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Fall Kale Salad with Pesto Chicken

October 22, 2014 by theeverykitchen@gmail.com 2 Comments

Fall Kale Salad with Pesto Chicken. Recipe at www.mybottomlessboyfriend.com

Mom made pesto and I used that to marinate the chicken, Shout out to her — thaaaaanks Mooooom! 🙂


I just spent four amazing days at the 2014 Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo. I packed one bag and came home with four. My bags are full of education materials and handouts, lots of food samples and kitchen utensils, and a couple of free cookbooks.


And that’s only the stuff I took home. I also ingested a fancy free dinner, a few gratis happy hours, a lot of education sessions, and a freakin’ ton of new food products. I met new friends, made industry contacts, swapped lots of business cards, and came home with some creative ideas for my career.

Fall Kale Salad with Pesto Chicken. Recipe at www.mybottomlessboyfriend.com
I could talk FOR-E-VER about what an incredible experience my first FNCE was, but I really just want to share one cool thing:

I went to dinner one night with a few new dietitian friends. As we ate our appetizer of bone barrow — yes, you read correctly, more on that in a minute — we discussed the movement of dietitians toward food rather than away from it. It seems to us that there is a New Age of Dietitians who are embracing real food, farm-to-table food, fresh food, natural food, indulgent food (rather than, say, five-calorie iceberg lettuce, no dressing, please). On which end of the “healthy food spectrum” is important, but only to the point of how much we are eating. As a profession, we always say, “Everything in moderation,” and I feel like this was a weekend that truly celebrated that. I spent the weekend taste-testing sugar substitutes and learning about ancient grains, but I also spent a happy hour surrounded by dietitians drinking cocktails and an evening at a swanky restaurant nibbling on bone marrow.

And that’s a very long, drawn out way to say: My profession is very cool. I’m proud to be a dietitian. And I hope this post reaches at least one person who thinks we are judgemental or scary or “perfect eaters.” I’m here to say that we aren’t!!! We get it. We also sometimes struggle with food. Because it’s gooooood. Because we are wired to like nutrients that sustain us as human beings. Dietitians love. food. too.

And with that, I bring you some green, leafy vegetables. But not iceberg lettuce, because that is so 1990’s.

Fall Kale Salad with Pesto Chicken. Recipe at www.mybottomlessboyfriend.com
Isn’t it prettttyyyy? The colors work well, and so do the flavors and textures of the ingredients — it’s a little sweet, a bit herbaceous and earthy, and a touch of salty. Some bites are crunchy or chewy or creamy. It’s a healthy dinner, but it’s filling and the rich combination of autumn squash, goat cheese, mushrooms, and pumpkin seeds tastes indulgent.

5 from 1 vote
Print

Fall Kale Salad with Pesto Chicken

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 42 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes
Servings 4
Author my Bottomless Boyfriend

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons pesto
  • 1 pound chicken breast*
  • 1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2x1/2" cubes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 ounces sliced baby bella or button mushrooms**
  • 5 ounces kale I used baby kale -- it's more tender
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
  • dressing of choice I used Marie's Basil Pesto Vinaigrette

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Spread the raw chicken breasts evenly with pesto and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
  3. Toss the squash only with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper as desired. Evenly spread out in a 9x13" cookie sheet. Roast for 15 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, toss mushrooms with remaining olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper as desired. When the timer goes off, mix the mushrooms with the squash and roast for 15 more minutes or until tender and beginning to brown.
  5. In a large skillet, over medium heat, heat the chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. There is no need to add olive oil to the skillet as the pesto has sufficient fat to properly sear the chicken.
  6. In a large bowl, toss the kale, squash and mushroom mix, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, and dressing to combine. Top with cooked chicken and serve.

Recipe Notes

*I marinated the chicken and roasted the butternut squash and mushrooms the night before for quick assembly the next evening.
**This makes a lot of roasted vegetables. Use what you want in the salad and refrigerate the rest for a healthy side dish later in the week.

Happy about salad jars! www.mybottomlessboyfriend.com

My roommate Julia taught me about Salad Jars, which are apparently all the rave on Pinterest.


My rating: 5/5 stars. I’ll definitely make this again. I couldn’t get enough of it. I ate it for dinner, breakfast, and lunch in a 24-hour period.

The BBF’s rating: I text-asked him and he replied, “4.” I text-asked why and he replied, “Idk it was yummy lol.” *Insert eye-rolling.*

I couldn’t find an authoritative source on bone marrow health benefits or drawbacks, but judging by the flavor, it’s probably 100% fat  (but possibly the good kind of fat?!?) Anthony Bourdain has said, “If God made butter it would taste exactly like bone marrow.” Mmmkay, Mr. Bourdain. I’ll let ya have that one.

Bone Marrow

Please excuse the pic quality. It’s from a low-lit restaurant. And an iPhone.

More from my site

  • Roasted Pumpkin and Goat Cheese SaladRoasted Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Salad
  • Superfood Kale Salad with Chickpeas, Pecans, and FetaSuperfood Kale Salad with Chickpeas, Pecans, and Feta
  • One-Skillet Mediterranean Lemon ChickenOne-Skillet Mediterranean Lemon Chicken
  • Golden Beet Couscous SaladGolden Beet Couscous Salad
  • Broccoli Chicken Pizza with Sun-Dried TomatoesBroccoli Chicken Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
  • Meet Melissa + Israel + Red Pepper ShakshukaMeet Melissa + Israel + Red Pepper Shakshuka

Filed Under: dinner, favorites, healthy, meat and poultry, salads Tagged With: butternut squash, chicken, goat cheese, kale, mushrooms, pesto, pumpkin seeds

Previous Post: « Open-Faced Apple Shallot Sandwich
Next Post: Butternut Squash-Apple Soup »

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Comments

  1. Cheryl

    October 22, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    Love this blog! Everything looks SO good, even the okra recipe. Keep up the enthusiasm

    Reply
    • Danielle

      October 22, 2014 at 10:08 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you for the compliments! So glad you are reading!

      Reply

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…

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About Danielle

Danielle is a registered dietitian and the story teller behind The Every Kitchen. Three things that inspire her: Her parent's kitchen table, the way food nurtures relationships and nourishes souls, damn good chocolate chip cookies. EVERY KITCHEN has a story and Danielle shares them, one kitchen at a time. Read More…

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