Chicken, Food, Recipes, Sauces, Vegetables

Easy Skillet Rosemary Chicken, Pecan Basil Parsley Pesto and more…

Sometimes crazy summer days lead to late night hectic dinners and last night the sun was setting as we sat down to eat.  Although the food was delicious, the actual experience ended up being more of a fiasco then a relaxing evening together.  I suppose that’s what I get for trying to have meal time at bed time but despite the hiccups like Jaden dumping his entire plate onto his lap and Rowan suddenly deciding that he no longer likes chicken, or zucchini, or eggplant, or anything at all really, we all eventually filled our bellies and gratefully crawled into bed.

So, my recommendation?  Make this yummy meal while the sun is still bright in the sky and instead of cleaning up pesto off the floor or trying to remind your exhausted 3 year old that just yesterday he LOVED chicken and zucchini, you can maybe relax and really enjoy how truly scrumptious the food is.  At least today I can look back and laugh and at lunch I’ll actually be able to enjoy the leftovers.

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Easy Skillet Rosemary Chicken

2 pounds of skin on chicken pieces (I used boneless skin on chicken breasts and bone-in skin on chicken thighs from local pasture raised chickens)

2 tablespoons coconut oil

4 rosemary sprigs

1 yellow onion, sliced into rings and halved

5-6 garlic cloves, smashed flat and cut into small pieces

Juice from ½ a lemon

½ cup chicken broth

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat.  Make sure the oil is nice and hot!!  Season both sides of the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper.  Place the chicken into your hot pan skin side down and sear for five minutes or until the skin is golden brown.  Using tongs, turn the chicken over and add on top of the chicken the garlic, onions, and rosemary sprigs.  Squeeze in the lemon and pour in the chicken broth, cover and turn down to medium low heat.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Pecan Basil Parsley Pesto

I made my original pesto recipe but subbed the walnuts for pecans and used 1/2 basil and 1/2 fresh parsley and it was DELICIOUS!!

I also made Roasted Japanese Eggplant, much like my recent roasted summer squash but simplified.

3 Japanese eggplants, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup coconut oil

Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Toss the sliced eggplant with the coconut oil, sprinkle with black pepper, place in a glass baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time.

I also quickly sauteed some little zucchinis in grass fed butter and I had these amazing locally grown purple potatoes that I found at the health food store that I peeled and thinly sliced and cooked in the remaining chicken liquid, onions, and garlic in the same pan that I cooked the chicken in.  Yes, we ate some potatoes which we tend to enjoy now and then, especially if they are purple.  : )

Enjoy!!

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Sarah Fragoso

Sarah Fragoso is an international best selling author of 6 books, co-owner of the Chico, CA based gym JS Strength and Conditioning, and founder of the Everyday Paleo franchise. Sarah is the co-host of the popular Sarah and Dr. Brooke Show podcast and she also conducts workshops and retreats on the subjects of nutrition, lifestyle and fitness.

Her message is from the heart and she carries a genuine desire to help other families looking for guidance. These attributes have contributed to her successes and provide the drive to keep the discoveries coming.

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19 Comments

  1. Yay, now I know what to do with the chicken & eggplant in the fridge I’ve been avoiding!

    1. Sarah says:

      I hope you enjoy it!

  2. Katie says:

    Oh I know those type of nights! And my poor 6’4″ hubby has had to clean pesto of the ceiling the following day!!!

    1. Sarah says:

      That’s hilarious! I can only imagine how the pesto made it to the ceiling.. : )

      1. Virginia says:

        I know how it happens! I made a vegetable soup in my Vitamix last night (you know, because I was in a hurry). After having it on high with the little plug out of the top to tamp down the ingredients, I turned it off. As soon as it was off, I realized I forgot the spinach, so I turned it right back on…without replacing the plug. There was green soup EVERYWHERE. I had to clean my glasses so that I could see to clean the counter so that I could stand on the counter to clean the ceiling! And I don’t even have children!

  3. I love the idea of using pecans in pesto! I’m growing basil in my little herb garden and every day I check to see if I have enough to make pesto…I’m also growing rosemary, so this seems like the perfect recipe for me! Thanks for sharing!

    1. Sarah says:

      We are growing basil too and I can’t wait to use our own to make pesto but I got a huge bunch of basil and parsley from our CSA this week so it was perfect timing to make this pesto!

  4. Michele Laine says:

    We’ve all had days like that! The fact that you made this amazing dinner instead of opting for pulling out the eggs for a simple veggie scramble is impressive and deserves mention :).

    1. Sarah says:

      Awww, thanks Michele!! : )

  5. Hi, just came across your web site, found it on Matrix Online. It is awesome, and cannot wait to try your receipes!!
    I’ve recently started eating paleo, as much as I can :-), but I love it, and slowly trying to get my partner in to it as well 🙂

    1. Sarah says:

      Glad you found me Michaela!

  6. I love the idea to make pesto with 1/2 basil 1/2 parsley!

  7. Laura says:

    Made this tonight! I used to make pesto chicken all the time with pasta. It was my hubby’s favorite… and the only thing he had really talked about missing since we went paleo about six months ago. It somehow never occurred to me to just make the chicken and the pesto without the pasta! And hubby says it works for him! Yay!

  8. Erin says:

    Sarah-
    Loved your book, love your blog. I got obsessed with Paleo after having failed through diet and exercise (no extreme dieting, but what I thought at the time was healthy, balanced eating) to get myself looking amazing for vacation with my husband visiting his family in France! I felt like a total failure, and needed a new outlook. I’m not fat, I just felt fat, probably associated with the awful effects of grains and processed foods (now that I see uncooked pasta, I wonder how I could have ever wante to eat those hard, plasticky, unrecognizable-as-food morsels). Anyway, we’ve been shopping and cooking Paleo for a month now, and I feel like the most beneficial aspect is really tasting food and loving it, not ever hating food or hating oneself for eating it. Basically everything I’ve removed from my diet is tasteless, just a filler. I don’t miss pasta, rice, bread, lentils, or beans in the slightest, and that’s what I was initially afraid of. I’m a student currently, and I can afford to eat this way because I focus my budget on the produce, meats, and cooking (oils, coconut and almond flours/etc.) sections of the store. I haven’t lost any weight (I only get on a scale at the doctor’s office anyway when I’m forced to, because I used to play softball competitively and am pretty muscular, I know my weight is higher than I look, and I use the way my clothes fit and how I feel about myself as a marker of my weight), because I think I introduced way too many nuts and fruit at the beginning. I’m still working on putting together a meal plan and program that works for me, but my husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride! I can barely watch TV anymore because of all the irritating ads of low-fat this, heart-healthy oats that… we’re in much worse health as a species since we’ve been told all of these things! Anyway, thank you for the recipes, the advice, and the inspiration! I’m only 26 but if I hadn’t discovered paleo eating I would be well on my way to being overweight, I just know that I have been saved. Luckily I’m starting at a place where I am considered and seen as thin, but I know I can look and feel a thousand times better.

    1. Sarah says:

      Awesome Erin. Love it. I totally agree about being barely able to watch TV. Especially kids television that touts pop tarts as a “healthy” way to start your morning. It makes me want to scream!

  9. Virginia says:

    We made just the chicken last night, and it was so tender and delicious! I’m new to chicken (I know, it’s weird), so this was the best chicken I’ve ever had!

    1. Sarah says:

      So glad you liked it Virginia!

  10. Made the Rosemary Chicken with the Parsley/Basil Pesto and the Arugula salad ! LOVED IT! Shared it on my blog for a super yummy meal idea! Thanks for a great resource!

  11. Sarah says:

    Just made the pesto for the first time last night!! It was amazing, just had it on my eggs again this morning! Just curious how long it is good for in the fridge?

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