Pasta, Pesto, & Peas + Protein!

The original recipe for this dish came from Barefoot Contessa's Pasta, Pesto and Peas recipe. My current dish is really nothing like it - I make my own pesto (see recipe below) and really only use a few of the listed ingredients and I prefer to add a protein. If you love pesto, this is a great and super-easy dish (especially if you use store-bought pesto to make your life easier).

Ingredients:
Pesto (~ 1/2 cup, but its really to taste)
Pasta, any type is fine, ~ 1lb
Frozen peas, 1 bag (I use the petite variety from Trader Joe's)
Parm cheese (grated), handful
Chicken breasts, cooked and chopped, ~ 1lb (or more is fine)
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Boil water for pasta
2. Add pasta - cook al dente
3. Drain (fine to leave a bit of pasta water in there); in the same pot, add pesto (to taste - acts as sauce), peas, and cut up chicken. Mix.
4. Add in handful of parm cheese. Salt, to taste.
5. Garnish with fresh basil, if desired.

Notes:
You can make the chicken for this dish in a number of ways - grilled, breaded and cooked in the oven, or sauted on the stove (this is how I do it). I use thin-sliced chicken breasts, season with s/p and whatever spices I have on hand and saute in frying pan with a bit of olive oil and chicken broth. Really, any type of chicken will work - leftover chicken would be great and easy.

Pesto - any pesto that you like will do. I make my own because I have not found a store pesto that I like. My recipe is very simple - the proportions are approximate and really to taste - but I use about 1 bunch of basil leaves, 1-2 cloves fresh garlic, handful of parm cheese, small handful of walnuts/pine nuts. Combine in food processor and then drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until it forms a smooth paste. Salt to taste.

Enjoy!