Chicken and Kale Mini-gnocci

One of my purposes of this blog is to post recipes  or adapted recipes that Michael Pollan would approve of that are healthy or a low calorie option that tastes great. (If you haven't read any of his books, I suggest you do). I try to make recipes that have actual food ingredients: minimally processed as well as cheap. I'm currently training for a half marathon, so I'm looking for foods/meals with a lot of carbs/protein while throwing in some vegetables for nutritional value. First up..........

 Gnocci with Squah and Kale recipe completely revamped and adapted from Food Network. I know it's July and this is a winter recipe. But for once, the temperature dropped below 80 today and I felt like having something hearty and delish. This was specially labelled "low cal" in the Magazine. However,  like any self-respecting American, I did add chicken thighs and cheddar cheese, so it is a bit higher in calories and fat. This adaptation was a must for me as well as my honey (Mr. X) and made this creation:

You cannot judge me for a plethora of reasons. Mainly, my camera is broken because like a genius, I keep it in my European satchel, which I throw around. So, as you can see, the flash is broken as well as the zoom. If you can tell, this is what I made and didn't think to take a picture until after we ate half of this dish. This is only my second post; I guess I don't have the status of "blogger" yet. Fine-- you can judge. To give you a real picture, this is what it should look like (please remember, mine is without squash, but with.....cheese! Cheese makes everything better doesn't it??): 

Source

Whatcha will need:
4 raw chicken thighs (about a pound)
1 T butter
1 T fresh sage (1t dried sage)
4 cloves garlic
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t salt
1/2 c mushrooms
1/2 c onion (I used yellow)
1 t chicken better than bouillon base (make your own stock, make Mr. Pollan proud)
1.5  c water from the boiled chicken thighs to mix with bouillion or just use water
1 bunch kale (9 cups)
1 16 oz pckg mini gnocchi
3/4 c grated parmesan
3/4 cheddar cheese shredded

How to do it
1. Boil chicken thighs about 15 minutes until cooked
2. In a small pot make chicken broth mix 1.5 water (can use leftover chicken water if wanted)
3. Simultaneously, in a dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion for a few minutes and add garlic, sage, red pepper, salt. Cook 1 minute and add mushrooms
4. Add chicken broth and let simmer. Once it simmers, add kale.
5. Once kale wilts, add gnocchi, cover and cook 5 minutes.
6. Add parmesan, cheddar and put in the oven to broil for 5 minutes until it bubbles and cheese melts.

This was definitely a hearty meal. Had I known, I would have cut the recipe in half. I'm still learning how to cook for two. The soft gnocchi combined with the bitter bite of kale soaking in a simple, flavored broth?? Sounds like a winner to me. I figure it's a delicious meal to eat on a cool July evening, but most people would desire to indulge by the fire on a crisp December evening.

Makes 4 servings. About 30 minutes prep. About 658 calories, but to make it low cal, cut out the cheese or chicken thigh or substitute with chicken breast. The serving size was appropriate. Enjoy!

Cost: about 8-9 bucks for the whole dinner (only about $2 a serving!). I bought the chicken on sale. If you have the staples in the house, you probably only need to spring for kale (easily sub spinach), gnocchi, and chicken.