Baby Kale

Baby Kale and Chicken Salad–10 Minutes to Dinner–296 Calories

/ More Time at the Table / 4 Comments

It is snowing, sleeting, and blowing in Saint Paul.  Again.  I mostly don’t mind it.  As long as I don’t have to drive.

When I came home from the market today, it was pouring tiny bits of frozen rain–treacherous.  I got the groceries up the slippery steps and emailed my boss I was opting out of a dinner meeting.   She agreed and canceled it.  Phew.  By then the biggest snowflakes I’d ever seen were flying like big crystal kites colliding over and over in a  shivering maelstrom.  My little warm kitchen never looked so good.

My welcoming committee.

Yesterday, however, was a gorgeous day with little time for cooking.  A day to say, “I need to use those last couple of pieces of chicken and, oh, those mushrooms shouldn’t really see the morning light.  And it needs to be done pretty quickly because I have to go to rehearsal.”  (Even if you have to cook the chicken thighs, it’ll only take another five minutes.)

In the frig was a container of baby kale  — a popular blog search on More Time —  and I decided to do something a little out of the ordinary with it.  I ended up with an attractive salad with a little warmth.  Dave added some Triscuits and blue cheese; I ate just the Triscuits to watch my p’s and q’s.  Here’s how:

baby kale and chicken salad — 10 minutes to dinner

3-4 servings    296 calories or 5 Weight Watcher Points per serving

 Ingredients:

  •  4 3-ounce pieces grilled or rotisserie chicken
  •  1 Tablespoon olive oil, Kosher salt/fresh ground pepper
  •  2 cups fresh vegetables (nearly any will do–see below for mine)
  •  1 cup baby kale
  • 6-7 cups fresh greens
  •  1/2 lemon
  • Sherry or red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sliced or blanched almonds.

To a 10-inch skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and a few grinds of black pepper along with a pinch of crushed red pepper; heat over medium flame for a minute or so.  Stir in 4 ounces sliced button mushrooms, 1/2 cup chopped asparagus, 1 peeled and thinly sliced carrot,  1/4 cup each chopped onion and red bell pepper.  Let cook down 4-5 minutes;  add a chopped clove of garlic.  Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt.  (Most chopped fresh vegetables you have would work; these are the ones I had on hand.)

Add a cup of baby kale.  (Could sub spinach.)  Stir and let cook a minute or two.  (This cooks down a lot; you could add more if you like.)

Meantime, toast 2 tablespoons sliced, chopped or blanched almonds (or walnuts) over low heat 4-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss 6 cups fresh greens or fresh spinach with a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and a good sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Line the perimeter of a large platter with the greens, leaving some room at the center.  Spoon out the cooked vegetables onto the platter in the middle and top with three or four pieces of cooked chicken, in this case thighs I had cooked earlier.  (I warmed them briefly with the almonds just to take the chill off of them, but you could of course eat them cold.)

Top with toasted almonds.  Drizzle salad with a tablespoon or so of sherry or red wine vinegar.
Dave liked a little blue cheese dressing with his.  I liked it without. Blue Cheese dressing is about 80 fat calories per tablespoon.

MAKE A BIGGER MEAL:  Serve with whole wheat crackers and cheese or a piece of whole wheat toast and butter if you’re starved.   Or:  add 2 cups cooked brown rice to the salad for an additional 109 calories per serving. Toss the cooked rice in with the vegetables as they cook or add at end.

Sing a new song; stay warm,
Alyce

SWORDFISH WITH GINGER-ASPARAGUS RICE AND MANGO SALSA ON DINNER PLACE RIGHT NOW:

Bloggers Against Hunger:  The Results

38 Power Foods, Week 9 — Kale — Baby Kale and Spinach with a Roasted Chicken Breast

/ More Time at the Table / 10 Comments

 While I didn’t grow up eating kale, I got to it as soon as I could.  My folks were transplanted southerners.  Greens made an appearance, oh yeah.  I ate them.  (not)
There were lots of reasons why I finally hit on kale (baby kale first, actually)  once I knew from good.  One was its curly beauty:

       One was its strength and goodness.
     

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K — and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.(courtesy webmd.)

Another was its price.  Even at Whole Foods, kale was doable, payable, and edible.

Last was its ease of preparation. Clean well, chop, saute, season, eat.  Repeat.  Mix in another bit of greens if you like.   Herbs?  Oh, yes.  Heat?  Sure.  Good in soup?  Perfect!  And…
 Served with a bit of rice or a piece of chicken, I loved, loved it.    Try this:
baby kale and spinach with a roasted chicken breast
  A. first roast your chicken breast
Roast  olive oiled and salt and peppered bone-in breasts 45 minutes at 350 F a la Ina.

  B.  toward the end of the cooking time for the chicken, begin cooking the greens:

In a medium skillet or sauté pan, pour in about a tablespoon of olive oil.  (No need for extra virgin.)  Heat over medium heat with a pinch of crushed red pepper and kosher salt. 
  1. Add 4-5 very thin slices of red onion, torn or cut if they’re large. Cook, stirring, for one minute.
  2. Drop in 4 cups or so spinach and baby kale. (Use chopped kale in place of baby kale if that’s what you have.)  Let cook down as much as you like; watch it carefully.  Stir.   Some people like greens barely cooked; some like them well done.  Suit yourself.
  3. When almost done to your liking, toss in about 6 sliced cherry or grape tomatoes.  
  4. Heat through and serve hot or at room temperature.  (You can add a splash of apple cider vinegar if you like.)
 Never cooked greens like kale?  Watch how here:


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If you liked this recipe, you might like:

Alyce’s Red, White, and Blue Kale Salad

Stay cool!
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 38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
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As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

Sing a new song,
Alyce

baby kale and spinach with a roasted chicken breast originally posted by alyce on dinnerplace.blogspot.com

two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

Earlier this week on More Time:  Homemade Potato Chip-Steak Salad with Homemade Mayonnaise Dressing
Just add fork

Right now on the dinnerplace blog:  Would you make breakfast?
Egg+Egg White Omelet filled with Nonfat Cottage Cheese on WW Toast

Guacamole Soup with Cheese Quesadillas…recipe I’m working on for the book.  Five tries and I’m finally happy.
Miss Gab and Tucker under my make-shift desk.

  Today I took a break from recipe development and sat out on the front deck with a cup of coffee for a few.  In the crab apple tree off to the right was a tiny chickadee singing, “CHRIS-tine.”  I’ve never seen chickadees in Colorado, much less in my own yard.  Soon, I saw there was a second chickadee.   Of course, they’re always in pairs.  They seemed to be digging around for insects in the bark of the tree.  Sitting quietly, I finally saw one of the birds  go to a nest–right in the tree. 
How could I not have noticed them, the building of the nest, or the baby birds?

 Lesson for the day:  If you don’t take the time to rest or sit quietly, you won’t know what’s going on in  life right outside your own front door.