Basil-palooza

For some reason, our basil crop is growing extremely well this season (and the only herb in our garden actually growing at all, for that matter). We realized last weekend that we need to start eating it.

So, we made a basil-focused dinner of grilled chicken with homemade pesto with a tomato and mozzarella salad and a side of grilled garlic bread.

Grilled Chicken
Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season with a little s&p. Grill 5 mins each side.

Pesto
fresh basil leaves
1/3C olive oil
1/2C parmesan cheese
1/8C toasted pine nuts
small garlic clove
Place ingredients in the Magic Bullet (or blender) and mix until ingredients comes together.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad
2 tomatoes
fresh mozzarella
chopped basil
Slice tomatoes, place on platter and lightly salt. Slice mozzarella and place on top of tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and top with freshly chopped basil.

Grilled Garlic Bread
loaf of french bread
3T butter
chopped garlic
garlic powder
Cut loaf in half length-wise, place bread side down on oiled grill. Once bread is at desired crunch, flip over and coat with butter/garlic mixture. Heat on grill, crust-side down until desired crunch is achieved.

This quick basil-focused meal was just delicious….perfect for a mid-week, light, summer dish!