Vegetable Pasta


Trying to add Kale to my family’s diet has been a challenge.  This recipe gives me hope.  It came from a site as I was perusing the multitude of great blogs with inspiring cooking ideas.  I forgot to save the info on the fabulous blogger who had this idea so I cannot give credit…it is not my own recipe.  Had to share anyway…please claim with link to your post if it is yours so i can give credit 🙂

Kale

Kale (Photo credit: Another Pint Please...)

Ingredients:

  • Sea salt, to taste, plus 1/4 tsp.
  • 12 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti or linguini
  • 1 bunch (about 1/2 lb.) red or green chard
  • 1 bunch (about 1/2 lb.) dinosaur (lacinato) kale
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • Lemon wedges for serving

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, about 9 minutes, or according to the package instructions.

Meanwhile, prepare the chard and kale: Tear the leaves from their tough ribs and stems, discarding the ribs and stems. Stack the leaves and fold or roll up and slice them thinly. Transfer the greens to a colander and rinse under cold running water, then drain well.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the greens and stir to coat evenly with the oil. (If they don’t all fit at once, add in handfuls after allowing the first batch to wilt.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, about 5 minutes, adding a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to the pan if needed to prevent sticking.

Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot. Add the cooked greens, cheese, the 1/4 tsp. salt and the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil and stir to mix well. Divide evenly among pasta plates or bowls and serve immediately. Pass lemon wedges at the table. Serves 4.

Roast Chicken: Easy and Economical


As usual I am running late as we all tumbled in from work/school.  Traffic was a little slow due to the unexpected snowfall we had last night.   Peanut and Button got down to chores and then homework, Hubby took care of phone calls, and I began the roast chicken before settling down to homework with the boys.  Today was all about persuading Button that his biography on Derek Jeter need more than three incomplete sentences!I love to roast…I am actually known in my circle of friends for it.

Today I will tell you about my roast chicken:

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Sea Salt with Sea Veg

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, halved

1 bulb garlic, chopped up finely

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

Rosemary finely chopped and mixed with lemon juice

Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Carefully remove the giblets and rinse thoroughly.  Dry by patting with a clean dishcloth.  Stuff the cavity with garlic, a lemon slice, and some of the Lemon Rosemary juice.  Rub the outside of the chicken with the Rosemary-Lemon juice, rub in the garlic, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper.  This keeps the whole chicken moist but you can add the olive oil also.  Today, I did not.  I cook the chicken untied and upside down for 30 minutes.  This really lets the juices run into the breast nicely.  Upside-down

I then turn the chicken over, rub and sprinkle again of desires and keep roasting for another hour or until the juices run clear when you put a knife between the leg and thigh.  Take out the chicken and let it rest for about 30 minutes covered lightly in foil.

Roast chicken, the most commonly eaten white meat

I then serve the carved chicken for dinner.  Today we had corn, carrots, string beans and a side of french bread with butter.

The following day, the cold chicken becomes sandwich meat.  Peanut love teriyaki chicken so I also reheat it in low sodium teriyaki sauce and keep it warm in a thermos for his lunch with a side of vegetables (depends what is fresh).

Once we have used up the bulk of the meat, I boil down the carcass and make chicken soup.  I will write about that in a future post.  I usually do it very well, making up my own recipe as I go along,  but this week I am trying a new ingredient so we will see how it works out…stay tuned!  Until then, try out some soup recipes from these favorites of mine: