Kale Balls

Once again, I went to the Farmer’s Market, and bought way too much food. This time it was not my fault. I went to the only stand that was selling kale, and I said I would take one bunch. For most, a bunch is enough for a batch of kale chips, or maybe sautéed with some garlic as a side dish. I did not get a bunch. Instead, I got an entire grocery bag filled to the top with kale, and I was only charged $1! Needless to say, we have been eating a lot of kale this week. Today, I had about one bunch left, and I thought, hmmmm, I need a new recipe for the Happy Heffer… Why not make some kale balls! So, here they are. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 c. of kale torn into ½ pieces, stems removed

3 cloves of garlic chopped

¼ c. chopped sweet onion

¼ c. feta crumbled

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan

¼ to ½ c. Italian breadcrumbs

1 egg slightly beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Spray the inside of a microwave safe bowl with cooking oil. Set aside

2. Wash torn kale in a colander. With water remaining on the leaves, place the kale in the prepared microwave safe bowl, cover, and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes or until the kale has wilted. The water on the leaves will be enough to steam and wilt the kale. Remove from microwave, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, add the egg, garlic, onion, feta, and Parmesan and mix together. Add the cooled kale, and enough breadcrumbs to remove the moisture. The mixture should stick together when rolled in your hands. If it is too dry, add another egg. If it is too moist, add more breadcrumbs.

4. Roll the kale mixture into balls about the size of ping pong balls (1 ½ inches in diameter).  You should get between 10 and 12 balls depending on how you perceive the size of a ping pong ball.

5. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour. I placed mine on a piece of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking oil. This way I could simply transfer them to the baking sheet when it was time to bake. If you have a larger refrigerator, you can place the entire baking sheet with the balls on it and be ready to go!

6. Preheat the oven to 375, and remove the balls from the refrigerator.

7. Once oven is preheated, place balls on a greased baking sheet (if this step was not already completed in step 5) and place in oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until brown. You can eat them plain, or serve them with a dipping sauce such as ranch or warm marinara.

Chilaquiles

For my husband's first Father's Day, I decided to make a special brunch. He loves anything with tortillas and salsa, so I searched for something unique to make for him. I came across chilaquiles, a delicious arrangement of lightly fried tortillas, salsa verde, eggs, queso fresco, onions, cilantro, and sour cream. I served mine with a side of refried beans. After our brunch, he told me that I must post this to my blog. So here it is, courtesy of  "Cooking in Mexico" (kathleeniscookinginmexico.wordpress.com). Buen provecho!

Chilaquiles
1-2 servings, depending on your appetite

• 6 day-old corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (I use avocado oil)

• 1/2 cup salsa verde
• 2-6 tablespoons of water, if needed
• 2 leaves fresh epazote, chopped (optional)
• salt to taste

• 2 tablespoons queso fresco, queso adobero, or cheese of your choice, crumbled or grated
• 2 tablespoons Mexican crema, sour cream or crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon mild onion, chopped
• cilantro for garnish

• 2 or 4 eggs, depending on the number of eaters and the size of their appetites

1. Stack tortillas and cut into twelfths, like pie wedges.
2. Heat oil in a heavy skillet and fry tortilla pieces until small brown spots start to appear. Add more oil if needed. Don’t let tortilla pieces get too crisp. Some softness should still remain. Drain on a paper towel.
3. Add salsa verde to the hot skillet. Add water if necessary until you have a thin consistency.
4. When salsa is bubbling, add tortilla pieces and chopped epazote and stir until combined. Cook about 2-3 minutes over medium heat, adding more water if the tortillas soak up too much moisture. Salt to taste.
5. While the chilaquiles are cooking, cook eggs, either sunny-side-up or over-easy. For runny yolks, break the eggs into a hot pan in which you have already heated butter or oil. The pan should be hot enough so that the eggs start to sizzle when they go in the pan. Immediately cover the pan and turn off the heat. The residual heat will produce perfectly cooked eggs with runny yolks in about 2 minutes, while the tortilla pieces finish cooking in the salsa.

A very hungry person could eat all of this. Two moderate appetites will want to share it. So divide the tortillas among two plates, or one. Gently set the eggs on top, and garnish with crema, chopped onion, crumbled cheese and chopped cilantro.

I bought too much stuff at the farmer's market and had to use it before it went bad, but it is 90 degrees, so I had to open up the grill

The title says it all- if you actually read the entire title! I went to the farmer's market on Saturday, and realized I may have gone a little crazy on buying the fresh produce. So, I decided, let's use what we can, and not let anything go to waste. That is what brought me to tonight's awesomeness, which I now will cook over and over and over again! It was that good. Try it, and tell me what you think!

Ingredients (serves 2)

"Chicken Sandwich"
2 hoagie buns- toasted
2 Quorn chicken breasts
1 c. fresh spinach separated
1 tomato sliced and separated
honey mustard
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Thinly sliced fresh mozzarella
grilled potatoes (recipe follows)

Directions:
Coat "chicken" in olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Once grill is heated (we use charcoal, so when the grill is at medium heat and the flame is low), add the chicken. Cook until heated through, flipping half way. This should take about 10 minutes. Add cheese to chicken, cover grill with lid, and heat until cheese is melted. Remove from grill, add spinach, tomato, mustard, and place on both of the  toasted buns. Serve with potatoes

Grilled potatoes

8 small yellow potatoes halved or quartered depending on size
1 garlic scape chopped
1 leek scape chopped
1 small onion chopped into large pieces
1 Tbsp. garlic olive oil
4 (or less depending on your Southern roots and butter intake) Tbsp of butter
Season salt to taskte

Throw potatoes, onions, scapes, oil, butter, and salt into an aluminum foil pan. Cover with aluminum foil and place on  medium heat grill. Cook for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender, shaking occasionally. Once potatoes are tender, remove from heat, and serve with chicken sandwich.

Pantry Risotto and Balsamic roasted asparagus

What makes this risotto special? Absolutely nothing! I made this meal to clean out my pantry, and use up some of the yummy goods I bought at the market this week. And that is it! Risotto is amazing and great in that you can do whatever you want, as long as you follow the base recipe. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to let me know your own concoctions of this versatile and awesome dish!

Ingredients:
1 package of Dried Black Trumpet mushrooms re-hydrated
1 Shallot
4 Tbsp of butter halved
1 1/2 c. Ariobo rice
1/2 c. dry white wine (Pinot Grigio works well)
4-6c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. shredded fresh Parmesan (optional)
1 tbsb.garlic olive oil (once around the pan)
Roasted Asparagus (recipe follows)

Directions:
Pan fry the re-hydrated mushrooms in 2 tbsp of butter on medium high heat.  Fry until slightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. In a 2 quart sauce pan. add 2 tbsp of garlic olive oil on medium high heat. Once heated add shallot and cook until translucent. Add rice to shallots and stir until rice is coated with oil. Add wine and cook until wine is almost completely evaporated. Add 1/2 c. of broth. Stir until broth is almost completely evaporated. Add another 1/2 c. of broth and continue the evaporation/addition until rice is al dente. This should take approximately 20-30 minutes. Once rice has reached desired consistency, remove from heat. Add the rice to the cooked mushrooms. To the hot rice and mushrooms, add the other 2 tbsp of butter and Parmesan. Mix well. Cool for 10 minutes- meanwhile cook asparagus.

Roasted Balsamic Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh asparagus
2 tbsp garlic olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions
Preheat oven to 400: Place asparagus, woody ends removed, on a foil lined baking sheet. Pour oil over asparagus and mix with hands. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add balsamic vinegar. Shake until asparagus is coated. Increase oven to 420 degrees and place asparagus back in oven. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with risotto.

The "Laughing Lobster" Marinara Sauce

Alright friends- I have just recently discovered the lobster mushroom (thank you chubby vegetarian- chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.com). Now, for those of you who do not know, the lobster mushroom lives up to its name completely. It is rich, meaty, and oh so tasty! You can find the lobster mushroom at many gourmet establishments for a bit of a hefty price, but if you search long enough, you will find them at a nearby local grocer for under $5. I found the elusive cheap lobster mushroom and upon this awesome find, I stocked up. The next thought: I bet I could make up a new recipe for the blog with my lobster mushrooms (warning: I also got a great deal on black trumpets so another new recipe will be coming soon!) So, hear it is! The laughing lobster marinara. This could easily be made into a cream sauce by adding a 1/2 cup of half and half and 1 tbsp of butter to the final step, but I wanted to make this one vegan friendly for my vegan friends.

Ingredients:

For the mushrooms:

1 Tbsp seaweed powder (place dried seaweed in a blender and blend until a powder if you cannot find any- it will keep in a sealed container)

1 oz. dried lobster mushrooms

1 ½ c. hot tap water

Place the mushrooms, seaweed powder, and water in a medium bowl and let sit for at least one hour to re-hydrate the mushrooms. Drain and set aside

For the marinara:

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

1 small sweet onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

28 oz. can of whole tomatoes

Pinch of hot red pepper flakes or to taste

¼ tsp of each: garlic powder, salt, and pepper (or to taste)

Instructions:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil 12 in. pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Mix in old bay seasoning, remove from heat, and set aside.

In another pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for one minute more. Add tomatoes, smashing each whole tomato into the pan. This is the best part! Take each tomato out of the can and smash it with your clean hands over the pan, then add the flesh. Be careful you are not wearing a white shirt! Once all of the tomatoes have been smashed, add the remaining juice in the pan. Add the red pepper, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then allow to simmer until reduced by ½ (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and add lobster mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This sauce can be served over linguini and served with hot bread and a glass of red for a delicious meal!

super stuffed mushroom

I love experimenting with stuffed mushrooms. I make a rule that I can only use ingredients I have in the house, which sometimes is disastrous and ends with me ordering a pizza. This recipe, though, was a success, and one I like to make quite often now. I was so proud of this dish that I submitted it to Stray Rescue, St. Louis, for their cookbook that will be published this Fall. For my vegan friends, this dish is easily made vegan by just omitting the final step of melting the cheese over the mushroom. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 Portobello mushrooms, washed, gills removed, stems reserved

3 Garlic cloves chopped

¼ c chopped sweet onion

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. thyme

½ c. chopped tomato (about one medium tomato)

¼ c. Italian bread crumbs

½ round of smoked Gouda cheese sliced

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil (twice around the pan) plus more for brushing mushroom caps

Instructions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until soft. Reduce heat and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, tomatoes, and chopped reserved mushroom stems. Cook until some liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add bread crumbs until mixture has reached desired consistency. Allow to cool.

Brush inside and outside of mushrooms with reserved olive oil. Add stuffing mixture to mushroom caps until full. Cook stuffed mushrooms  for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove from oven and add smoked Gouda to the tops of stuffed mushroom caps. Cook an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.