Chicken & Pesto

Josh and I had a weekend of Chicken and Pesto. I was in the mood for Pesto, but didn't have any basil on hand and didn't feel like running to the store ( it's so hot here, no one wants to go outside ). So I turned to the garden and thought " I wonder how arugula would taste as Pesto "... Let me tell you... it tastes GOOOOOD !! The peppery taste of the lettuce gave the Pesto such a pop ! And since we have a garden full of arugula... no sense in paying for Basil ( our herb garden didn't do so well this year ). So Saturday night I butterflied some chicken breasts and stuffed them with spinach and Grurier cheese. Then topped them w/ pesto... YUM !! The cheese melted so nicely inside and made it all gooey and delicious. We were still loving the Pesto, so on Sunday, I made homemade chicken pesto Calzones... they turned out so great. It is so nice to have the desire to cook again and explore in the kitchen. For nearly 5 months, Josh did all the cooking because I couldn't stand the smell of almost everything !! It's nice to feed my husband again with some good grub !

We love summer eating and have stuffed ourselves with fresh salads almost every night from the garden. It's so nice eating organic ! We have been buying our share of corn on the cob as well. Great summer deals on such yummy food ! I also made some really good chocolate cupcakes stuffed with peanut butter. ( okay, not so healthy and organic but good nonetheless.) But I've come to realize that I am a much better cook then I am baker. Rarely does my stuff turn out like it does in the pictures... and while I want my stuff to taste good.. I'm also all about presentation.. if it doesn't look good.. I tend to pout for awhile. And I'm the worst with breads for some reason. They turn out like bricks. ( mom, I need your bread maker that you never use. That way I won't screw it up ) Josh and I were both amazed my calzone dough turned out.. but thanks to my Kitchen Aid.. I didn't have to do much work !

Josh worked 14 days in a row, most of that overtime, ( he doesn't get weekends off like most of us 9 to 5ers ) so it was so nice to see him relax on Sunday and even fall asleep during the middle of the afternoon on the couch while he watched his golf. He works so hard and I'm very proud of him.
Here's to a weekend of great food...