So hungry I forgot to make a side dish!

Yes, it is true. When I got home from work last night I was so hungry I completely forgot to start the potatoes. Actually, I was on the phone with my husband when I walked in the door. Since he is working 2 jobs right now I hardly see him and sometimes talking on the phone is the only talking we do. So, I was a little distracted. But, let's just call this what it is...baby brains coupled with crazy pregnancy appetite!

I saw Paula Deen's recipe for Basil Grilled Chicken on the Food Network website yesterday afternoon and decided that would be dinner. Yes, I start thinking about dinner as soon as lunch is over. This baby must be going through a last minute growth spurt. ;) (Or at least that is what I tell myself) I knew I would just do something simple with potatoes to go with it, but they never crossed my mind again after I got started on the chicken. Usually I begin work on the side dish while the meat is marinating, but this recipe doesn't have a marinade time.

Since I didn't realize I didn't have anything to eat with the chicken until it came off the grill, I decided to eat in shifts. I told you I was starving, so I couldn't possibly wait until I got the potatoes fixed. Plus, the chicken smelled wonderful and I was so excited that I got to use the first basil from my Garden in a Bag project! I couldn't wait to taste it.

This is a great, quick grilled chicken dish. Like I said, no marinating required and it has tons of flavor. I will definitely make it again! I reduced some of the butter since I was using cutlets instead of whole breasts. Plus, we all know how much Paula Deen loves that stuff and it seemed a bit on the heavy side to me. You will notice from the pictures though, it is still a lot of butter!


Basil Grilled Chicken
Source: Paula Deen

3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 skinned chicken breast halves (I used boneless, skinless chicken cutlets)
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves, plus 2 tbsp freshly minced basil leaves
1/3 cup (5 tbsp) butter, melted plus 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp. (I only used 4 tbsp melted and I used 5 tbsp at room temp.)
1 tbsp grated parmesan
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Fresh basil, for garnish


Press the coarsely ground pepper into the meaty side of the chicken breasts (I did both sides since mine were cutlets). Stir chopped basil into the melted butter and brush chicken lightly with this mixture.








In a small bowl combine softened butter, minced basil, parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer until smooth. (I just used a spoon to combine everything and it worked out fine). Transfer to a small serving bowl.


Grill the chicken , basting frequently with the remaining melted butter mixture.

Serve the chicken with the basil-butter mixture and garnish with fresh basil. (I just went ahead and spread the basil butter on the chicken as soon as it came off the grill)

*Also, I had a good bit of the basil butter mixture left over, so when I got around to making my potatoes, I just fried them in a mixture of olive oil and the remaining basil butter. They were great!