Creamy Kale, Broccoli and Chicken Pasta

I've been known to exaggerate from time to time. You heard the one about the fish that was "THIS BIG???" Well, mine was much bigger, about a foot or so. It makes it hard to be taken seriously from time to time, when it comes so naturally to say " I cleaned for 10 hours straight!" ( At what point my listener is wondering about how disgusting I really am at home if it takes us that long to clean up the house, when in reality I cleaned 2 hours...) Well now a days my optimistic exaggeration has been directed at spring. I have convinced myself that March 1rst will bring a robin bearing a magical twig that will make it 65 degrees every day, and sunny as the McDonalds arches. I've also convinced myself that it's practically light out until 5:30, by squinting at the stars until the last bit of twilight fades away, prodding the boy to look outside every few minutes to agree with my observations that it is in fact light out. However, last night he dashed my dreams with the sentence " It's a full moon".... Oh well, a girl can exaggeratedly dream, no?

Green veggies have been an emphasis for dinner every night of late, and with a little bit of leftover this and that I came up with a really satisfying dish for a winter meal.

Creamy Kale, Broccoli and Chicken Pasta

- 4 cups cooked spaghetti or angel hair pasta, cooked al dente

- 1 cup kale, chopped rough

-1 cup chopped broccoli

-2 cups diced cooked chicken

-1 medium yellow onion, diced

-1 T. minced garlic

-1 t. salt and pepper

-1/2 t. garlic powder

Directions:

 Heat 1 T. olive oil and add onions, saute 5 minutes over medium heat. Add broccoli and heat another five minutes, before adding chicken and kale and turning heat to low, tossing kale in to cook.

Bechamel Sauce

-2 T. butter

-2 T. all-purpose flour

-1 1/2 cups milk (at least 2%)

-1/4 t. salt and white pepper

Directions for sauce: 

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan set over medium-low. Whisk in flour and continue whisking constantly until mixture turns into a paste (roux)), about 2 min. Do not let it get  brown. Slowly add milk and continue to whisk constantly. Increase heat to medium and continue cooking until sauce thickens, 4 to 5 more min. Stir in salt and pepper. Use right away or pour into a glass jar, let cool and refrigerate up to 2 days. To test sauce stick a spoon in it, and if it coats it thick it's done. Sauce time: 10 minutes
•  Plate with pasta and veggies, then drizzle warm sauce on before serving. 
• *serves 4

• Bechamel sauce is a rich and creamy sauce, pure as the driven snow. I was glad I chose this instead of  a cheese based sauce, because its simplicity was just the right touch for the earthy green veggie flavors.
• I'm really glad I had half a rotisserie chicken to use up, along with some kale and broccoli in random amounts, because this turned out to be a great recipe combination. Enjoy!!