece over
7. With a spoon, spread a little bit of pesto over chicken and turn again. Pour pesto on the other side:
   
8. When the pesto is browned and the chicken is golden, remove from grill and place on a cutting board to rest
9. Boil the pasta according to instructions on package
10. Once done, place pasta on a plate and place the chicken, cut into pieces, on top
11. Cut the tomato in slices and place on top
12. Pour extra pesto over and enjoy!

*If you are packing the pasta, keep the pesto in a separate container and pour on right before eating, to prevent pasta from getting soggy