Sauteed Kale with Apple and Onion

I've never been a big "greens" eater.  In fact, I usually end up having to disguise them in a Green Smoothie just to eat them.  But when I saw my humongous bag of kale quickly approaching the expiration date, and I'd already made a week's worth of green smoothies with the stuff, I decided to give cooked kale another shot.  And I'm so glad I did!  The sweet curried apples and onions complimented the kale wonderfully and the result was a side dish I will gladly make often.  Even I, a person who doesn't even like the often raved about Kale Chips, ate a whole bowl of this stuff. 

Sautéed Kale with Apple and Onion

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 medium onion, finely chopped*


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 Tablespoon curry powder


• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar


• 1 lb kale, tough stems and ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped


• 1/2 cup water (or 1/2 cup chicken/vegetable broth)


• 2 Granny Smith apples, chopped*


• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

*My photo shows the apples and onions sliced.  I think chopping them would add a better texture and incorporate the flavors throughout the dish even better than if sliced.

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a 5-quart pot set over medium high heat until hot.  Then add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.  


2. Add the curry powder, cider vinegar, water (or broth), and kale, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender and most of the liquid is evaporated. 


3. Add the chopped apples and cook, while stirring, until the apples are just starting to turn tender, about 2 minutes.


4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

*Adapted from epicurious.com.

Alsatian Bacon and Onion Pizza

Anyone else have a husband who loves bacon?  So much so that you got him "Bacon of the Month Club" for his wedding gift, a Bacon cookbook for Valentine's Day, Bacon vodka for our anniversary, made Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes for his birthday, and bought a You Had Me At Bacon" T-shirt for Christmas?  Well, if you're like me, and your husband considers bacon a food group all on its own, then this pizza is surely the way to your bacon man's heart. 

Traditionally, this Alsatian dish is composed of a thin bread dough rolled out in a rectangle and is covered with fromage blanc, thinly sliced raw onions, and bacon lardons.  It is traditionally baked at a very high heat so the edges of the crust are almost charred.  This recipe is a delicious interpretation, and no surprise - my husband absolutely LOVED it (and so did I).  

It's creamy, it's oniony, it's bacony, and according to my husband, "It's the best pizza I ever made."  Works for me!

Alsatian Bacon and Onion Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 can refrigerated pizza crust (I used Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust) OR 1/2 pound pizza dough


• 1 teaspoon olive oil


• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese


• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 1/4 pound thickly sliced smoky bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips


• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.


2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, flour, and sour cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.


3. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until the bacon is crisp.  Leaving the rendered fat in the pat, transfer the bacon bits to a paper towel to drain.  Add the onions to the fat in the pan and cook until softened and slightly caramelized.  Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.


4. Spread the pizza dough onto a baking sheet that has been lightly greased with 1 teaspoon olive oil.  Spread the ricotta sour cream mixture on top of the dough to within 1/4 inch of the edge.  Sprinkle with the bacon and onions. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown (ovens and crust thicknesses vary, so keep an eye on it).  Cut into squares and serve.

*Slightly adapted from Food and Wine.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I'm always on the hunt for meals that the whole family will eat (what mom isn't?), and this is one of them.  It's pretty darn healthy too, which makes me even happier.  You can serve it as is, wrap it in a burrito shell, or serve it over rice.  No matter how you serve it, it's great for dinner, and even better for lunch the next day.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces


• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 3 cups)


• 1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)


• 1 (15 oz.) can or jar all-natural mild enchilada sauce (I used Trader Joe's brand)


• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 teaspoon ground cumin


• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder


• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed


• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese


• flour/whole grain tortillas or rice, for serving

Directions

1. Add the chicken, sweet potato, onion, enchilada sauce, black beans, cumin, and garlic powder to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low until the sweet potato is tender and the is chicken cooked through, about 4 hours.


2. Stir in the corn and cheese until the cheese melts.  Set on warm until ready to serve.  Serve over rice or wrap burrito style in flour tortillas.

 

*Slightly adapted from Meal Makeover Moms.

Coconut Banana Bread

What do you do with 3 overripe bananas?  Banana bread.

What do you do with 3 overripe bananas, half a carton of buttermilk, and an open bag of shredded coconut?   Coconut Banana Bread!

After researching several banana bread recipes, I decided on the recipe below -  an insanely wonderful variation on your usual banana bread.  So wonderful, that I will probably never make "just another banana bread recipe" ever again.

This bread is incredibly moist, light, and has the perfect tropical blend of bananas and coconut.  And I can't stop eating it!!!

Coconut Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 medium-sized very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (could also use sour cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter the bottom of a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, beating well.
3. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture.  Blend well.
4. Add the bananas, buttermilk, vanilla, and coconut.  Stir well.
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.  Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing (otherwise it will be too crumbly).  Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

*Inspired by several banana bread recipes, but adapted primarily from Martha Stewart's Banana Bread recipe.

Simple Dijon Tarragon Cream Chicken

The Dijon mustard, tarragon, and cream combine in this recipe to make a delectable sauce that is surprisingly impressive considering how quick and easy it is to pull together.  Most definitely an easy weeknight keeper, yet fancy enough to serve to company. 

Simply put - it's easy and impressive.  And that's the way I like it.

But let me be honest...

My husband picked out this recipe, put it on our menu last week, and I was very skeptical it would be anything more than ordinary.  I didn't even think it'd be worthy of posting, as I only like to post my absolute favorites.  But, we needed to use up our fresh tarragon, and we had all the other ingredients already on hand, so I agreed to it.  At the very least, I figured it'd be an easy night of cooking for me.  Much to my surprise though, as the sauce came together, my nose quickly realized my husband was right (shhhh).  He had found a dish that was going to taste much better than just average.  In fact, it was a keeper at first bite...and didn't last long on the plate!

Simple Dijon Tarragon Cream Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard (Maille's Whole Grain Mustard is my favorite)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (or 1 Tablespoon dried)

Directions

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. 
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat.  When the butter is melted, add the chicken and brown on both sides.
3. Once browned, reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes, or until juices run clear.  Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Add the shallots to the juices already in the pan and cook for just a few minutes, just until softened.  Add the heavy cream, stirring to scrape up the brown bits.  Mix in the mustard and tarragon and cook until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Return chicken to pan and coat with sauce.
5. Serve with additional sauce drizzled on top.

Notes:  You could certainly omit the shallots if you don't have them on hand, and while fresh tarragon is highly preferred, dried can still give the same flavor in a pinch.  You could probably sub half-and-half for the cream if you wanted to reduce the fat as well, but it's ohhh so good with the heavy cream!  Any extra sauce is also excellent for serving over whatever veggies you serve on the side - asparagus, green beans, etc.

*Adapted from this recipe.

Cinnamon Flax French Toast

My little man loves bread.  11 months old, and he's obsessed with whole wheat, whole grain, multigrain, whatever-grain bread.  He loves it.  He loves it so much that I purposely have to serve it at the end of a meal, after he's eaten all his fruits and veggies. 

That being said, I've been trying to find ways to incorporate a little more nutrition into the bread he eats.  Bread all alone certainly isn't a complete meal, but it does get a little more balanced when soaked in a milk, egg, and flaxseed mixture (especially since my child has recently decided eggs are inedible).  And the flaxseed, while optional, is something I try to incorporate whenever I can since it's a great source of fiber, omega-3s, and antioxidants.  It also adds a slight nutty flavor that is perfect in french toast. 

I've made this version of french toast several times now.  I usually make it on Sundays to serve my husband, myself, and the little man, and the best part is that there are always enough leftovers for at least 2 breakfasts during the week.  Pop it in the microwave or toaster oven for a quick reheat, and your weekday breakfast is done.  Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, or fresh berries, and you're good to go!

Cinnamon Flax French Toast

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 8-10 slices 100% whole wheat bread
• 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• Maple syrup, mixed berries, and/or powdered sugar for serving

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and ground flaxseed.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat.
3. Coat the bread in the egg mixture, one slice at a time and cook in the skillet until the bottoms turn golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Repeat until skillet is full.  When first batch is finished cooking, transfer to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.  Add the remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil to the pan before starting the second batch. 
4. Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, or mixed berries.

*Slightly adapted from this recipe.