Looking for a scary, but delicious dish to serve at your annual Halloween BOO-ffet? How about an Italian-inspired dish that’s made quickly in the Instant Pot? Menacing Moldy Morsels in a Bizarre Blood Bath is delicious and uses plenty of the end-of-summer basil that is most-likely in your garden. Chicken breasts are coated with pesto, browned, and cooked briefly to keep them moist. They are served in a bloodbath made with a can or bottle of spaghetti sauce mixed with the pan juices and Parmesan cheese. Yum!

Serve this Halloween dish with pasta, polenta, or gnocchi, a beautiful green salad, and crusty bread. Your family and guests will love it. In fact, you’ll find yourself serving it year round and calling it Pesto Chicken in Spaghetti Sauce.
12 Servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cleaned, trimmed of fat and veins, and cut into 2" x 4" pieces
1 cup pesto, recipe below or commercial
1 cup chicken stock

1 28 oz. can spaghetti or marinara sauce
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Walnut Pesto:
1 1/2 cups fresh basil, packed
2/3 cup fresh parsley, packed
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted walnuts

1. Heat the olive oil in the pan of an Instant Pot.
2. Coat the chicken pieces thickly with the pesto and place in the pot to lightly brown.
3. Pour the chicken stock over the chicken, cover the pot, set the valve to sealing, and set to manual for 4 minutes. When the cycle has finished, remove the chicken pieces from the pot and set aside to keep warm.
4. Add the spaghetti sauce to the pot, turn it to the sauté setting, and whisk the sauce, scraping any bits from the bottom, until smooth.
5. Turn the pot off, add the Parmesan cheese, and whisk until cheese is melted.
6. Pour the sauce into a shallow serving bowl and top with the "moldy" chicken pieces. Serve with pasta.
7. Pesto: Place the basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil, and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor; process, scraping occasionally, until smooth. Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse a few times. Will keep up to a week refrigerated in an airtight container.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 414 Calories from Fat 223
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 54% Protein 37% Carb. 9%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 25 g
Saturated Fat 8 g
Cholesterol 94 mg
Sodium 1030 mg
Total Carbohydrate 9 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 38 g

Vitamin A 23% Vitamin C 22% Calcium 0% Iron 13%