Sweet Potato and Kale Gratin

sweet potato & kale gratin

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 10-12 servings

A rich, creamy gratin made with sweet potatoes and kale. Perfect for the holidays!

ingredients

• 1 large bunch (about 1 lb.) kale, tough stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (mine were between 1/8 and 1/4-inch)
• 1 c. shredded Organic Valley Parmesan cheese
• 1 pint Organic Valley heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp. Organic Valley salted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more to grease baking dish

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Steam kale for about 3 minutes, or until wilted, in a large steamer basket set over boiling water. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Squeeze out excess water.
3. Place half of the potatoes in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. (You don't have to do this neatly, but try to make sure each layer is even!) Top potatoes with kale, then top kale with half of the Parmesan cheese. Place remaining potatoes in dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Whisk together whipping cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and pour over potatoes. Dot with butter.
4. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20-25 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender and cheese is golden brown. Allow to sit 15 minutes before serving.

notes

To make this more of an everyday side dish, you can use whole milk in place of the heavy whipping cream, but this increases the likelihood of the gratin curdling. If the gratin curdles, don't panic! It is still perfectly fine to eat, it just doesn't look very pretty.

http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-sweet-potato-kale-gratin/

French Bread

From It's Always Autumn blog.

Bread is the bread of life around here. I know that sounds redundant, but it is true. Without bread, Jeffrey would think life was over. It is a very good thing we don't have any gluten issues in our family!

When I found this French Bread recipe from It's Always Autumn, Jeffrey was ecstatic. Because nothing goes better with soup than homemade French Bread. Yum! My favorite part about this recipe is how easy it is to make.

What you need:

1 1/2 T instant yeast

1/2 C very warm water

1 1/2 T sugar

2 C water

1 1/2 T oil

2 1/4 tsp salt

6 C flour

What to do: 

Combine the yeast, 1/2 C warm water, and sugar, let proof for 10 minutes. Add remaining 2 C water, oil, salt, and 3 C of flour. Mix until flour is incorporated, then add remaining 3 C flour gradually. Knead about 5 minutes, then turn out onto generously floured surface. Every 10 minutes for the next hour knead 2-3 times. Form into 4 loaves. Brush with beaten egg white. Slash 3 diagonal lines into tops. Raise until double or 30 minutes. Bake at 425* for 10 minutes, then at 375* for 20 minutes.

***Note: this is her recipe, I just posted it here for my convenience.***

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Growing up I hated cauliflower.  We always had it boiled, and sometimes, if we were really lucky, we got to have cheese on it.  Very typical for the 80's, I think.  But not great to get kids to like it.

When I was 15 or so, I finally braved a piece of raw cauliflower and was shocked with how much I actually liked it.

Now, it is one of my favorite vegetables.  I love it roasted with a bit of olive oil and cumin seeds.  Mmmmm!

Recently, I learned of this delicious cauliflower soup.  I found it on Cooking Classy's website and am much obliged, I'm sure.

picture taken from CookingClassy.com

What you need:

1 large head cauliflower, cored and broken into small bite size pieces

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

3 Tbsp flour

1 garlic clove minced

3 cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or a slightly heaping 1/4 tsp dried)

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp granulated sugar

4 oz shredded white cheddar cheese (1 cup)

1 oz finely grated parmesan cheese (slightly packed 1/4 cup)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 425*.  Place cauliflower on baking sheet, drizzle with oilve oil and toss to evenly coat, then spread into an even lawer and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Add in onion and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes.  Add in flour and cook, stirring constantly to create a roux, 1 1/2 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of cooking.  While whisking, slowly pour in milk followed by chicken broth and cream.  Add in parsley, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, roasted cauliflower and season soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and allow to cook until thickened slightly.  Puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender and return to soup in pot.  Remove from heat and stir cheeses.  Serve warm garnished with additional shredded white cheddar, parsley, and serve with fresh bread or croutons if desired.

This soup is so delicious!  It thickens quite a bit in the refrigerator when there are leftovers, so I like to add a bit of milk the next day to thin it out a bit, but it is so good the next day, too!

Buen Provecho!

Veggie Blues

google image

I have been feeling very *blah* lately, and so decided I need to get better with eating my vegetables. Also, it is winter time here in Utah, though it doesn't feel like it, and that means very soon we will have the worst air in the nation. A perfect breeding ground for germs and sicknesses.

Enter meal planning again!

I am going to try to make at least one new thing each week, just to add some spice to our monotonous menus and excite our palates.

This week I will be making several new things, though. Ambitious, I know. But I am excited for the meals this week, and especially that most all of them are easy.  The only one that scares me are the pupusas, but I have to conquer my fear eventually.

This week, we will be eating well!

Sunday: Easy crock pot chicken chili
Monday: Kale and potato hash with fried eggs
Tuesday: Pupusas with cortido
Wednesday: Monte Cristo sandwiches and broccoli soup
Thursday: Sweet potato chicken and quinoa soup
Friday: curry with naan
Saturday: leftovers/ whatever we want

This is going to be a full week, and I know I am being ambitious, especially because I will be watching 2 extra kids all day, but I am excited nonetheless. I like cooking, and I love trying new things.

Bring on the new week!