TwoFaced: Kale

Kale intimidates me for some reason. I can't exactly verbalize why. I mean, I've been venturing into new leafy green territory over the past year (swiss chard has become a personal favorite), but kale continues to mystify me. 

You know what doesn't intimidate me? Becoming internet friends with another paleo-minded blogger living hundreds of miles away. Becoming Facebook friends with and Twitter follower of that very blogger. Exchanging phone numbers and texts with that basically stranger of a blogger. Even less intimidating? Meeting her in person. Tonight. For dinner at the restaurant version of our TwoFaced feature!!

But back to what does intimidate me. Kale. When Jenna and I chose it as our ingredient for this week's TwoFaced, I looked at it as a prime opportunity to bounce back from the several days of Thanksgiving gluttony I subjected myself to. I figured my strategy to just pick a recipe and make it happen was the best way to mitigate the kale intimidation factor, so I decided to make chicken roulade with kale and feta.

**I'm pretty sure no other blogger in the history of blogging has done this, but it appears as though some of my chicken wasn't cooked all the way through. Please note that I nuked these for a couple of minutes before eating. You should probably just cook your chicken longer.

In the end, kale wasn't as intimidating as it first seemed. It's actually a lot like cooking swiss chard, but tastes more like spinach. Paired with salty feta and tucked inside juicy chicken thighs, it makes a pretty delicious meal to bounce back from all that damage you did last Thursday.

And now I'm off to meet my internet friend in a strange city where I don't know anyone, said the girl who thought kale was scary.

Make sure you check out Jenna's kale concoction!

Chicken Roulade with Kale and Feta

Makes about 4 servings

• 1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you could also use chicken breast)
• 3 cups chopped kale
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large pan, saute onion and garlic in a Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add kale. Saute for several more minutes, until kale wilts.

3. Move kale to a large bowl. Add feta and mix well.

4. On a clean surface, lay chicken thighs out flat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon kale mixture onto each chicken thigh.

5. Starting with the smaller edge, roll up the chicken (mine didn't exactly role as much as they folded into a taco, but whatevs). Use toothpicks to hold the chicken into shape. You might use 3-4 toothpicks per chicken thigh depending on how full you stuff them.

6. Drizzle olive oil in a pan and brown all sides of each rolled chicken thigh.

7. Move chicken to the oven to finish cooking through, between 10-15 minutes, or until the juices run clear.