Hi everyone – welcome to a new week!
Last week’s warmer temps lit a fire under our butts and instead of sticking around the house as planned, we were out and about all weekend long. To heck with the cold weather! On Saturday morning Ben and I took the boss to my new favorite restaurant/bakery/cafe in town, La Mie, for brunch. I ordered the same thing I’ve gotten the past three times I’ve visited – the Veggie Scramble with a Vanilla Almond Milk Latte. It is, perfection.
Ben got the same scramble after I told him how tasty it was and he raved the whole way through. Expertly seasoned and perfectly cooked. The whole half avocado on top is what makes it really special, me thinks. We both agreed a home attempt wouldn’t come close to the real thing, so I guess I’ll just have to keep going back for more. Darn. ;)
Lincoln behaved himself, save for the yelling. Right. It’s his new favorite thing to do. Just…yell! At the top of his lungs for no apparent reason – he’s pretty proud of it. Awesome. (Ok, I secretly love it and actually do think it’s pretty awesome. That being said, we did our best to quiet him down because I know other people might not think it’s so cute!)
Later that night I met up with a girlfriend for drinks, pedis, and dinner (which was as amazing as it sounds. Note to self: do this more often!) then Sunday Ben and I hopped over to the mall for a few laps. Like I said, a great little weekend!
In case your weekend was just as busy, and you didn’t have time to meal plan for the week, I have got you COVERED for dinner tonight with Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan.
4 ingredients + 5 minutes of prep work + 30 minutes of baking time = dinner. Saweet!
Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan is chicken thighs tossed in pesto then topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, and then baked. So unbelievably simple! Like I said, five minutes to prep then 30 minutes to bake. This dish will be done before you’ve even had time to take your pants off after coming home from work.
My Mom came over to visit Lincoln and me during her lunch hour last week and I sent her back to work with some of this chicken fresh out of the oven. She emailed me 20 minutes later saying it was everything she loved about Italian food, and needed the recipe STAT! I knew I loved it, but to get confirmation from my Mom was like winning a prize. She’s my cooking role model!
If you need a quick and flavorful dinner idea – this is your recipe!
Start with 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8 thighs) seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper. Like I mentioned on Friday, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are my new favorite thing ever. They’re thin which saves the step of pounding them out, are a fraction of the cost of chicken breasts, and are incredibly tender and juicy.
In the past chicken thighs have intimidated me but after cooking with them a few times lately, I want to slap myself for waiting so long. They’re fantastic. I can’t wait to grill them all summer long!
By the way, if I still haven’t sold you on chicken thighs, you could use 1lb chicken breasts that have been pounded thin and cut in half. But come on… Thighs! Thighs! Thighs!
Ahem! Pop the seasoned thighs into a 8×8 or 9×12 baking dish then toss using your hands with 1/3 cup prepared pesto.
You could absolutely make your own fresh pesto (here’s my recipe,) but I took a chance on this prepared pesto for the sake of convenience. It tasted awesome – super garlicky.
Next spread 1 cup marinara sauce over the thighs then top with 8oz sliced fresh mozzarella (you could use shredded in a pinch.)
Seal the baking dish tightly with foil then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then cook for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and the chicken is cooked through. That’s it…dinner is served!
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Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan
Description
Gluten-free Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan takes 5 minutes to prep and bakes in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 8 (could use chicken breasts pounded thin then cut in half)
- salt & pepper
- 1/3 cup pesto
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 8oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper then add to a 8x8" or 9x12" baking dish. Add pesto then use hands to evenly coat. Spoon marinara sauce over top of thighs followed by mozzarella cheese then cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil then bake for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
If you’re like me and have been missing out on the lusciousness that his chicken thighs – change that ASAP! They’re so juicy and have an awesome flavor. Definitely not a creepy dark meat flavor, which is what I always thought they’d taste like.
This chicken would be great over a bed of pasta, but I served it with roasted potato wedges.
That’s just potatoes cut into wedges, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Totally easy to make with this chicken since they cook at the same temp. Enjoy!
Awesome recipe! I’d love to make for my meal swap group! So in order for it to be freezer-friendly would you just put all together and freeze without baking first?
That’s what I would do!
I miss going to Jordan Creek! I knew it instantly when I saw the picture of you and Lincoln! There are no movie theaters here where you can mix your own drinks like you can (or used to be able to….not sure if they still do that there) at Jordan Creek.
Random question: Where do you find boneless chicken thighs? I want to make this later this week, but have never seen them in the meat section at our grocer. We mostly buy SMART CHICKEN, but didn’t know if these were previously frozen etc?
My local grocery stole sells all the packaged brand of thighs – Just Bare, Smart Chicken, etc, as well as the store brand. You can usually also find them in the butcher case!
I have walked around the Jordan Creek Mall before, too! It turns out walking/window shopping is MUCH easier on the credit card than actual shopping ;)
Omg this looks like such a great dinner!! N
It’s actually kind of unfair how cute Lincoln is–so much competition for the other kids!
Ugh, your post makes me miss Des Moines (especially La Mie and the mall) so much! Also, totally making pesto chicken this week. The husband loves chicken thighs and I don’t use them nearly enough.
This recipe looks very yummy. I haven’t seen the boneless thighs at my local Hy-Vee or Fareway – I will have to look harder next time I am there.
I adore Lincoln’s sock monkey onesie, can you tell me where you got it at?
It was actually a gift, but I THINK maybe it was from Younkers??
Ashley, I was just at Hy-Vee on Sunday and they have the Bare brand boneless/skinless thighs. Also today I was at Target and they had them as well – different brand though and the package was larger (8-10) in each one.
I just noticed someone else mentioned Aldis, which I never remember to go check. Darn!
Beautiful pictures, my mouth is watering. Thanks for the recipe.
I am also totally intimidated by chicken thighs but this looks AMAZING and I will definitely be trying it this week. Thank you so much for always making things so approachable!
I have never cooked chicken thighs before. Do they come with a bone in them, if so, what is the best way to remove? Do you have to do any special prep to get them ready? Do you have to ask the butcher anything special as far as prepping them? I am interested in using, but I am intimidated like you were.
You can buy chicken thighs with the bone in for soups/stews or cooking in the crock pot since the bones have a lot of flavor, but I bought boneless thighs so there’s literally nothing I had to do when I got home. They come pre-trimmed exactly as you see in the picture above. I took them right from the package to the baking dish!
I am obsessed with chicken thighs too! I started using them a few years ago bc they are a cheaper way to still be able to buy organic/high quality meat – plus their flavor is just sooooo much better – now I can barely use chicken breasts at all, they just seem so blahhh haha :/ As for this recipe, I have a jar of pesto waiting to be finished up and this just might be the way to do it. Sounds delicious!!
I am so making this!!! Look delightful and full of flavor. Lincoln is adorable. I doubt too many people would mind the “screaming” stage. :-) Soon it will be on to another discovery.
I’ve been reading your blog for about a year now, but I’ve never commented and I thought this dish deserves one! It looks amazing, and is definitely going on my meal plan for the week! As a newer cook, I’ve had great luck following your step-by-step recipes and I absolutely love your blog. :)
You had me at 30 minutes! Love this whole recipe! Will be on the list for sure this week! And Lincoln is just sooo cute!
Can’t wait to make this! It has been months since I have had pesto. Time to change that :)
Looks delish. I love chicken thighs as well but I hate that I feel like they need more cleaning (excess fat and other stuff) than breasts. I do love getting thighs and breasts and throwing a few of each in the crock pot and then mixing the meat together.
YES!!! I’ve been pesto-fying [so not a word!] everything in sight lately! This sounds/looks awesome =) Also I’m pretty sure all dishes should come with a half ‘cado on top. That’s just magical!
I’m with you on the chicken thighs. So. much. better. Unfortunately I can’t convince my husband. Ugh. Love the looks of this recipe–especially the prep and baking time! My kind of dinner. And I have to comment on Lincoln’s sock monkey pjs! Love. :)
Pesto, Chicken and Cheese…all in 30 minutes?
You are my new favorite person. ever.
Don’t tell my husband ;)
Yum…can’t wait to try those thighs!….and I love that Lincoln has a fleece like Momma