Pesto Chicken with Feta and Olives

5 stars from me! Cost me approximately $15.50 to make the dish, so just under $4/serving (which was totally enough to fill me up for dinner!)
*Update: this is super rich and delicious, and I think to save on my per-day food costs, I'm going to just do half a serving with some butter-sauteed vegetables on the side.

This is SO delicious!! I used 3 cans of chicken breast (21oz, once drained) because I'm lazy and hate touching raw chicken. And I used kalamata olives for a more Mediterranean flair. I ended up using about 4 Tbsp of butter when pan frying the chicken. It didn't pick up any color, so my end dish wasn't super pretty. But this is definitely one of my favorites! It's easy, and if you're cooking for someone not following keto or low carb, they can put it over noodles and it's fantastic. I sprinkled a bit of grated parmesan (the good stuff, not the powdery junk) over the top too.

4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs or chicken breasts
4 oz pesto
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 C pitted olives
1/2 lb feta cheese, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt and pepper
butter for frying

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Cut the chicken into pieces. Season with salt and pepper and fry in butter until golden brown.
3. Mix pesto and heavy cream in a bowl.
4. Place the fried chicken pieces in a baking dish together with olives, feta cheese, and garlic. Add the pesto mix.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the dish has turned a nice color.

Source: https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/pesto-chicken-casserole-with-feta-cheese-and-olives

Homemade Mayo

I rate this recipe 5 stars. It was simple and straightforward and the end result was delicious and creamy! I also added some chives while seasoning and will definitely be experimenting with other add-ins to shake up the flavor profile. The full recipe costs about $1.50 to make (I buy the big bottles of olive oil, so it would be more if you buy a smaller container).

4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 egg yolk
1 t dijon mustard
1 C light olive oil
1-2 t white wine vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring the egg and mustard to room temperature in advance.
2. Mix egg and mustard with a mixer and add the oil slowly in a thin stream. Continue to mix until all the oil has been added and the mayonnaise has thickened.
3. Add vinegar/lemon juice. Mix some more and season with salt and pepper.

Source: https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/mayonnaise