Broccoli and Kale Soup with Chicken

I had a bunch of kale languishing in the fridge, and a bowl of broccoli that I'd cut up and not used yet, so I decided to make soup.  My husband seemed unimpressed (and a little scared) by the appearance of this soup, but he tried it, and ate two big bowls.  :)

1 onion, chopped
a tablespoon or two of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
about 8 cups of broccoli, chopped into largish bite-sized pieces
most of 1 bunch of kale, center stem removed and roughly chopped
about 4 cups stock (from smoked turkey)
2 chicken breasts
lemon pepper
salt

Chop the onion.  Warm the olive oil in a big saucepan or dutch oven.  Start to saute the onion as you mince the garlic.
Heat the oven to somewhere between 350 and 425.
Add the broccoli and kale to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally until it's all chopped up and in the pot, and for a little longer.
Add the stock.  (Mine was frozen, so I just covered the pot and waited until it was thawed.)  Let it simmer.
Meanwhile, cut the two chicken breast in half.  Cover a rimmed baking sheet with a big piece of foil.  Spray the foil with olive oil.  Put the chicken on the foil, spray them as well, and sprinkle them with lemon pepper.  Turn them over and repeat.  Put another piece of foil on top, and roll all the edges, so the chicken is sealed inside.
Add lemon pepper to taste to the soup, as well.
Bake the chicken.  I left it in for 35 minutes, but that was more than was necessary.  It just needs to reach an internal temperature of 160F. (20 minutes might have been enough, but the chicken wasn't dried out, because it was sealed up in the foil, so it was ok.)
Pour off the juices from the chicken into the soup.
Let the chicken cool a little while you blend the soup.  I used an immersion blender, but you could put in a regular blender, though you would probably want to let it cool a bit first.
Add salt to taste.  (If you use store-bought stock, or bouillon, you might not need more salt.)
Cut the chicken into small chunks and add them to the soup.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 pumpkin

Pumpkin pie spice

1 Onion, chopped

Garlic, several cloves, minced

Olive oil

Sausage (2 lb. pork)

Mushrooms (probably 1 ½ lb.), quartered

Celery (a few stalks), chopped

Cabbage (about 1/3), chopped

Carrots (3), shredded

Salt and pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano

½ c quinoa

¼ c corn starch

1 c milk

1.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove and reserve top of pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp.  Sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with a little pumpkin pie spice, and rub it around.

2.   Sauté onion and garlic.  Add sausage and vegetables.  Cook until the sausage doesn’t seem raw.

3.   Add seasoning.  Stir in quinoa.

4.   Spoon mixture into the pumpkin, trying to leave as much liquid as possible in the pan.

5.   Mix the cornstarch into the liquid, add the milk, and cook until thick. Mix the sauce into the meat and veggie mixture. 

6.   Replace pumpkin top.  Place pumpkin on a large baking sheet, and bake 1-2 hours in the preheated oven, or until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp to serve.

Moussaka

from The Low-Carb Gourmet by Karen Baraby

Eggplant:
Preheat the boiler.
Trim the stem-end from 2 1-lb. eggplants, and cut into 1/3" slices.
Spray both sides with olive oil, and broil about 4" from the element until brown.  Turn and broil the other side.

Meat:
Heat 2 T olive oil in a large pot.
Add: 1 onion, chopped, and a few cloves of garlic, minced.
Saute until onion browns slightly.
Add 3 lb ground meat (lamb, beef...I used turkey this time).  Cook on high, breaking up lumps, until it doesn't look raw.
Add 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes, 1 t salt, 1 t (or more) oregano, 1 t cinnamon.
Simmer 30 minutes.  Cool, and beat in 3 eggs, and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Sauce:
In a medium bowl, mix:
2 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan
1/4 c grated Pecorinno
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
pepper to taste
Beat in 3 eggs.

Assemble:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Spray a 9x13" baking dish with olive oil.
Place a layer of eggplant (not overlapping) in the dish.
Spoon half of the meat over.
Make another layer of eggplant.
Spoon the rest of the meat over.
Put the remaining eggplant on top.
Cover (carefully) with the sauce.
Bake 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is golden.
Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

Kale and Mushroom Stuffed Flank Steak

I was inspired by this recipe: http://mypanera.panerabread.com/recipes/recipe/spinach-and-wild-mushrooms-stuffed-flank-steak-spirals/

This was enough to feed 8 people.

Spice rub:

• 4 t paprika
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 t chili powder
• 4 t salt
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t coriander (ground)
• 1 t thyme
• 1/2 t garlic salt (I didn't have any garlic powder)
• 1/2 t dried minced onion (again, I didn't have any powder)

about 5 lb. of flank steak (it was three steaks)
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
4 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced
about 9 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 bunches of kale, spines removed and chopped
about half a bunch of fresh parsley
2 red bell peppers, trimmed and sliced into thin sticks

Combine the spice rub in a small bowl.
Warm half of the olive oil in the biggest skillet, wok, or dutch oven you have.
Saute the onion and garlic a little.  Add the mushrooms and continue to cook.
Add the kale a little at a time, so it has time to cook down, so there is room to add more to the pan.  (I added it as I chopped it, a few leaves at a time.)
Add the parsley and about 4 teaspoons of the spice rub.  Remove from heat.
Butterfly and/or pound the meat until it is evenly between 1/4" and 1/2" thick.
Cut a lot of pieces of kitchen string, to tie around the meat once it's rolled.  (At least 5 per piece of meat.)
Rub with the remaining oil, and then the spice rub.
Make sure the meat grain is running side-to-side.
Arrange the bell pepper pieces horizontally on the bottom 2/3 of the meat.
Cover most of the meat with the kale mixture, leaving about a 1 inch border on the top edge.
Roll the meat up, away from you, and tie with the string.
(I did all of this the day before, wrapped it all in plastic wrap, and refrigerated it over night.)
Heat the oven to 500F.
Line a baking sheet (with sides) or baking dish with aluminum foil, and arrange so the pieces of meat are not touching.
Roast 8-10 minutes, until beginning to brown.
Reduce heat to 350, and continue to roast 20-25 minutes, until internal temperature is 130F.
Remove from oven, and let rest for 15 minutes.
Cut into 2" slices, removing the string as you go.