Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Chicken Florentine Pasta with Kale and Tomatoes


The weather has turned back to cold!  Grey clouds, brisk wind and cold.
No pretty snow.  No shining sun.

I am a firm believer that we should be thankful for every day and every season!
Every day holds something to be thankful for.
Today let's be thankful for comfort food.

When it is sooooo cold and dreary out, do you crave comfort food?  I do!
Something that will warm you clear through to your bones ;-)

Today I want to share a recipe that I make all year round.

It is mouth watering delicious in the summer with garden fresh kale, vine ripe tomatoes and fresh parsley!

Snap out of it!  It's not summer!
So let's make the most of this recipe and make it a comfort food for the winter.


Chicken Florentine Pasta (with kale and tomatoes)

I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders for this recipe because it makes dicing easy, but you can use your favorite chicken meat - dark or white.

I have also made this with spinach instead of kale.  Yummy also.

What you will need:
16 oz. box penne pasta
4 chicken breasts, diced into bite size pieces
salt, pepper, parsley
3 cups chicken broth 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
kale, removed from stem and ripped into small pieces
heavy cream 

Let's make it:
Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente (about 10 minutes).
Drain pasta.

Fry the diced chicken breasts in a mixture of olive oil and butter until lightly browned, 
seasoning with a mixture of salt, pepper and parsley.

Once the chicken is browned and the pasta is drained, add them with the chicken broth and 2 cloves of minced garlic in the large pot that you cooked the pasta in.

Add the tomatoes, kale and a splash of heavy cream.  Heat through.



It is a very pretty food to look at with the bright colors of red and green against the browned chicken and creamy colored pasta.

This is a tasty and healthy recipe to feed your family, even if they may not usually want to eat their veggies.
My family doesn't LOVE kale like I do, but my girls and husband eat this combination and they LOVE it!  

My chickens love it when I make this also, because they get the kale stems to eat.
Sshhh...we won't tell them what the main ingredient is ;-)







16 comments:

  1. I am so laughing at the last paragraph right now! But seriously, this dish looks awesome! :)

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  2. Looks so good. Cute to know your chickens like Kale, I also can understand why you don't tell them!

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    1. It truly is good and satisfying Cathy. The chickens love most table scraps that I give them....and it is good for them ;-)

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  3. Ha! The last paragraph had me going too! (thought your girls were getting a treat,-minus the chicken of course) Your dish does look like the perfect comfort food for dinner! :) Speaking of treats, do you give your girls treats??

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    1. Hi Christine,
      Love comfort food this time of year! I give the chickens kitchen scraps (kale stems, celery ends, carrots, lettuce, tomato tops, etc.) They act like I am their favorite person in the world when they see me coming with food ;-)
      Lori

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  4. This dish has plenty of sunshine! Hoping you have sunny days in your future.

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    1. You're right Kathy, it does have sunshine ;-)

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  5. Vibrant and hearty, just the thing for a cold winter day! Hope it warms up in your neck of the woods!

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    1. Thanks Michael, but it is actually suppose to get even colder. Need to make more comfort food ;-)

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  6. This looks delicious, and it's served on such pretty dishes!

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  7. This looks like a great recipe for a dinner party. It makes such a lovely presentation too!

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  8. This sounds like yummy comfort food for sure! I grew Kale last year and did not know enough ways to use it. Happy to have this new recipe! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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