Sunday, November 3, 2013

Chicken, butternut squash and kale

The title should really say "balsamic roasted butternut squash with almonds and kale, and oven roasted chicken thighs with onions", but that would have been too long. Either way, this dinner was Soooo Goooood and I hope you make it too!
Anyways, now that you know what I made, lets get to it!


The Veggies.
Step one- preheat the oven to 425. Then make the balsamic dressing.
For this I used 8 tbsp. olive oil, 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, and about a tablespoon of minced onion. (I would have preferred shallot, but I forgot to grab some).


Whisk them all together then set aside.

Next, peel the butternut squash and cut into 1" pieces. Oh, and if you have one of these Pampered Chef choppers, I highly recommend it for this. Makes the job super easy (and they'll cool with a crinkle cut)!!!


Toss with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, then place on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, or until they start to get browned. 


While those are in, get your chicken ready. For this I used 6 bone-in, skinless thighs.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet, cover with sliced onions, then drizzle with a little bit of the balsamic dressing (not too much).



Pop them into the oven with the squash, and let them roast for about a half hour, or until done.


Ok, while those are roasting, you can prep the kale. Chop it, rinse it, and put it in a pan.
Now, I like to break the kale up by hand, tearing the leaves off and leaving the stalk behind. I just think it's too tough to eat.
Once its in the pan, put the burner on low to start steaming it.



At this point the squash should be about halfway done, so pull it out of the oven, sprinkle some sliced almonds on top, toss it around, then pop it back into the oven. This way the almonds get toasted along with the squash.


Now, while everything is cooking, clean up the kitchen. I never mention this, but cleaning while you cook is just as important of a step as the cooking itself. You never want to be left with a disaster in the kitchen.

Ok, once everything is done, get it out of the oven.
My squash was done first, so while I dealt with that I left the chicken in. 
Scoop all the squash and almonds onto the kale, (at this point you can turn the burner off) then drizzle with the dressing we made earlier, making sure you get all the onion and Dijon that may have settled to the bottom.


Then, grate some fresh Parmesan cheese, sprinkle it on top, and toss everything together. 


Next, grab the chicken out of the oven.
Isn't it just beautiful!!!!!



Last step, plate it!!!! (actually, that is the second to last step. The last one is EAT!!!!!)


Sooooo yummy!!!!! 



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