How do you get a 2-year old and a slightly-reformed veggie hater to eat leafy greens? You add pasta.

It never fails.

We’ve set a couple of goals this year, one of the big ones – and probably the most difficult one – is to eat more plants. There’s a direct correlation between the size and shade of a green vegetable and the severity of the scrunchy-nose-and-wrinkled-brow face that I get when I’m planning our dinner menu. The more identifiable the vegetable or the darker the green, the scrunchier the face. (And scrunchier is totally a word. Now.)

But grate some of those objectionable vegetables into small pieces and mix that scrunchy face-inducing green with pasta, a little cheese, and just a little meat to accent the dish (there are few meatless meals wouldn’t cause a revolt in this house) and you’ve got a healthy pasta dish that’s a winner among veggie lovers and haters a like.

And my favorite bite is that first one, the one loaded with the top layer of slightly crispy pasta and cheese.

Image used with permissionUpdate: The winner is Emily B with comment #46!

And for the giveaway: it’s a 4-piece set of Microplane graters from BigKitchen.com!

The blades on each Microplane grater are designed for a specific food/task:
– Spice grater (nutmeg and cinnamon sticks)
– Hard cheeses and carrots (and it’s great for chocolate, too!)
– Soft cheeses and potatoes
– Citrus, garlic, and ginger

A great set of high-quality tools to use for any recipe that requires you to shred, zest, grate, or mince ingredients. To enter, head over to The Big Kitchen Store to see what they have to offer and then share with us in the comments: What kitchen tool is at the top of your must-buy list?

The fine print:
– One comment per person. You can earn two extra entries by:
– Leaving an additional comment that you like Big Kitchen on Facebook.
– Leaving an additional comment that you follow Big Kitchen on Twitter.
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm (Texas time!) on 1/14.
– Winner will be selected by one of those cold, soulless, unfeeling random number generators and announced on this post on 1/15.
– Winner will receive a 4-piece Microplane grater set directly from BigKitchen.com (maximum total retail value of prize $50).
– Prize must be claimed within 7 days or it will be forfeited and an alternate winner selected.
– Prize can only be shipped to a US address.
– Official giveaway rules can be found here.

In addition to the giveaway, if you find something you like at the Big Kitchen Store, they have offered a 10% discount on all orders through 1/31/12! Simply use the promo code FOODIEBRIDE when you check out!

Print

Baked Penne with Chicken and Kale

Kale transforms this pasta dish into a healthy one-bowl dinner.

Ingredients

• 13.25 oz box penne pasta (I use Dreamfield)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 2 bunches kale, stems removed and chopped
• 48 oz ricotta (I used half part-skim and half fat-free)
• 1 tsp Tobasoco (or other hot sauce)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 oz Parmesan, finely grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups leftover chicken, shredded (I used 1 chicken breast)
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Drain the pasts and return it to the pot pot.
4. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high.
5. Add onion and red bell pepper, cooking until softened (~5 minutes).
6. Add grated carrot and garlic, cooking another 2 minutes.
7. Add kale, toss, and cover, turning off the heat and letting sit for 5 minutes.
8. Transfer to the pot with pasta.
9. Stir in ricotta, lemon zest and juice, hot sauce, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and chicken.
10. Season generously with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 13x9 or large dish.
11. Top with remaining Parmesan. Bake until bubbly and the top golden brown, 30 minutes.

Notes

Yields: 10 servings

Adapted from Everyday Food

Estimated time: 50 minutes

Note: I used Dreamfield penne and calculated the nutritional info based on such. If you use a different pasta, your mileage will vary.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 338.0 | Fat: 8.4g | Fiber 5.4g | Protein 26.1g | Carbs 19.0
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 6

This giveaway is sponsored by BigKitchen.com.