Kale Chips

So I had been seeing different healthy snack ideas show up on my Pinterest feed, and recently there seemed to be an array of kale chip recipes. I had heard of these before and even seen them on the food network, but had never tried making them. Since I had a big bunch of kale in the fridge that I hadn't used yet, I figured I would try it out. The jury is still out for me on this one. While they came out fine, and I did find myself eating a whole plate of them, I can't decide if I really liked them enough to make them regularly, even though they were pretty addicting. They are pretty quick and easy to make, so give it a try.

Ingredients:

One big bunch of kale

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

Salt

Optional Ingredients:

1 tsp. dried taragon

finely grated parmesan cheese

Kitchen Equipment:

Parchment paper

1 or 2 baking/cookie sheet pans

Large bowl

Tablespoon

Teaspoon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F. Rinse your kale well to remove any grit and then pat dry with a paper towel. Tear the kale leaves into pieces, basically about the size of potato chips. I removed most of the large stems, but left a few smaller ones on here and there. In a large bowl, add the olive oil and red wine vinegar, then add the kale. Toss the kale by hand until all the leaves have a light coating of the oil and vinegar mixture. Put a layer of parchment paper on your baking pan, and spread out your kale in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt (I was pretty liberal with the salt, but this is up to you). Then if you chose any optional ingredients, sprinkle on as well. I did one tray with the parmesan cheese and one tray with the taragon. I think I actually preferred the ones with taragon. Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

 

The kale chips are very fragile when done, almost like parchment paper with the thinner leaves. They also don't make the most attractive display, so don't plan on fancying up your table with this as an appetizer. They are more just an interesting thing to eat, and depending on how much salt and cheese you decided to dump on them, they could be substitute snack for chips. I couldn't stop eating them for some reason, maybe it was all the salt.

Eggplant Rolls with Spinach and Fresh Mint

I love eggplant. A few years ago, I decided to plant a garden and was pretty excited about putting in eggplant. I was looking forward to having a bumper crop and making all sorts of eggplant dishes. Unfortunately the rabbits in my yard were also fans of eggplant, and within just a few short days of putting in the small plants, they had been eaten down to nothing with the exception of a few dilapidated chewed-on stalks. Oh well. I'll be trying again this year, within a fenced-in area that should keep the little critters out.

Anyway, I have been making this dish for the past three years or so and it is always a hit at the family gatherings. This is a great alternative to lasagna, can make a nice replacement if your are trying to cut back on heavier pasta dishes, as well as being a good and hearty vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants
1 bag of baby spinach leaves
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce container of whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cuts grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella
1 jar of Classico Tomato Sauce (I used the Garlic and Roasted Tomato)
Black Pepper
Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation

Trim the ends off of your eggplant and then cut them length-wise. Try to keep your slices even, around 1/4 inch thick. Using baking cooling racks or in a colander, spread out your eggplant slices and sprinkle them generously on both sides with salt and let them stand for at least 30 minutes and even up to an hour. This is "sweating" the eggplant, and will draw out a lot of the moisture and reduces the bitterness so common in eggplant.

 

I usually then rinse the eggplant with water to remove the excess salt and then pad them dry with paper towels. Then put your oven rack up about 5-6 inches from the heat source and get your broiler going. Arrange your eggplant slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet and brush the top side with olive oil. Broil your eggplant in batches, until they are tender and just beginning to brown, it normally only takes a few minutes per batch. I tend to do two cookie sheets at a time to get the process down quicker. Afterwards you can just stack your broiled eggplant on a plate to cool down some while you prepare the filling.

 

There are a couple of options for the spinach. You can bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and then add your spinach and boil them until just tender, usually just a few minutes. Then drain the spinach and rinse with cool water. Squeeze the spinach very dry, then chop coarsely. Then add the spinach to a large bowl.

 

A second option is to just chop the spinach raw and put it in the bowl. This is how I did it this past time, and it came out fine, although I may have had a little more liquid in the final result than normal, however this didn't cause any issue at all.

 

Once your spinach is chopped and in the bowl, stir in your ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the mint, both eggs and the black pepper to taste. Stir everything together so that all ingredients are incorporated together well. Then slice up your mozzarella and set aside (do not add to the bowl of other ingredients).

 

Take a large glass baking dish and put half the jar of tomato sauce in, spreading it evenly over the bottom of the dish. Then take an eggplant slice and put a couple of tablespoons of your cheese/spinach mixture on one end.

 

Add a small slice of the mozzarella and then loosely roll up the eggplant slice, enclosing the filling. Place the roll, seam side down, atop the sauce in your baking dish and do this with each eggplant slice until you have filled your pan.

Once your pan is full, spoon the remaining half jar of sauce over the top and spread it evenly over all your rolls. Then take the remaining slices of mozzarella and place one slice on top of each roll. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan over the top and then cover with foil. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 30 minutes covered. You can bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered to get those little crispy brown spots going on the cheese. Your final result should look something like the picture below (I made a double batch this time for a family gathering).

While fresh mint may seem like an odd addition to this dish, it is not overpowering, and really kicks the dish up a notch with a touch of summer flavor, blending really well with the flavors of the other ingredients. Enjoy!

 

 



Bathtub Celery

My fiance and I have been chompin' at the bit to do some gardening in the new plot. But since we currently haven't built any coldboxes and only a week and a half until Christmas, our options are a bit limited. However with a little research and ingenuity, there are some options for indoor gardening to get you through the winter, no matter the season or location.

On Thanksgiving day, we, like most Americans, were cooking up the holiday meal for family who were coming for dinner. Mitsy, my fiance, was making her delectable stuffing, which of course includes celery. Having cut off the main stalks, we were left with the bottom core of the bunch of celery we had purchased. This was promptly set on the counter to await further usage.

About three days later, the core was looking a little wilty, so Mitsy grabbed a stray pot that had been sitting out in the front flower bed and filled it with dirt from said bed. Digging a hole in the dirt in the center of the pot, she covered it with some additional dirt, watered it down and set it in the bathtub in our spare bathroom.

The spare bathroom is in need of some renovations and plumbing updates, so we don't use that tub/shower. There is a window just above the tub however, that lets in a lot of nice afternoon sunlight and keeps the temperature fairly warm, even when the heat is turned down in the house. Its almost like our own little green house, at least as temperature is concerned.

Within a few days we had a couple of sprouts pop up through the soil, and now just three weeks later we have the small stalks growing as you see in the picture.

Our next goal is to try garlic, along with a mixed array of herb seeds that I just ordered in various pots including cilantro, chives, and I think oregano, basil and lavender, although I'm not positive of the total mix since they haven't arrived in the mail as yet. I think these will keep us busy until we can start the spring seedlings for our garden plot. Stay tuned for more updates........

Crosshatch-Cut Stuffed Bread

From my understanding, the original basis of this recipe came from The Girl Who Ate Everything. I haven't read that particular blog as yet, but I have seen various versions of this recipe show up on other food blogs and on Pinterest.

So I decided to make my own version and see how it came out. There are multiple options for this, as you can pretty much stuff what ever ingredients in here that you want to have your own impressive display of cheesy bready goodness.


Ingredients

One loaf of sourdough bread
1 package of provolone slices (or have it cut at the deli)
1 package of mozzarella slices (again you can also have this cut at the deli)
Pepperoni Slices
1 Package of button mushrooms
1 bunch green onions
1/2 stick of butter

Preparation

Slice your bread loaf in parallel lines in one direction and then another set going the other direction, making a crosshatch pattern of cuts through the bread. Don't cut it all the way through though, just down to maybe about a quarter inch above the bottom of the loaf. The cuts should be about an inch apart. After cutting, put your bread on a foil line cookie sheet, it will make clean up much easier!

Take the provolone and mozzarella slices and stuff them down into the cut open sections of bread, alternating the cheeses. Or you could even do provolone on one side and mozzarella on the other. Then take the pepperoni slices and stick them throughout your bread as well.

Rough chop the mushrooms and slice up your green onions (use both the white and the green parts). In a large skillet, add 1/4 stick of butter and melt it over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, toss in the mushrooms and onions and cook them down for about 10 minutes. Then using a spoon, add the mushroom/onion mixture to the crevices in the bread with the cheese and pepperoni. You can use the spoon to push down your mixture to get it all in there. Then take your remaining 1/4 stick of butter and put it in the skillet that cooked the mushrooms and onions in. Melt it down over medium high heat and then drizzle the butter over your entire stuffed loaf.

Cover with tin foil and then put in a 350 F oven for about 20-25 minutes. (I did mine for only 15 minutes and the cheese down in the center didn't melt quite enough). Remove your bread from oven, transfer to a large serving dish and you're good to go! Great snack for Superbowl Sunday, or add a side salad and call it dinner. Or add a craft beer with a side of Serpico and you have a guys movie afternoon. Whatever you choose to do, you won't have any problem eating the damn thing. Its tasty.

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Well it seems as though everything is about food and recipes so far, but I have not currently been in gardening, brewing or project mode.  This recipe is not for the dieter or the the weak of heart (since this will probably cause any working arteries you have to seize up), however if you aren't worried about that and just want something that is easy to make and damn delicious, then please proceed with wild abandon.

You have a couple of options here with the chicken. You can buy raw chicken and then cook and shred it to your preference, or you can take the easy way out like I did, and just buy a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store and dress it up from there. With cooking and prep this took me a little under an hour to make.

Ingredients

1 Rotisserie chicken
2 Cups Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)
3/4 stick of butter
2 Cups chicken broth
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 4 oz. can of Green Chiles
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (feel free to add more for your taste preference)
1 tsp. cracked or ground black pepper
10 flour tortillas
1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro chopped

Preparation

Remove about 2 cups worth of the chicken and shred it with a fork and knife. You can leave the skin on as well as it makes a tasty addition. If you have used raw chicken and cooked it yourself, just make about two cups shredded. Add the chicken to a sauce pan or large non stick fry pan. Put on a very low heat and add the cumin, garlic powder and black pepper. Stir well to ensure all the chicken is incorporated well with your spices and leave on low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a sauce pan on medium high heat melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, whisk in your flour. Continue to whisk for a couple minutes until the butter and flour are bubbly and thick. Then add the chicken broth. Whisk together and then leave on heat until the mixture thickens in consistency and  begins to bubble. Turn heat down to low so as not to boil the mixture as you are now going to incorporate your sour cream (but you don't want it to curdle in a super high heat). Whisk in the sour cream and then add the green chiles. Leave on the heat for a couple more minutes while continuing to stir and then turn off heat.

Now that the chicken has cooled some, you will add 1 cup of the monterey jack cheese to the chicken and mix it together. Put some of your chicken and cheese mixture on a tortilla and then roll it up and place it in a glass baking dish. Continue to do this with each tortilla until you have filled the bottom of your dish. I think I used a 9x12 pan and it held 10 of these, which used all of my chicken and cheese. Now pour your sour cream and green chile sauce over all of the tortillas. Add the remaining 1 cup of monterey jack cheese on top. Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 minutes. Then remove from the oven and turn your broiler on high. Place the dish under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes or until your cheese on top gets a nice crispy brown.

When you serve your enchiladas, top them with the fresh chopped cilantro. I also included a side of black beans. (1 15oz. can heated with 1 tsp of cumin).

These enchiladas are rich and tasty!

Spinach Cheese Wreath

Back a few years ago, my niece had a Pampered Chef party and invited me to come check it out since she knew I enjoyed cooking. So I figured I would stop by for a while and show her some support but didn't plan on buying anything really.

Somehow a few hours later I left with over $500 worth of Pampered Chef cookware and gadgets. Not really sure how that happened, I think someone slipped something in my drink and took advantage of my cookware coma. Nevertheless I have been quite pleased with the items I purchased, most of all the pizza stone. I am not really sure how I got through the years prior to owning a pizza stone, and I highly suggest you get one, Pampered Chef or otherwise.

So this past weekend, I decided to pull out the trusty stone and do a little baking. As if we didn't already have enough food in the fridge left over from Thanksgiving. But quite frankly, I was tired of turkey, ham, and sides, didn't feel like re-creating a Pinterest worthy dish out of leftover turkey, and just had a hankerin' for something different.

I made a spinach cheese wreath, which I have made several times a year ever since I got the pizza stone. The basis of the recipe comes from the Pampered Chef cookbook, although I make small variations to the recipe each time I make it depending on what I am in the mood for or what I have in the fridge. Here is the one I made last night....

Ingredients

2 packages of crescent rolls (16 total rolls) Leave in fridge until ready to use.
10 ozs frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
1 can of artichoke hearts
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 6 oz. package of feta cheese
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of mayo
1 egg
1 clove of garlic, minced or sliced paper thin.
1 tomato
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation

Chop the spinach (if you didn't buy pre-chopped) and the artichoke hearts and put in a mixing bowl. Add the mayo, mozzarella, parmesan, feta cheese, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are incorporated.

Remove the crescent rolls from the fridge and open and unroll. Arrange the first package of rolls in a circle on the pizza stone with the pointy ends facing outward. Do the same with the second package of rolls filling in the gaps between the first circle. A smaller version of it would look basically like this on your stone (or pan): 

 

Then spoon your cheesy mixture onto the thickest part of the dough on your wreath. Once you have made a complete circle with your mixture you are now ready for the tomato. Cut your tomato into slices, and then cut each slice in half length-wise. Place the tomato slices in a circle on top of the cheese spinach mixture.

 

Once this is complete, take a pointed edge of a crescent roll and fold it over the mixture in a clockwise direction. Do this with every other cresecent roll. Then fold over counter-clockwise the remaining crescent rolls. This will give you a braided look to your wreath. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

 

I didn't take any pictures last night of the wreath I made, so here is a couple I gleaned from the internet to give you an idea. I will take pictures next time I make one and replace these.

 

 

There are multiple ingredients you can use in this. I have previously made mine with a mix of swiss and mozarella cheese. Other ingredient options to consider:

 

Mushrooms

Pancetta

Ham

Sausage

Green Onion

Peppers

 

You can omit or add as your tastebuds prefer. It really is a versatile dish and awesomely delicious. Plus once you get the braid down, it makes quite an impression when friends or family are over for dinner. Another option is to use an egg white to brush over the whole outer roll and then sprinkle with slivered almonds, as seen above.

Enjoy!

 



Barbecue Pulled Pork

Pulled pork in all its tasty glory!

Here is a simple recipe to give you plenty of good eats for a weekend. I made this last Friday/Saturday and had enough for three of us to make several meals out of.

Ingredients:

5-6 lbs of boneless pork roast or pork butt. (I purchased two roasts that were around 2.8 lbs each.)
2-3 Cups of a good beef broth
Barbecue Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original recipe, about 1/3 of one of the big bottles)

Preparation

Put your pork roast in the crock pot. Add 2-3 cups of the beef broth. Turn heat to high and allow to cook for 3-4 hours. Turn heat to low and cook for another 7-8 hours. (I just let mine cook overnight). Remove roast, discarding broth and add to a large bowl or casserole dish. Using a couple of forks, pull apart the meat, shredding it, and removing any pieces of fat. Once all the meat is shredded, add your barbecue sauce, toss until well coated. The amount of sauce is up to your personal preference.

Serve on a soft bun with a side of coleslaw and a good dill pickle. Enjoy!

This recipe is great for football Sundays!