Fun with Basil

I think I found a plant that is impossible for me to kill: basil. 

A few weeks ago, I went to a media event on stressing the importance of play for both kids and adults. There were different play stations set up, one of which was a "gardening" station. We picked an herb, potted the seeds, and got to take our pot home. I promptly set my pot of basil on the back porch and forgot about it. (Okay, I watered it a few times.)

But grow that little plant did until there were enough basil leaves for me to use in cooking.

And I found the perfect recipe in the June 2015 issue of Better Homes and Gardens: Grilled Chicken with Basil Chimichurri. (As I typed this, my husband saw the picture of this and said, "Can we have that again tonight?")

This was a very easy dinner to make. Instead of pounding my chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer (which I don't have), I sliced two chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create four thinner breasts. Add a little salt and pepper, throw them on the grill (we used the George Foreman grill), and cook. The basil chimichurri gets made in a separate bowl and added to the chicken as a garnish.

The original recipe didn't call for green beans, but it was clear in the original picture that green beans (or beans of some sort) were on the plate, so I snipped the ends off of fresh green beans, salted them, tossed them in EVOO, and then baked them on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Delicious! What are some of your favorite ways to use basil?