Recently, I wrote about my love affair with massaged kale salads. I even forced my family to try it last week on vacation and converted a couple non-believer siblings! Unfortunately for my husband, though, kale salads just aren’t this thing. Also unfortunately for my husband, I am not the most creative person in the kitchen. I am really good at making 2 or 3 dinners and don’t usually stray too far from my standbys.

But the other night, I knew he’d be working late and I wanted to surprise him with a tasty dinner when he came home. With only kale and chicken as my ingredients, I knew I was in trouble. If it were up to me? I would have made that kale salad and grilled the chicken and enjoyed them separately but equally. I knew Alex would want something a bit…more interesting.

At a loss, I emailed ladies who know a lot more about food than me (hi Val, Marisa, Lauren, Tiffany!) and they came to my rescue. I wound up with eight (EIGHT!!) dinner ideas for wowing my husband with chicken and kale.

Enter: Lemon Garlic Kale Pasta with Chicken

Admittedly, I picked this recipe because I had most of the ingredients already and it looked the easiest. Not only was it super easy to make and took not very much time (two key requirements in my cooking endevours), it was such a fabulous meal!

I could not believe how frickin’ awesome this tasted. Usually my food turns out decent but never zOMG SO GOOD. This, though, is zOMG SO GOOD. I was pretty proud of myself – so proud of myself that I tried to take real food photos so I could share this supidly easy and awesomely flavorful recipe with the internetz. When my foodie husband told me it was on par with my favorite pad thai he makes, I knew this recipe made it to the big time in the Petre Kitchen.

Lemon Garlic Kale Pasta with Chicken Recipe

• (adapted from this recipe)
• 1/2 bunch of kale
• 16 oz spaghetti
• 10 oz package of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 4+ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound pan cooked chicken breasts, cubed
• s/p to taste

De-stem and wash kale; chop into small strips. Bring a pot of water to boil, cook spaghetti as directed; drain pasta and set aside in a large bowl.

Cook chicken in large saute skillet with a bit of olive oil and salt and peper, to taste. Once chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside to cool. Once cooled, cut into bit sized cubes.

In same pan, add a bit more olive oil and bring pan to medium heat if cooled. Add garlic and onion; saute for a few minutes until slightly brown. Add chopped kale; cook for a few minutes or until kale is completely wilted.

Add kale, garlic and onion to cooled pasta. Add tomatoes, pine nuts, juice of lemon half and chicken. Toss/mix well. Top with fresh, shredded Parmasean cheese.

Devour.