Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl

It was a new recipe night again last night.  This time, I snagged one from Joy the Baker's blog, Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl.  It was incredible!  So easy to make, and so unbelievably tasty.  It was a very new flavor experience.

As I got to work creating it I was unsure of what to expect.  It smelled downright heavenly, but all the stuff going into it made me question how it would turn out.

It turned out awesome!  It was another huge success!

And, now for the recipe (slightly modified by yours truly):

Makes 4 small servings or 2 large servings

• 1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 cups kale, ribs removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup collard greens, ribs removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
• Two cups cooked basmati rice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside (I used nonfat cooking spray as we had no parchment paper).

In a small mix together or rice vinegar, soy sauce, and siracha. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking as you drizzle it in so that the dressing emulsifies. You can also place all of the ingredients in a small jar and shake to emulsify.

Place the kale pieces and coconut on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle half (or a bit more) of the prepared dressing over the kale and coconut. Toss around to coat. Bake for 12-18 minutes, until browned and crispy. Remove from the oven. Divide farro and crispy kale into bowls and top with a bit more dressing. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  It's a fun twist on traditional "comfort food".

Chicken and Noodles with Coconut Curry Sauce

Another success story!  I was really craving some Thai-inspired fare last night so I decided to dive head first into making my own version of one of my favorite Thai dishes.  I found a great recipe for a coconut curry sauce on RealSimple.com and set about procuring the necessary ingredients.  We also had some chicken from Trader Joes that needed to be used up.

I followed this recipe pretty closely, leaving out only the lemon zest (as we didn't have any), and using dried basil rather than fresh (that's all we had at home). 

I cooked up the mixture in our awesome wok while simultaneously cooking a batch of Udon (13-14 minutes in boiling water) and Geof chopped up the pre-cooked chicken.  Once the noodles were done I added them to the sauce mixture in the wok, as well as the chicken.  Stirring occasionally, without the lid, I let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. 

And that's all folks! 

Super easy, extremely tasty, a fair amount of spice, and very filling!  This recipe was enough for four meals (two meals each).  I used a full package of Udon.  (This was my first time making Udon and I loved it!  The texture is divine.  Udon is pretty salty, though, so if you're watching your sodium intake I would use a flat egg noodle instead...or really any noodle will work; whatever your preference is!)

Here's the sauce recipe as found HERE:                                             

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 1/4 cups light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk, soy sauce, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
2. Place a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add red pepper flakes, zest, garlic, and curry powder and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
3. Add the coconut-milk mixture and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly, 1 1/2 minutes. Add basil. Pour into a bowl.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

I found this amazing recipe on Allrecipes.com and put to use a couple of sweet potatoes I had hanging out on the kitchen counter.  This is hands down one of my favorite recipes thus far!  Delicious!

I followed this almost exactly, except that I used black beans instead of kidney and only used two cans of beans (~4 cups), olive oil instead of vegetable oil, and garlic powder instead of fresh (we were still getting over an overdose of fresh garlic from the previous night's dinner, so we opted to play it safe!).

There was enough for about 10 burritos, so it was plenty for the two of us, for a few dinners.  It even tastes great reheated!

And now for the recipe, as found HERE, enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve