Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta & a Cooking Video!

‘Drive’ is officially the worst movie I have ever seen. Like, wtf. Laura and I rented it to have a girls night with our other roomie Steph, and thought that Ryan Gosling would be a wonderful choice to watch. Well, he was definitely attractive as usual, but holy sh*t….you keep waiting for something to happen in the movie…and after many MANY awkward silences, people start getting their heads blown off. Forks end up in eyeballs. And knives are used a lot on people’s bodies. It was just too much. No story line, just blood and guts. I can’t believe people actually got paid to say 4 words in that movie. I think I might have had nightmares. Pretty sure I did. Especially since my bed was wet when I woke up….kidding. I haven’t wet the bed since….college. Ew. That was gross of me.

Guess what’s coming up soon?! The CrossFit Open! I’m not crazy excited yet. I don’t usually get excited about competitions until the day of and since it’s 5 weeks long, it makes it a lil tough to get excited about. But I did get a lil more excited the other day when my friend Erica posted a video she recorded of me and then it was posted on the CrossFit Southwest Region facebook page. Her website her awesome, all about empowering women. Who wouldn’t love that! Women are great.

Wanna see the cutest thing on the entire planet? Check it. Weener dogs should rule the world.

So this recipe turned out delish, even the non paleo eating friends thought so! It’s pretty intense in the flavor department so you don’t need too much of it. A little goes a long way. And look what I did…I made another cooking video!! Sorry it’s long ways. Just getting used to a new camera. Really, I’m lucky it even recorded. Laura and I had no idea what we were doing with that mini camcorder. I only say ‘um’ and ‘so’ like 46 times in this video. Much better than the 47 times in the first video. GETTING BETTER EVERY TIME!

Print

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4-5 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Pesto

  • 3 oz sundried tomatoes
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 11.5 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the pasta

  • 3 zucchini, julienne cut or sliced into fettuccine noodles
  • 1 bundle of asparagus
  • 1lb chicken, diced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth or water
  • 24 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Place your sundried tomatoes in a bowl with 1-2 cups of water or until the sundried tomatoes are covered to soften.
  2. Now heat up a medium sized skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and throw in your diced chicken to begin to cook down, tossing the chicken randomly to help cook on all sides.
  3. Add your basil, tarragon, and thyme to the chicken.
  4. Once your sundried tomatoes are soft, pull out your food processor, place sundried tomatoes along with your walnuts and puree. Then add the rest of the pesto ingredients and slowly pour in the olive oil in while it’s turned on so you can see how much olive oil you will really need. Add until you find your preferred consistency.
  5. Now heat up a large skillet under medium heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and toss in your zucchini noodles and asparagus.
  6. Add your chicken broth or water to the noodles and asparagus to help cook the noodles down.
  7. After about 3-5 minutes, add your sundried tomato pesto to the zucchini noodles along with the chicken.
  8. Cover and let cook for 3-5 minutes.
  9. Serve with some leftover sundried tomatoes on top!
  10. Consume!!

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Oh, Hi! I’m Juli.

I’m a food hoarder. And a really bad dancer. If you don’t know me well, you will probably not understand my humor. Therefore, I apologize ahead of time. Thanks for listening to my ramblings of my ever-changing life and trusting my kitchen mishaps. Your trust in me is appreciated.

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90 thoughts on “Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta & a Cooking Video!”

  1. I hated that movie too! So weird. The soundtrack made me feel like I was in 1981. That pasta looks kick-ass though.

  2. I hate to sound like a complete and utter moron..but hey you gotta go with what you know! Where do I find sundried tomatoes at in the grocery? I’m new to this “cooking” thing. Can you tell??! lol

    I freakin love pesto! Pesto rocks my socks!

    1. Haha no you’re totally fine Julie. They are all over the place in different grocery stores. Sometimes they are in the bulk isle, sometimes over by the italian foods, or you can just ask someone at customer service and they will lead you in the right direction!

  3. Omgosh, I thought the EXACT same thing- I saw that Drive was nominated for a bunch of awards and was like, “Ryan Gosling, HECK yes!! Can’t go wrong!” But then I was completely speechless. Holy crap, it was so awkward- and gory out of complete nowhere! I agree, worst movie ever. That pasta looks phenomenal! & I have all the stuff to make it! Just have to thaw out my chicken…I meant to this morning so I could make your other recipes today. Looks like I’ll be using the hot water method…

  4. Much better on this video, less nervous and more in command of what you’re leading your audience through. Never thought about using zucchini for pasta, that texture should be stellar for any kind of marinara type of sauce.

  5. Awesome video, alot better structured and of course enjoyable to watch.

    Looking forward to cooking this this weekend as my post open meal : ) (after I cook that chipotle Choc chilli : )

  6. For some reason, I keep expecting you to have one of those raspy, cigarettes-for-breakfast voices and then I see your vids (which are awesome) and it kind of throws me off. Not that you don’t have a nice voice. You just look like a chick with a raspy voice. And I mean that in the nicest possible way!

    Unrelatedly, if you like weiners and the dogs they are named after, you should check out missdoxie.com. I think she updates her FB page more frequently than her blog, but she sometimes makes me laugh so hard I cry (and maybe even pee a little). When you time to kill, read through her archives.

    1. Lol I’m not sure what to think of that comment dgm. I always kind of wondered what people thought when they read my posts, how they pictured me. Now I know. Interesting lol. I’ll check missdoxie out!!

  7. I won’t watch a movie with Ryan Gosling unless I know he’s taking his shirt off. That is one reason I go to crossfit, so I can watch buff dudes throw around weights with their shirts off 🙂 I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks super YUMMY!!

  8. PUMPED for this!! I am going to try it tonight and then have leftovers for work the rest of the week. I, as you know, do not cook. SOOOO in seeing your video, I’m inspired and think I might actually be able to follow a recipe. So excited!!! I will let you know how it goes 🙂 Also, I like your videos bc you aren’t all totally prepared with lids and such so it makes it more relateable for broke sistas like myself. And of course, I certainly enjoy the dancing and Laura trying to hold laughs in the background.

  9. This dish was great! We made it tonight with a few small modifications (used spaghetti squash…grilled the chicken). Check it out how we did!: http://wholefoodhalfass.tumblr.com/post/18049039634/feb-21-dinner-sun-dried-tomato-pesto-pasta-this

    Love your videos – especially the dancing in the middle – hilarious!

    One note about the recipe: you talk about the asparagus in the video, but don’t mention what to do with it in the actual recipe itself. Just a heads up 🙂

  10. HILAR!

    I love how ‘food process’ is now a verb, LOL!

    “Otherwise, it just won’t food process”. I was giggling my ass off at this.

    Juli, tarragon is pretty French not Italian 😉

    Sorry, I’m ANAL LIKE THAT!

    <3 u

  11. Juli –

    Just made this for late “lunch” and having leftovers for dinner. Its is delicious! Chicken Enchilada stew is in the crock pot to cook while Im at work tonight. Thanks for making paleo tolerable – it’s very hard working in a restaurant around unhealthy food all day and sticking to a clean eating regime but your website has helped a ton!! Thanks again!

  12. Love Ryan Gosling, but didn’t like that movie very much, either.

    You are so funny. I love how you don’t let not having the right kitchen implements slow you down at all from hosting a cooking blog. Or is it a vlog now?!! I’m not up on the techie lingo.

    BTW-love, love, love the chicken enchilada stew!!

  13. I didn’t really get the weiner dog thing (or sausage dog as we call them in Aus) until I saw a tiny tiny weiner dog puppy when I was running along the beach yesterday, it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life! I totally want one now.

    Great video, although I think the dance segment should have been longer!

  14. Hi Juli! That movie was so bizarre that when we were watching it we just decided to go ahead and fill in some conversation to make the time pass. Unfortunately, we talked over the actual words they said 8 minutes later – but we decided it didn’t matter anyway and wasn’t worth rewinding. I also wanted to say hi because I’ve never commented on your site before, although I pretty regularly feel like I have something good to say (but I’m probably wrong). Complete side note: You should try the Secret Clinical Strength deodorant. The trick is to put it on at NIGHT. Odd, I know, but it works. I, like you had tried everything. It has something to so with getting used to your body while you are staying at one consistent temperature while you sleep, so that in the morning when you start moving it’s already ready to go. Hope it helps! Worth a shot anyway. (Target is always cheapest.) Good luck at the Open. I’m doing it too for the first time for Alpine. I was there the day you won at our open house – good job by the way. Sorry to be so creepy on your site, but somehow I feel like you will totally get this. Thanks! And THANKS for PALEOMG because it KICKS A$$!

    1. Thanks so much for commenting Jess! I actually use secret clinical strenght, then sometimes man deo. Good tip!! Good luck in the open to you too!! Kick some butt out there! And tell Robby hello! I love that guy!

  15. First time I’ve seen or heard of you – great video. I only googled to see what I could do with a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto someone bought me but couldn’t turn off. Great recipe and you make it look easy.
    I also watched because only 10ish minutes – would have liked longer dancing too, but then may not have watched if I saw the longer minutes.
    Good For You – keep it up.

  16. Okay don’t take this the wrong way but your my idol. Not only are u gorgeous but you are strong, fit and soo funny. Not to mention you can dance girl!!! I love your blog and try our recipes are amazing! Keep up the awesome work!!!

  17. liiiiterally the most awesome thing i have ever read is you not being able to do a pull up at first. fast forward to now you’re bomb at crossfit and that makes my life. i dont know if those sentences together make sense, but a pull up is my goal right now! i have weak shrimpy arms and you definitely just gave me hope that im one day going to be able to do one as well!

  18. Hey Julienne Slicer! Awesome video! I was just about to comment/ask how in the world you keep a white shirt clean while cooking… Then your tongs went crazy. 🙂 PaleOMG apron?? PS I love the dancing! Dancing while cooking is the best!!

  19. Not drunk Juli, Drive rocks, fact!

    If you didnt like that, have you seen “Lars & the real girl”

    Really good film & it stars your man Ryan Gosling. His character forms a relationship with a doll (yes that kind im afraid to say) but no it isnt weird or creepy, just a guy whos struggling to fit into the world so he makes his own.

  20. Juli,
    A friend recently lead me to your blog site, and I toally dig! You keep it real fun and entertaining, just keep being you and posting great recipes! I have a food obbession aswell and am learning new ways of cooking after joining Crossfit Red, Grand Junction at the begining of this year. So thanks thanks thanks for your super yummy recipes paleo style bitches!

  21. Made this tonight and you all should be warned..you may just eat the whole entire pan of pesto pasta yumminess. It’s that good! Thank you so much for your great recipes!! I have been eating paleo for the past year and was in need of some inspiration to keep me going. Your blog has gotten me motivated and trying new recipes! Love it and so glad I found it!

  22. Don’t worry about your mis-matched lid. I just watched an old Julia Child video where she sauteed chicken and covered the pan with what appears to be a pizza pan. I use a pizza pan a lot, too. I am looking forward to busting out my mandolin and making some zucchini pasta! One of my fav pre-paleo meals was basil pesto chicken pasta so I think this is going to be a winner for me.

      1. I’m in grad school, so I understand what you mean….plus I like the Alton Brown mentality of having equipment that does double or triple duty in the kitchen.

  23. I love you! Thank goodness you came into my life and introduced me to zucchini (or Courgette as we say in Ireland!) pasta. I think you may have just saved me. Yet another delicious dinner thanks to you.

    OMG Yum – much appreciated x

  24. I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit, even my 2-year-old ate it all! Thanks you so much for the recipe! (and all the other great recipes! also made the almond coconut waffles and they were yummy too!)

  25. OK, first of all LOVE this recipe I made it for dinner and it was amazing! Second of all I also saw Drive and it was SO BAD!! I just kept thinking “Ryan Gosling should just take his clothes off to distract me from how bad this movie is.” Third, you are hilarious- I love reading your posts!

  26. Your website is soooo awesome! I love your personality! You should offer us a chance to buy stock in Paleomg!! ha Do you remember where you bought your Julienne slicer?

  27. For. The. Love. I just made this last night without chicken for a vegetarian meal and it was incredible. I now have a new favorite paleo recipe! (with exception to my occasional affair with your banana bread fresh toast, of course.) 🙂

    P.S.- thanks for crankin’ out the laughs! I quite enjoy the read.

  28. Bomb! I’m in love with this recipe and YOU! It tasted like it had cheese, amazing girl! I’ve been primal for 2 years but now that I’m breastfeeding I’ve cut dairy out so I’m cooking my way through your blog, keep em coming!

  29. I LOVE pesto so anything that has pesto in the title I try and this recipe did NOT disappoint. Again it was a huge hit with my kids they gobbled up all of the zucchini noodles and begged me to make more which I would have done had I not already cooked it all. I have been using the extra pesto on everything I have made since, eggs, meat veggies. Thank you, thank you! I love finding veggies that my kids will eat and want more of.

  30. You’re my hero. Seriously. Everything I have made from your site has been AMAZING. This is no exception. Husband is buying me your cookbook. Can’t wait! Starting our first Whole30 and pretty sure the only reason we are going to make it through is because of you 🙂

  31. I absolutely love this recipe! Zucchini has always been a little questionable to me, but I gave this a shot and now I can’t get enough. I also shoved it down the throats all my family and friends that make fun of paleo… yep, loved it. Now its one of my regulars. Thanks for all the great recipes, you’re awesome!

  32. Oh my god. I love you. I’m usually really snooty about bloggers but you’re hilarious! Make mo’ food and videos!

  33. Pasta looks good… But you clearly don’t have good taste in movies. I’m sorry Drive was not The Notebook… But the acting was phenomenal and it is one of the best original screenplays in decades.

  34. Made this last week for me and the boy and we both loved it! He said it’s probably the best thing I’ve cooked him so far. I used sundried tomatoes already in olive oil and only had to add 3/4 cup of oil to the pesto. Totally craving this again soon!

  35. So I just came across your blog today while looking for some Paleo recipes and WOW!!! I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you! I watched this recipe video and just love your personality and especially the dance segment! Too cute!!!! I also adore how your personality totally shines through the blog as well!! You’re so fun it’s inspiring! 😀 Trying a variation of this recipe tonight! 🙂

  36. Just out of curiosity, how many calories would you say are in that?! Looks delicious though. I’ve always wanted to try making zucchini pasta. I’m def cooking this for my bf and I this weekend!

    Dunia,
    Xoxo.

  37. I know this was posted a while back and looks absolutely fantastic but I was curious as to whether or not you still have the tanks available?

  38. Is it possible to use sundries tomatoes that’s been soaking in oil? Like the ones that they sell in a jar in the grocery store?

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