Chipotle Butternut Kale Salad W/Goat Cheese

* We linked this post at Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS *

I have a mixed bag of remnant veggies in my fridge at the moment, so I thought a little experiment would be a good way to make some progress getting through the last bits of it all.  This salad is a savory combination of roasted butternut squash, chipotle peppers, cilantro, red Russian kale, and goat cheese.  The result was delicious, and easy:

Chipotle Butternut Kale Salad (serves 2-3):

1. 1 medium butternut squash, halved and seeds removed
2. 1 medium bunch Red Russian Kale (or other similar green)
3. 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (or more if you like it hot)
4. 1/2 C. chopped fresh cilantro
5. 1/2 C. soft goat cheese
6. Salt to taste

Put the squash halves cut-side down in a roasting dish and roast in the oven at 350 for about an hour, or until they look like this:

Grind your chipotle pepper into a paste:

When the squash is done, scoop out the flesh into a medium mixing bowl and toss in the cilantro and chipotle pepper paste.  Wilt the kale in a skillet, chop it roughly, and add to the bowl.  Stir to mix, but don't stir too much because you don't want it to come out uniform.  Add the goat cheese at the last minute before serving, just barely stirring to combine.  Serve immediately.

This was a side dish for another rendition of the burnt brown sugar pork tenderloin, and they worked very well together.  Enjoy!