Cranberry Kale Side Dish

Until this year, I never saw the large bags of Collard Greens and Kale in the grocery store.  Those bagged greens that have been pre-washed make a busy week night that little bit easier.  This past Sunday while at the store, we grabbed a bag of kale and decided on the following recipe for this busy Wednesday evening.  It was modified from a recipe found on Allrecipes.com.

I found out that kale is not a favorite of my dear husband.  However, this recipe seemed to win his heart. Ted uttered the following comment while eating dinner…”You actually made kale taste really good.” 

Cranberry Kale Side Dish. Serves 6-8

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 hot peppers, sliced small *I used the Italian Long Hots  made the other day.
• 1 1/2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBS Honey mustard
• 1 cup Vegetable broth
• 1 16 oz Bag of Pre Washed Kale
• 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
• 2 TBS sliced, toasted almonds (used the left over almonds from the Gazpacho – to be posted tomorrow)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Rinse the kale and remove the tough stems. Tear into bite size pieces.  In a toaster oven or under the broiler, place the almonds on aluminum foil, spread out and toast until just brown. Watch carefully because they are no good if they burn. It won’t take long, about 1-2 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large, high sided pan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and cook 4 minutes. Add the garlic and hot peppers and cook 1 minute.  Mix together the vinegar, mustard, vegetable broth, add to the onions and garlic. Bring to a boil then add the kale.  Cover and cook about 6 minutes or until the kale wilts.

Add the cranberries, reduce heat to medium low, continue cooking with cover off for 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the toasted almonds on top.

MOVIE REVIEW!!!  “He’s Just Not That Into You”

This was a pretty good movie. Initially, I thought “chick flick…Ted is going to hate it and fall asleep”. Both of us watched the film from start to finish with no naps in between. That was quite an accomplishment since the movie was 129 minutes. 

It stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson… and more. Each couple has a story but the main theme is that women misinterpret the actions of men… but there is always the exception…    A good movie and worth the rental.

Hope you’ll visit tomorrow for CEimB Thursday.  This weeks recipe was a real hit!