Chicken Pesto Florentine and Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese

So I found a dish that I really liked from Fazolis while my husband was deployed. But as my luck has it, it didn't stay popular so it was off the menu soon. It was Chicken Florentine. I absolutely loved it. So I did some searching on the internet and I found a recipe that would work and it was off the website www.allrecipes.com but I didn't keep it to the original recipe I tweaked it.

Now I've also been looking through a couple of cookbooks I borrowed from the library here. The one was a Scottish cookbook, inside of it as a side dish or an appetizer is a Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese dish. Oh man, we tried it tonight and I absolutely love it! My husband who isn't a fan of tomatoes went back for seconds and my son who, if anyone has a toddler or young child knows how picky they can get, tried the goat cheese and wanted more!  All around I believe it is a success and I will be making it again.

Chicken Pesto Florentine

2 tbsp Olive Oil (possibly more if desired)
2 1/2 cloves garlic chopped
1 package skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size chunks
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 package Alfredo sauce mix
1 package pesto mix
Penne Pasta, cooked to Al Dente
Italian cheese mix or Parmesan cheese

1) Heat oil and saute garlic until light brown.

2) Cook chicken until no longer pink in center, keeping warm.

3) Mix Alfredo sauce according to packet. Once Alfredo is mixed accordingly mix in the dry pesto mix.

4) Add spinach in with the chicken, cook for 2 more minutes. Then mix chicken and spinach mixture in pot with drained cooked pasta, then stir in mixed sauces. Mix all together well and top with cheese.


Tomato, Basil, and Goat Cheese:

2 plump, ripe tomatoes
2 small packages of goat cheese (I used one rosemary and one plain)
12 basil leaves, or a tablespoon dried basil leaves to top
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1) Preheat the broiler.

2) Blanch and peel the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for 10 seconds then plunging them into cold water until completely cold. Take them out of the water and peel them. Then slice tomatoes horizontally.

3) Open the packages of goat cheese and place generous amounts on slices of tomato, stacking the tomato and goats cheese alternately. Sprinkle salt, pepper and if using, dried basil leaves over tomatoes and goats cheese.

4) Place under broiler until cheese bubbles, serve immediately.

Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese recipe used from the "The Scottish Kitchen" by Christopher Trotter & The National Trust of Scotland