Grilled Garlic and Herb Chicken with Red Pepper Pesto Pasta On the Char-Broil Cruise

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Alexis and I whipped up this dish for a no-fuss weeknight meal using only things we had in the fridge. To be fair, our refrigerator is pretty well stocked. We used store-bought pasta, prepackaged pesto, and a gas grill to make everything the lowest-effort possible. But low-effort can be delicious as the evidence shows.....

The pre-made pesto already has a warm spice level and the black pepper gives the pasta sauce a surprising kick of heat. Nothing strident, but it is a building heat and lets you know it's there.

For the Grilled Garlic and Herb Chicken

This was as simple as you can get. I set the CharBroil Cruise to 500°f and ignored it while I got my stuff ready. 

This grill has Cruise Control technology so I can set it and know it will be the temp I want when I come back out. No more guessing what low, medium, or high is on the typically vague gas grill control knobs. 

I patted the boneless, skinless chicken breasts dry and then spritzed them with peanut oil. Then I seasoned them heavily with Kinders Buttery Garlic and Herb [Amazon Affiliate Link]. I grilled them until they hit an internal temperature of 160°f, which took about 6 minutes per side.  

You don't see flames because the Cruise uses CharBroil's Amplifire system (fka TRU Infrared), which has an emitter plate between the flames and grate. That emitter plate converts the drying, arid heat of a gas flame into infrared heat which is more like glowing coals. That results in food that is juicier. I've been a fan of this cooking system for years.

These chicken breasts are juicy and smell fantastic when they come off of the grill.

Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 07/10/2022

This is one of our go-to pasta dishes because it is quick, easy, and flexible. It is good as a side or we add chicken or grilled shrimp to make it a main dish.

Ingredients

• 9 oz package Buitoni spaghetti, cooked according to directions
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 medium tomato, diced and seeded
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 7 oz package Buitoni Spicy Red Pepper Pesto
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• kosher salt to taste, about 1 teaspoon
• for garnish:  green onion and more parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat a cast-iron skillet over the fire.
2. Saute the veggies.  Add oil to the skillet and once shimmery, add the bell pepper and onion and saute for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato, garlic, black pepper, and basil and cook until the tomato starts to break down about 3 minutes. 
3. Stir in the pesto, parmesan cheese, and enough of pasta-water to get a sauce-like consistency. Taste and season with salt.
4. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat the pasta.
5. Garnish with green onion and more shredded parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 side-dish servings or 2 main servings.

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Total time: 25 mins.

Tags: pasta, sauce