These days, you see recipes for kale everywhere. You can't look at Pinterest without seeing kale, quinoa or chia in some new and delicious recipe. They are the trifecta of food popularity. I love quinoa and kale, there's a reason food becomes popular, because they are so yummy. Believe it or not, I haven't yet tried chia seeds. Not sure why I haven't. Maybe it's because I only see chia being added to yogurt and smoothies and stuff like that and I don't really eat yogurt or drink smoothies or protein drinks. Yucky. I guess you can say I'm still looking for a chia recipe that interests me. Anyway... I do love Kale, but I must admit I am not all that fond of kale when it is in salads all by itself. An entire salad of just Kale is practically inedible. It definitely needs to have another green to tone down the roughage factor. It's tough, hearty and floral tasting but I find it can end up tasting bitter if not mixed with the right salad toppings. I personally think Kale tastes best when paired with something sweet like fruit like in my Kale Salad with Strawberry Mango Salsa. I also think Kale is BEST when cooked. Saute, braise, roast into chips, and throw it into soups, all super yummy! If you like greens or fried cabbage this is the veggie for you. The idea of braising it with onions and topping it with a sweet and earthy balsamic butter sauce had been bouncing in my head for a while. I'd made it a few times as just a delicious side dish but I felt the heartiness of it needed to be its own meal. I decided to pair it with these yummy Salisbury meatballs and the dish was a home run. Enjoy!
Cool Product Alert! My mom gave me this lightly dried parsley from Gourmet Garden and I used it in my meatballs and also to top the finished dish. I loved having this on hand because I don't always have fresh parsley in the fridge. This little tub has quite a bit in it and goes a long way. Convenient and pure genius! Salisbury Meatballs with Braised Kale and Balsamic Butter Sauce
Serves 4
Salisbury Meatballs 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef1/2 cup bread crumbs1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 1 t. garlic powder1 t. onion powder2 T Gourmet Garden Parsley, dried2 T Worcestershire sauce1 eggsalt and pepper to taste1-2 T canola oil for frying
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together and roll into medium sized meatballs. Add oil to a large skillet and over medium high heat, brown all sides until cooked through. Remove from skillet and cover with aluminum foil and set aside. Braised Kale and Onions2 large bunches kale, roughly chopped (~10 cups)1/2 large yellow onion, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced1-2 T olive oil 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth1/2 cup white wine1/2 cup water pepper In a large pot, add olive oil, onions and garlic and cook over high heat until translucent. About 5 minutes. Add chopped kale, chicken broth, wine and water and cover with a lid. Heat on high for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir kale. The kale should be wilted enough to be covered by the liquid at the bottom of the pot. Heat on medium heat, covered for about 15 minutes until Kale stems are nearly tender. Add about half of the balsamic butter to the greens and stir. Continue to heat uncovered for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid until the kale is cooked to desired tenderness. Salt and pepper to taste. Note: Taste the kale before adding salt because the chicken broth when reduced adds salt so take care not to add too much.
Balsamic Butter Sauce1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to 3T1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)1/2 T brown sugarblack pepper
Add vinegar into a small saucepan. On medium heat, heat vinegar until reduced to about 3 T. Turn off heat and add sugar and pepper and stir. Add butter and set aside until butter is melted. Add about half of the balsamic butter to Braised Kale during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time and drizzle the remaining half over the Salisbury Meatballs before serving. Garnish with Parsley and enjoy!Other recipes to try:
October went by way too fast this year. It went by so fast that I never finished decorating my house for Halloween. :( We held a big Halloween Carnival at my boy's school so my time, attention and decorations were focused on that event. I was responsible for the Zombie Maze. We transformed the school cafeteria into a Haunted Maze, got volunteers to dress in character and scare kids. It was great and the kids and adults loved it! My photos didn't turn out so great but I'll blog about the maze in the near future after I try to belatedly finish a Halloween decorating blog this weekend. :)Anyway, fall is finally here (as in cooler weather) and I'm neck deep in yummy comforting fall recipes. Crockpot White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup is one of those easy, delicious recipes that cooks itself. Throw it all in and forget about it. Perfect for those long workdays or cool weekends watching football. Enjoy!
White Bean, Sausage and Kale Soup
Serves 4-6
2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight1 Kielbasa sausage, sliced and pan-fried1 small red pepper, diced (~1/2 c)1 medium carrot, diced(~1/2 c)1 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 c)4 cloves of garlic, minced2 cups kale, roughly chopped2 bay leaf1 t. smoked paprika1/2 t. thyme, dried1/2 t. Italian seasoning, dried 1 t. kosher saltpepper (to taste)6 cups chicken brothSoak 2 cups of dried white beans overnight. Drain water and place beans into slow cooker. Pan fry kielbasa sausage until browned and drain about half of the rendered fat. Add sausage to slow cooker.Add remaining ingredients. Stir and set slow cooker to low and cook for 6-7 hours. Enjoy! Other soup recipes to try:Spicy Slow Cooked Beef Stew Rustic Minestrone Tomato Garlic Soup
The idea of topping salad greens with salsa has been bouncing around in my head for a while now. I can think of many times topping my so-so salad with salsa. So I guess the idea hadn't been in my head but rather in beta testing on my salad plates at countless Mexican restaurants. But now that summer is near, fruit salsas are again topping grilled chicken and fish in most of the cooking magazines. Feeling inspired to top my grilled chicken with a delicious tropical fruit salsa, I bought some Mango Pineapple salsa from Trader Joe's to try and it was amazing! I imagined it on soy marinated, grilled salmon and chicken and as the finishing on so many dishes that I then thought of my favorite food...salad. I thought of the many times I used plain salsa to top my salads...Wouldn't it be awesome to top a salad with the whole container of this delicious salsa from Trader Joes? There would be no need for a dressing. The bright idea flashed as I looked down and realized I'd eaten the whole container of salsa. Not a drop left to top a salad with, but that didn't mean I couldn't make my own salsa, right? Inspiration comes many ways and just like the TJ's Mango salsa, my trip to SLO brought me Kale. The perfect marriage.I love Kale. It is chewy and hearty and unexpectedly, floral in it's taste. I think it tastes best when paired with fruit. The Strawberry Mango Salsa is sweet and tangy and works perfectly with this delicious green. It's perfect for summer BBQs because you keep the salsa and the greens separate until ready to serve, that way your greens don't wilt after sitting in all that juice. Enjoy!
Kale Salad with Strawberry Mango Salsa Serves 4-6
3 large leaves of Kale, chopped1 medium head of green leaf lettuce, chopped
Strawberry Mango Salsa 1 cup strawberries, diced1 cup mango, diced1/2 cup pineapple, diced2 T cucumber, small dice 1 T red bell pepper, small dice1 T jalapeno, small dice (optional) 2-3 green onion, sliced 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped2 T agave syrup or honey 2 T orange juice concentrate 2 T vinegar2 T extra virgin olive oil1 T fresh ginger, gratedsea salt (to taste) Chop, rinse and spin lettuce and kale and place in a large serving bowl. Set aside.Prepare Salsa. The ingredients are approximate as I added a little here and there to get the right amount of sweetness so this is my closest approximations. Feel free to adjust to your taste. Add all fruit and vegetable ingredients into a medium sized bowl with tight fitting lid (for storage) and mix well. In another bowl add agave syrup or honey, OJ concentrate, vinegar, olive oil, ginger and salt and whisk together until well combined. Add to fruit, mix and chill covered in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight. (This is a good make-ahead salad)
When ready to serve, place Kale salad on a plate and top with this deliciously sweet Strawberry Mango Salsa. Enjoy!
Looking for a new salad recipe for Spring and Summer? Try some of these:Sunflower Sprout Salad with Strawberry VinaigretteNappa Cabbage Salad with Ginger Garlic Dressing Caprese Salad with Pesto VinaigretteGreen Goddess Primavera SaladVegetable Ceviche
Cool Product Alert! 
Salisbury Meatballs 
