lazy me

sometimes i'm lazy. really lazy, where all i want to do is stay in bed and read. those are the days where dinner is all about the oven. i love the oven. i put ingredients in, they cook and make the house smell molto delizioso, and then dinner is ready and i haven't spent much effort, other than prep work and clean up. today was one of those lazy days... so i made a pesto- marinara roasted chicken with linguine and cherry tomatoes. perfect for lazy me.

this dish is insanely easy, but still full of flavor. earlier in the week, i made a huge batch of marinara sauce, so this was just a matter of what to do with it. i had some pesto lying around, so i combined the two into a heavenly sauce. then it was just a matter of roasting the chicken and cooking the pasta.

pesto- marinara roast chicken 

with linguine and cherry tomatoes

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3- 4 cups marinara sauce- recipe here

1/4 cup pesto- fresh or store bought

salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pack of linguine or any pasta you prefer

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes- sliced into halves- i use my kitchen shears

1/4- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

preheat the oven to 400⁰F.

combine marinara and pesto in an 8x8 square oven safe casserole dish.  

in a nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil and place into pan. brown all side of the chicken and put into the dish with the sauce. 

bake for 20- 30 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and cover with tin foil until you're ready to eat. then cut chicken into slices.  

boil pasta according to instructions on package. drain and place into casserole dish. sprinkle and toss noodles with parmesan cheese.

serve with the chicken and pesto- marinara sauce.

see? easy peasy. tutti e va bene!

until next post- maggie