Sauteed Kale with Ham Recipe ~ Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Taking leftover ingredients that you may have from other dishes and creating a new dish or using these ingredients in a different presentation is called cross-utilization.  The science behind it comes from the restaurant industry.  It is a way to ensure that every feasible amount of food products purchased are used and not wasted, and if you are familiar at all with running a restaurant, food cost is everything.

In reality, this is exactly how this Saturday evening's recipe, Sauteed Kale with Ham, came about.  It is a "byproduct" of the following two recipes:

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage, White Bean and Kale Soup

Ham, Potato and Leek Chowder

A few weeks ago, the weather was cold, so I made these two soup recipes and had leftover kale and ham.  The ham is quite expensive and kale is relatively new to our family.  In an effort to not let these leftover ingredients go to waste, I decided to play around a little bit with a recipe idea.

I had heard of sauteed spinach, fried cabbage and the like, but did not really know if kale would work in this sort of medium.  So I came up with the above recipe, mainly as an experiment.  It ended up as a win-win situation.  The leftover ingredients were utilized and not wasted, and the end result became an instant favorite of The Lucky Wife.  The flavor was excellent, the texture was different, and the presentation was beautiful.  We think the Well-Fed Son and Daughter may grow to enjoy it as much as we do once their palate is better developed.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day... and enjoy.

Sauteed Kale with Ham

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh kale greens
• 1/2 cup diced ham (we used turkey ham)
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Dash kosher salt
• Approximately 1/8 cup water

Instructions:

1. Pull leafy part of kale away from center stalk and tear into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat until warm.
3. Add oil and diced ham. Slowly brown ham until golden and crispy and fat is rendered.
4. Once ham is browned and crispy, increase temperature to medium-high and add torn kale greens. Toss greens in pan drippings until thoroughly coated and slightly wilted.
5. Add garlic and pinch of salt and toss thoroughly. Saute for approximately 1 minute and add water slowly. (Note: this will create a slight bit of steam and will cause kale to wilt and tenderize further.) Continue to saute for approximately 1 more minute. (Note: Do not overcook. You want there to be a "little tug" on the leaves when eating.)
6. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

NEED ANY OF THE TOOLS USED?

Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 4 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 4 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (5 years old) - 1 Star
The Well-Fed Daughter (19 months old) - 1 Star

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

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Easy Toddler Smoothies Recipe {Healthy Toddler Snack}

As our readers know by now, our recipes usually come from The Chef, but this Saturday evening's recipe, Easy Toddler Smoothies (a healthy toddler snack!) is one I actually developed after learning a great tip from Faith Filled Food for Moms and Grandmothers for feeding yogurt to toddlers!  We buy some organic foods when possible, and yogurt is one of those that we usually buy organic.  One particular brand is runny, and it has always been a messy snack because of that.

So when I read about using a straw and serving it more like a drink, I could not wait to give it a try with The Well-Fed Daughter:

It was a perfect "solution" to the "problem" of yogurt being such a messy snack.  Using a knife, you just cut a small slit through the top of the yogurt container, and slide a straw right through it:

After seeing how well it worked, I began experimenting with plain yogurt.  I was not pleased with the amount of sugar in the store-bought yogurts with fruit mixed into them, so I wanted to see if I could add fruits and fruit juices to the plain yogurt to aim for an end result with less sugar and still have a drinkable snack.  My first recipe that came out of this:

Easy Toddler Smoothies

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 half of a banana
• Fruit juice (I used the juice from a container of peaches, but apple juice would work as well.)

Instructions:

1. Using a fork, mash banana until it liquifies.
2. In a cup, mix banana with yogurt.
3. Add a little juice and stir. Repeat this process until the mixture reaches desired consistency.

Recipe Adaptation:  The Well-Fed Son cannot eat a lot of bananas, so I simply leave the banana out of his, and he loves this "yogurt drink," as we call it, with just the yogurt and juice from the peaches.


Both of my children love this snack, and it being delicious and healthy makes it a winner to me, too.  I hope your children enjoy it as much as ours do... it is now a frequently requested snack in our home!

 

 

 
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For more great ideas: Tip Me Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well Wednesday, The Mommy Club, Tatertots and Jello

Chicken "Pot Pie" Almondine Recipe

I created this Saturday evening's recipe out of our family's need to be gluten-restricted. Everyone knows that the best part of a good home made chicken pot pie is the crust.  But when you are gluten- restricted it is hard to enjoy.  So I came up with a pot pie that is for the most part, free of flour, wheat and low gluten.  The toasted almonds give a good taste and "crunch factor".  The Lucky Wife and I thought it turned out well.  The well-fed kids do not really care for it.... at least not at this point in their culinary experience.  But that just means more for us!

Enjoy.

Chicken "Pot Pie" Almondine

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 3 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• Approximately 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Approximately 2 tablespoons corn starch
• salt
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• 2 1/2 cups sliced almonds

Instructions:

1. Place chicken in large stockpot and cover with water. Season with approximately 1/4 teaspoon salt, onion powder and garlic powder.
2. Bring to a boil and boil for approximately 1 hour.
3. Once chicken is cooked thoroughly, turn off heat, remove chicken pieces from stock and place on plate to cool. Retain stock.
4. Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove meat from bones and discard skin and bones.
5. Place chicken pieces, mixed vegetables and potatoes in a 2nd 3 to 4-quart stockpot, Ladle stock over vegetables and meat until stock is at the top of the ingredients but not covering.
6. Bring stock, vegetables and meat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender.
7. Once potatoes are fork-tender, reduce heat to low.
8. In a small bowl, mix corn starch with a small amount of cold water until a thick liquid forms.
9. Remove chicken and vegetables from burner, stir in cornstarch thoroughly. Place back on burner and bring to a simmer. As it begins to simmer, stock will thicken slightly.
10. Once again, turn heat to low, slowly add heavy cream, combine thoroughly and allow mixture to simmer for approximately 5-10 minutes.
11. Taste test and add additional salt, garlic powder or onion powder as desired.
12. Preset oven to low broil setting. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon chicken and vegetables into a 9x13 casserole dish. Ladle just enough liquid over chicken and vegetables to keep moist. (You don't want it too soupy.)
13. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top of casserole dish. Place in oven until almonds are toasted.

NEED ANY OF THE TOOLS USED?

 

Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 3 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 4 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (5 years old) - 3 Stars
The Well-Fed Daughter (18 months old) - 3 Stars

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Pin It

For more great ideas: Tip Me Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Women Living Well Wednesday, The Mommy Club, Tatertots and Jello