Tuscan Kale and Cannellini Bean Soup

 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 bunch of kale, washed, stemmed and chopped coarsely
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini bean
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Chop carrots and onions and mince garlic. 

In a large Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and the minced garlic over medium-low heat until the garlic begins to soften (about 2-3 minutes).  DO NOT BROWN the garlic!

Add the chopped carrots and onions to the minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until all of the vegetables are softened.  This will probably take 6-7 minutes. 

Wash and rinse kale thoroughly.  Drain well.  Remove stems and coarsely chop the kale.

Stir in the kale and add about 1/4 cup of water to carrot, onion and garlic mixture.  

Cover the pot and let the kale cook until wilted, about 10-12 minutes. 

 To the kale mixture cooking in your Dutch oven, add in the can of tomatoes with the liquid and the can of cannellini beans with the liquid. 

Add desired amount of crushed red pepper flakes and the parsley. and stir thoroughly.  

Lower the heat, cover the pot partially and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  (You can add as much as a cup of water, if desired, to thin the soup.)

Serve up this Italian "Comfort In A Bowl" and enjoy!

One-Pot Pork Chop Supper

In my early years of marriage, I used to prepare this dish often...especially since pork chops have always been one of my husband's favorites!  I made it again recently and was reminded of just how simple and how good this dish is! 

One of the best things about the preparation of this dish is that it is all done in one pot, so clean-up is a cinch. It is very simple to prepare, and once you have it in the skillet you can have a little time to yourself!

4 bone-in center cut pork chops
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 can tomato soup **
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar, if making GF)
6-8 small potatoes, quartered
15-20 baby carrots, or 4 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut in 1/8ths


** Can substitute a 16 oz. Creamy Tomato Soup or Roasted Red Pepper Soup as in picture above if you are looking for a Gluten Free (GF) option. Omit water if using one of these soups.

Generously salt and pepper both sides of pork chops.

Heat oil in skillet on Medium heat and brown pork chops on both sides. Drain well.

While chops are browning, prepare vegetables.
If using condensed tomato soup, mix soup with water in a bowl until well-combined.

After chops are browned on both sides, add all remaining ingredients to skillet.

Cover and cook over Medium Low heat for approximately 1 1/4 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

The sauce this dish makes is really yummy over rice.  Add a tossed salad and dinner is served!  Enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon Soup

4 bone-in short ribs

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup cornstarch

4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz. mushrooms, cut into 1/8's

3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, diced

4 carrots, finely chopped

1 carrot, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 strips bacon, thinly sliced diagonally

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 cup dry red wine

8 cups beef stock

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

Season ribs with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Coat ribs in cornstarch.

Heat olive oil in heavy pot (I use enameled cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add ribs to preheated pot.

Brown ribs on all sides until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate.

Add chopped mushrooms to pot.

Cook mushrooms until brown. Transfer to a bowl.

Add onions, celery, carrots and sliced bacon to pot and cook until caramelized; about 7-8 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste.

Place the ribs back into the pot.  Add minced garlic, bay leaf and thyme.

Raise the heat to high.  Add red wine; stirring constantly and scraping up brown bits on bottom of pan with a wooden spoon.  Continue cooking until slightly reduced; about a minute or so.

Add beef stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for approximately 2 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender.

Remove ribs from pot and allow to cool. Separate the meat from the bones and discard bones.  Shred meat into bite size pieces and return to pot.

Return mushrooms to pot and bring to a simmer.  Add 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (optional) and stir. 


Season with salt.

Serve in a bowl over cooked egg noodles or jasmine rice for a really hearty soup.  

Note: Can also thicken slightly with cornstarch if desired.

Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

As a wife and mother who works outside the home, I am always looking for ideas for dishes that are simple to prepare, but yet look and taste like a lot of preparation went into them.  This is one of those type side dishes!  

I LOVE pine nuts...so anytime I can come up with a way to introduce them into a recipe, I am all for it! They are very costly so I use them sparingly, but they are certainly a nice addition to this dish. 

Another plus to this dish is that it is a nice replacement for the traditional Green Bean Casserole that my son can't have due to his Gluten intolerance. 

1 - 1 1/2 pounds of fresh green beans, washed and trimmed

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped 

1/3 cup pine nuts

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and spread in a single layer on an 18" x 12" baking pan.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until desired doneness, stirring twice.

ENJOY!

Cranberry Goat Cheese Log

This is SO easy, but SO yummy!  I love any recipe that only has 2 ingredients and this one has 2 of my favorite things at that!

I LOVE goat cheese AND I love anything cranberry!

1 (6 oz.) bag of dried cranberries *

1 (11 oz.) goat cheese log, plain or any flavor desired, softened

* I found Pomegranate-infused cranberries, but plain dried cranberries are also fine.

Simply press dried cranberries into the goat cheese log, covering all sides of the log completely.

(It may seem like you have too many cranberries, but just continue pressing berries firmly into log and rotating until all surfaces of goat cheese are completely covered. Moisten fingertips, if necessary.)

Once you have the entire goat cheese log covered with all of the dried cranberries, wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours.

Prior to serving, set out at room temperature for a few minutes to soften goat cheese slightly and make it easier to slice.

Serve with crackers of your choice. 

Perfect Brined Turkey

I brined our fresh turkey that we had for Thanksgiving this year and it turned out to be the BEST whole turkey that I had ever prepared for my family. So...I decided that I would brine our CHRISTmas turkey, too...only instead of letting it brine for 24 hours, I let it stay in the brine solution for 48 hours. Oh.My.Goodness! It was so incredibly moist you can not believe it!

It takes a little more planning to get the bird brining 2 days before you are going to roast it, but trust me, it is WELL worth the extra prior planning! I will never again cook a whole turkey any other way!

BRINE for turkey:


1 (16 lb.) fresh turkey
1 cup kosher salt
3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
4 cups hot water
4 cups cold water
1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
1 (1 oz.) package of fresh thyme

Mix sugar and salt together with 4 cups hot water in a food-safe container large enough for your turkey.  Stir until sugar and salt are completely dissolved.   (I used a 12 quart stockpot.. Just make sure that your container is large enough for your bird to fit in and still be able to cover it with the lid.)

Add 4 cups cold water and mix well.

Add 1/4 cup peppercorns and the bunch of fresh thyme.

Place turkey in the container. Add enough cold water to completely cover the turkey.  Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours.


Preparing Turkey for roasting:

Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch of thyme
1 large bunch fresh rosemary
3 medium size onions
1 whole head garlic, cut in half crosswise
1 lemon, halved
1/2 stick of butter, melted
8-10 red potatoes, halved
2-3 heads of fennel, cut into wedges
8-10 carrots, cut into 2" pieces
Approximately 1/2 cup of olive oil

After turkey has been in the brine solution for 48 hours, remove and drain well.  Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Place the turkey in a roasting pan and liberally salt and pepper the INSIDE of the turkey cavity. Be generous!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stuff the inside cavity of the bird with one onion that has been quartered, the halved lemon and the head of garlic that has been sliced crosswise.

Brush the outside of the turkey with the melted butter and liberally salt and pepper the outside of the turkey. Don't be afraid to be very generous with the salt and pepper!

Secure the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings up underneath the body of the turkey.

Peel and slice the remaining onions, toss them with about 1/4 cup olive oil and spread them all around the turkey in the roasting pan. *

Roast the turkey for 1 hour.  While the turkey is roasting, cut up the carrots, potatoes and fennel and toss in a zip-loc bag with 1/4 cup olive oil. 
After the turkey has been roasting for one hour, scatter the carrots, potatoes and fennel all around the turkey in the roasting pan and continue cooking for an additional 2-2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you stick a knife between the thigh and the leg. *

Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover it with a tent of aluminum foil for 20-30 minutes.

Give the vegetables a good stir and return the roasting pan with the vegetables to the oven and continue cooking while the turkey is resting.

Slice the turkey and serve on a platter with the roasted vegetables.  If desired, thicken the pan drippings with cornstarch and add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for some delicious gravy!

* Tip: I cut up my 2 onions ahead of time and place them in a zip-loc back with olive oil.  I do the same thing with my carrots, fennel and potatoes and then all you have to do is pull them out of fridge and scatter them around the turkey when it is time to add them to the turkey.