Stir-fried Kale

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch or join us as our family of 6 learns to eat on $6/day.

Okay, so maybe you're asking, "Is stir-fried kale the type of thing a person really needs a recipe for?"

Answer: No.

Unless, of course, you've never thought of making something like that before before. Or you think it sounds barfalicious. In either case, you should very much think about making this because it is absolutely not barfalicious. It is so surprisingly good that you might even make a little tentative batch as a sort of experiment and then find it so amazing that you feel you must at that moment go back and make more. Not that I know this from experience of anything. Ah, greens. It's the type of thing a body starts to really crave in February.

I should mention, too, that despite the fact that this week I have now posted not once, but twice, on the mighty kale, I myself am fairly new to the vegetable. We had never really been introduced until a year and a half ago when a friend let me have the tail end of her CSA share. There at the farm were these bushels of vegetables I'd never used and sometimes never heard of before. It was great fun. And the great thing about kale is that it's a fall/winter vegetable that is super super hardy and nutritious. I tried it in soup, in colcannon, and in smoothies. And since then I've thrown it into various dishes here and there. But I'd never just cooked it as, like, it's own little vegetable deserving of it's own little vegetable spot on my plate (sorry, kale) until a few nights ago. It had honestly never occurred to me. Because, you see, even though kale looks like a sort of salad green, it's not good if you just toss it into your salad. It's actually a cole vegetable (in the same family as broccoli and cabbage) and it's generally too tough-ish to be eaten raw. It can also be a bit bitter, though generally at this colder time of year, it is not (it likes a little freeze to sweeten it up). Anyway, back to my story (what, you didn't think a person could tell a whole story about cooking kale; well, my friend, I've certainly proved you wrong now, haven't I?). The other night I was worn down from the care of my sick family. And I was craving some greens. But I didn't want a smoothie. So I just threw some olive oil (and a little coconut oil as an afterthought) in a pan with some salt and pepper and then shredded the leaves and tossed them in. I didn't trust the kale in such a simple manner so I put in a small dollop of my honey mustard dressing when it was about done, and my oh my, it was so so good. I ate it up. And then I went back and made more. Because it was that good. And also because it only took 3 minutes.

Dying to know even more about kale (because who wouldn't be, you know), have a look over here.

Would this be good over or mixed in with rice, couscous, or your hip grain of choice? Yes, it would. But it's good just on it's lonesome too. And it's cheap. And it's pretty.

Stir-fried Kale
Serves 4
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Cost: $.28
(kale: .25, other stuff: .03)

Note: I cut the large rib of the kale out and put it in my compost (because I am lazy, lazy I tell you). However, it's perfectly edible, so you can use it if you wish, but you'll want to give it a longer cook time, so separate it from the leaf, chop it, and throw it in the pan first for about 2 minutes before adding the leaves.

Note on dressing: I've tried this with and without dressing. It's very good both ways, though I feel you need more salt and pepper without it. This may also be good with Ranch, Caesar, or another dressing of your choice. I think it'd also be some kind of wonderful with coconut milk. Or a hard cheese. If you try it with something else, let me know how it turns out.

1-2 Tbsp olive or coconut oil (if it all dries up in the cooking process add a bit more)
4 large kale leaves, washed and shredded into 1-2 inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
honey mustard dressing, optional

Heat oil on medium heat as you shred the kale leaves.

Toss the leaves in and stir them to coat with oil. Stir/toss about for about 1 minute. Then cover pan with a lid for 1-2 minutes to get them wiltier more quickly (you may want to reduce the heat when you do this or even remove the pan from the heat for a minute, so you don't burn your kale). When they're sort of wilty, but not like cafeteria spinach or anything, add the dressing if using. Stir to coat and give it another 30 seconds or so.

Sprinkle with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately. Once this stuff cools off, it loses all its charm.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Chicken Bacon Chili

Cheap Eat Challenge: Join or watch us as our family of 6 learns to eat on $6/day.

How do people take pictures of chili? I mean, it just doesn't pose well. So much easier to photograph cookies. But man cannot live on cookies alone, and despite it's homely-hood, this chili is my favorite in the world universe. At least so far.

It originally came about as all good and cheap soups/chili's do--that is by way of throwing random leftovers into a pot with a can of beans. I liked it so well that I re-created it and wrote down the recipe so that I could actually eat it again.

It uses chicken, bacon, and white beans, so it can be a good gateway chili if there is such a thing. (Kip does not believe there is such a thing, but he did have a small portion anyway to be a good example for the kids, and I appreciated it greatly.)

And like all soups/chili's it is infinitely adaptable. Tonight I added a couple tablespoons of corn that were hanging around in the fridge and 1 leaf of kale just to keep it real around here and to ensure that no kids in my family would touch it so there'd be more leftovers for me. (You'd add the chopped kale when the onion is almost ready and let it cook for about 2 minutes till it's wilty.)

I think it would do well with any number of herbs, but I love love love it with cilantro. I didn't use it tonight because the old herb garden is frozen, but it's really good. It'd also probably be good with a bit of salsa or bell pepper (warning: haven't tried it, but it sounds good to me) in with the tomato, but I'd already added kale, and--as chili--it contained beans, so I was already pushing my luck with Kip and just kept it simple.

We served it with cornbread on the side. The cornbread was really good sort of crumbled into the chili and it occurred to me that the chili would be so good with some sort of cornbread crouton--if, you know, you're the type that likes to make simple, down home meals difficult and/or gourmet (come on, you know who you are).

Chicken Bacon Chili
Serves 2 heartily, 4 side dishily
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: $1.65
(chicken: .40, bacon: .30, beans: .20, tomatoes: .75)

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice (or about 2 C fresh diced tomatoes)
1 14 oz. can Great Northern white beans with a little juice (or 2 C white beans that you've rehydrated)
3 strips bacon
1/3-1/2 C shredded chicken (I used leftover from freezer--to make from scratch, you're looking at a just a bit of meat--like a leg or 1/4-1/2 of a breast, cubed)
2 dashes onion powder (or 1/4 C onion--Kip doesn't like onion and I was already so pushing my luck, so I stuck with powder)
dash chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
small handful fresh cilantro, parsley, chives or green onion, optional

Options to drive your family bonkers: 1 C chopped kale, 1/2 C chopped bell pepper, 1/4 C salsa, 1/2 C cooked macaroni--or use 1/4 C and be sure to let it simmer long enough to soften. You'd add the vegetables into the oil with or just after the onion, and the macaroni with the wet ingredients.

In sauce pan or Dutch oven, cook bacon. Remove from pan and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Crumble when cool enough.

In bacon grease, cook chicken (if using already cooked chicken leftovers, throw them in anyway to flavor them) and add onion (if not using powder). Cook till chicken has no pink and onion is transluscent.

Add tomatoes with juice and beans. Stir and let simmer for a few minutes. Add bacon. (Alternately--if you like your bacon crispier, you can save it and garnish the chili with it--that might have improved my picture above--alas, didn't think of it in time.) Add herbs. Taste. Add salt and pepper if needed.

Garnish with cheese or sour cream if desired.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Linked up to Miz Helen's Chili Cookoff

Jean's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch or join us as our family of 6 learns to eat on $6/day.

We like cookies in these parts. But generally speaking, I'm not the main cookie maker in this family. Don't get me wrong; I make plenty of sweets, but I like to experiment and try new things. Most of our faithful standbys--brownies, cookies, wacky cake--are made by Kip. However, this past Sunday I found myself home from church with a few sick kids and it just seemed like something fun to do. By that point in the over-a-week-of-sickness, I was in need of something fun to do.

When Kip makes cookies, he makes a lot. And he doesn't like to vary from the way we always do them (see that comment above about me being the one to experiment). With him out of the picture, I did it my way. And I halved the recipe. Please imagine the maniacal laughter of someone drunk with her own power. Thank you.

What is my crazy way, you may ask? And why on earth would a sane person halve a cookie recipe?

First of all, who every said I was sane, and secondly, my way isn't so very different, but it involves oat flour, which I love. Plus, that makes it healthy, right? (Public Service Announcement: The previous comment was a joke. Adding a bit of oat flour to your normal old chocolate chip cookies will not make them healthy, though it will make them more complex and tasty. Please do not serve these cookies for breakfast. Thank you.)

And I halve the recipe because I think it's fun to torture my poor husband. Just kidding. I halve the recipe because I don't like having cookies around for days. It's not good for us. We do this weird thing and we eat them all. If we save some as dough, then we eat that. If we don't eat them all, sometimes scooping dough in clumps from the refrigerator (and we usually do eat them all, though occasionally there's like a cookie and a half hanging around stale), then I feel guilty for wasting them. So I halved it. Kip does not allow this. Again, please imagine Dr. Frankenstein limping around her laboratory kitchen doing whatever she will despite the warnings/fears of others--bwahaha. Thank you.

Jean's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 18-24 (Yes, this is half what we usually make.)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes/batch
Cost: $1.90
(butter: .50, brown sugar: .17, sugar: .08, egg: .10, flour: .08, oat flour: .07, chocolate chips: .90)

Note: To make your own oat flour, just throw some oats in a blender and blend until flour-y consistency. Freeze what you don't use.

1 stick butter
1/2 C brown sugar (packed)
1/2 C white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 C all purpose flour
1/2 C oat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in eggs.

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix. Add to wet mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. I did mine right at 9 and thought they were perfect. Don't overbake these boogers or you will be sad--they should be just browning at the edges and maybe a wee bit on the top.

These freeze well as does the dough. You can freeze the dough as a hunk or roll it into balls and freeze it in individual serving sizes. Then you can just throw the balls onto a cookie sheet and add a couple minutes to your cooking time and voila.

PRINTABLE RECIPE