Kale, Brussels Sprouts & Cherry Salad

One of my favorite childhood stories about my husband is the time he filled his plate with Brussels sprouts because he thought they were cute, only to be taken aback by their less-than-pleasant taste.

Despite his disappointment, he knew he had to follow his family's rule of "take what you want, but eat what you take." So he "tried to swallow one whole to get them off my plate. And I choked and almost died!"

Instead, he sneakily stuffed the Brussels sprouts into his pants pockets. Later that night, he launched his dirty clothes down the laundry shoot — Brussels sprouts and all. They were only discovered days later when my mother-in-law did the laundry.

While Brussels sprouts may be an acquired taste for some (my husband enjoys them now) my boys are not big fans — yet.

This salad, which is from a Six Sisters Stuff menu plan, is my latest attempt to win them over. Alas, I still have some work to do.

I and my husband, on the other hand, loved this side dish. It has subtle sweet and savory flavors and holds up very well for a few days in the fridge.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Kale, Brussels Sprouts & Cherry Salad
Inspired by this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

1 bunch purple kale, finely chopped
1 pound Brussels sprouts, finely chopped
1 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions, finely diced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Mix kale, Brussels sprouts, cherries and almonds in a large bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper until blended and smooth. Stir in green onions.

Pour dressing over greens and stir to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage and Kale

My friend Kristi is a fellow busy, hard-working mama who strives to always get a hot dinner on the table. And — like me — when there's no time or energy to cook, take-out, short-cuts and leftovers work, too. But we always try and we love to share recipes and compare cooking notes. Kristi recently texted me a recipe for a butternut squash soup from a blog called The Lemon Bowl.

I made Kristi's new fave soup with a few tweaks. She suggested a dash of sage and I decided to use a little more squash. I also couldn't find Italian turkey sausage, so I used regular. Anyhow, it tasted souper (see what I did there?!) good, especially on a cold winter day.

XOXO,
Amy

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage and Kale
3 links of uncooked Italian sausage — spicy or sweet, turkey or regular — removed from casings
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 cups butternut squash peeled and cut into half-inch cubes
4 cups kale, roughly chopped
14 ounce can of cannelini beans, drained and rised
Dash of ground or fresh sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese to garnish — optional

Spray inside of large pot with non-stick spray and heat pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pot. Brown sausage for 7-8 minutes, using spoon to break meat into bite-sized pieces. Don't be afraid of the sausage getting brown, because the more it carmelizes the tastier your soup.

Add garlic, onion and red pepper to pot and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until onions and peppers are tender, about 5-6 minutes.

When sausage is nicely browned and veggies are tender, add broth to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Add in the squash and cook until softened, about 20 minutes.

Five minutes before serving, add kale and beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan if you like, which I did.

Vegetable Bean Soup

In an effort to ignore the dreary spring rains outside, I'm making vegetable soup to brighten things up inside.

It's a meal I used to make all the time, and I'd forgotten how forgiving a vegetable soup can be, especially when you just start tossing in whatever vegetables are in the fridge. All you need is some good stock or broth and a big pot. Add a few spices and dinner is served.

This time around I added a bunch of mixed dried beans, to give the soup a bit of heartiness.

Mangia! Mangia!

Andrea

Vegetable Bean Soup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

1/2 of a large red onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 stalks celery, diced

1 pound carrots, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (I used a bag of baby carrots and cut each piece in thirds)

2 yellow bell peppers diced

10-12 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced

1 1/2 cups mixed dried beans, cleaned and prepared according to package directions (mine was a blend of beans, peas and lentils)

3-4 large rainbow chard (or substitute kale) leaves, stems removed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian parsley, roughly chopped

In a Dutch oven or large pot, melt butter and heat oil over a medium high flame.

Add shallot and onion and cook, stirring frequently until shallot becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir, cook for 1 minute. 

Add celery, carrots and bell pepper and cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add 8 cups of stock, and scrape bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil.

Let boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover pot with lid and simmer for 90 minutes or more. Check soup after 1 hour. If it has become too thick, add more broth or stock, 1 cup at a time. Return to a boil, then back to a simmer to continue cooking until beans are tender and no longer tough.

Add chard or kale and stir until greens are wilted. Ladle into bowls and top with chopped parsley. Serve with a chunk of crusty bread.

Yellow & French Lentils with Wilted Greens

Now that we're deep into the cold, gray winter months out here in Illinois, I've been trying to make meals that use what's in my pantry, as I did last week with pumpkin and pasta.

This week, lentils are on the menu. I have several bags – French, yellow and red. I thought of Amy's Soul-Soothing Red Lentil Stew. So pretty, hearty and healthy, lentils could be just the ticket for a cozy dinner.

My original meal plans for the week included sautéing some sausage with a bag of greens. Why not add some lentils into the mix, right? I looked around at various online lentil recipes to give me some ideas – and Yellow & French Lentils with Wilted Greens was born. I served this with a side of cajun sausage links to please my boys. If you have any leftovers, the lentils taste great cold, too.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Yellow & French Lentils with Wilted Greens
Inspired by this recipe from The Kitchn.

1/2 cup French (green) lentils
1/2 cup yellow lentils
2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
4 slices of bacon, chopped
1/2 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried, rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 13 ounce bag mixed greens (kale, spinach, collard, etc.)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Put lentils and chicken broth into a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook lentils for about 25 minutes, or until softened. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside. Do not drain.

In a large pan or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat until just crisp. Drain fat out of the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon of grease. Add onions, garlic, rosemary, sage and ground pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are softened.

Lower heat to medium. Add lentils and any remaining stock into the bacon and onion mixture in the Dutch oven. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add greens to Dutch oven and cover for 2 minutes. Remove cover and stir, incorporating greens into lentils. Continue to cook and stir until all greens are wilted. Remove from heat, partially cover and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, mustard and balsamic vinegar to make a dressing.

Serve lentils and greens warm, topped with dressing and sliced green onions.

Kale & Spinach with Chickpeas

Now that my boys are back in school, our weeknights are busier than ever.

When sandwiches just won't cut it for dinner, this vegetarian dish is super quick to make and filling and tasty to eat. Serve it with a hunk of crusty bread and you've got a main course. Or use it as a side dish for any meat, chicken or fish.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Kale & Spinach with Chickpeas
Inspired by Allrecipes.com

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, finely chopped
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, minced
5 to 6 ounces of fresh baby kale, chopped or 1 bunch mature kale, ribs removed and chopped
5 to 6 ounces of fresh baby spinach, chopped or 1 bunch regular spinach, rinsed and chopped
2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in skillet over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, stirring often, about 5 or 6 minutes.

Add kale, spinach, chickpeas, cumin and black pepper and cook while stirring and mashing some of the chickpeas. Continue cooking about 7 minutes, until heated through.

Kale Chips

I have to admit something. It's embarrassing, really, but I can't deny it any longer. So here it goes...

I don't like kale.

Let me pause while the internet lets out a collective gasp. "How can it be?" you ask yourself. "Kale was one of the top food trends of 2013! How can you claim to know anything about about food and not like kale?"

Believe me when I say that I've given kale the old college try. I've ordered kale salads at several restaurants and even made one myself. I can understand how some people like the stuff, but I just don't enjoy it. It's a bit too fibrous and bitter for my taste. But I like Kraft macaroni and cheese, so maybe I'm just lowbrow.

Since everyone who's anyone talks about kale chips, though, I thought I should give kale one last chance before I swore off the curly greens forever.

Well I'm glad I did, because it turns out I like kale chips! Roasting mellows out the flavor and turns the fibrous chew into a crackling crunch. A sprinkle of salt enhances the flavor perfectly.

This former kale hater has been reformed.

Kale Chips
Inspired by everywhere on the internet (I mean, who hasn't written a recipe for kale chips?)
Serves: 4-6

One large bunch of kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove woody stems from the kale and tear leaves into bite-sized pieces. Spread kale on a large rimmed baking sheet (or two smaller ones) and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands to massage the oil into the kale for a minute or so. Spread kale into a single layer and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste and serve.

Kale Salad with Apples and Seeds

Do you guys watch Top Chef? In one episode this season, they had a challenge about food trends. Specifically, food trends that Dana Cowin (from Food & Wine magazine) wishes were over. Kale salad is one trend that Dana scoffs at. So, guess what I'm making today?

Kale Salad.

Sorry, Dana.

Try it for yourself and let me know, is kale a food trend that should be on its way out?

Kale Salad with Apples and Seeds
Inspired by The Chew
Serves 3-4 as a side dish

4 big handfuls of chopped kale
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 large apple, thinly sliced

Combine kale and olive oil in a large bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to massage the oil and seasonings into the kale for 2-3 minutes. (You want the kale to start absorbing the oil and breaking down. After a couple minutes you'll know it's ready because it gets darker and shrinks down in size.) Toss in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Taste and see if it's tangy enough for you. If you want more zip, add the remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Top kale with sunflower seeds, cranberries, and apple.