Tag Archives: quick

Bacon and Kale Skillet

Happy Monday (that’s an order!) to you all! I hope the week is starting off on the right foot for everyone. For me, that means a big glass of veggie juice at 7:40am, a cup of coffee with vanilla sugar and a devotional starting at 7:45am, and a feeling of “I can do this” as the upcoming events of the week rush through my brain and I step out the door to go to work trying to cram each thought and each project into the correct mental cranny. A good outfit to help me feel pretty also makes a big difference–isn’t it amazing how bad a day can become when you just don’t feel like your face ever came together in the morning? And you’re convinced your pants are clinging in an unflattering way?

Juice, coffee, feeling presentable–that helps my Monday roll out the gate without a grimace.

Anyway, today I have a recipe for you all that has made many Monday night appearances at our table, partly because it requires near-zero thought and near-zero effort. Which also sweetens the pill-that-can-be-Monday. This dinner is so quick to throw together, and it never fails to please. It was inspired by the preliminary steps in this quiche, and I just love its simplicity: only 4 ingredients. Only 1 skillet. Heck yeah.

Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

1 lb bacon
1 red onion
12 oz kale
2/3 cup dry sherry or white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rice, to serve

Chop up the bacon and fry it in a large skillet over medium high heat until browned and crispy.

Yes, in case you’re wondering, this is the most labor-intensive part of the recipe. It’s all water running downhill from here.

Drain all but 1 TBS of the fat.

Now look at the cup full of grease that you just saved yourself from, and feel good!

Look at the grease you spattered on the counter and also feel good. Because you can just wipe it up with a soapy sponge, and the problem disappears.

And when your “problems” can be fixed with a sponge . . . well, then you can really count your blessings.

Dice the onion and add it to the bacon. Fry over medium heat until the onion is softened, 6-8 minutes.

Chop up the kale and add it to the skillet little by little, stirring until wilted. I added almost all of it at once, just for dramatic effect.

But it will cook down a ton! I promise.

Add the sherry or white wine and bring to a simmer. I have to warn you that the flavor of sherry is quite distinctive. It has an acidic edge to it that I happen to love, but if you don’t, feel free to do the white wine, or even a white wine or sherry + chicken broth split.

Cook the kale for about 10 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed/evaporated almost completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper–and I love liberal amounts of black pepper, as you can see.

Serve over rice!

I think I’ve made this every Monday for the past 3 weeks.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Bacon and Kale Skillet

Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Looking for a quick dessert that looks elegant but takes very little effort? Look no further. This apple tart (thanks, P-Dub) is a winner! It’s another treat I made for our Community Group, and slightly healthier than the Chile con Queso. I mean, it has to be . . . right?

Anyway! Slice up some apples, mix ’em with a little sugar and stuff, slap ’em on some puff pastry and voilà, ma chérie!

If you’re unconcerned about the health factor, slather on some caramel sauce or whipped cream. Even spiked whipped cream, with a little Amarula and a sprinkle of cinnamon! Now that would be heavenly.

Ingredients

(Serves 6-8)

2 sheets puff pastry (1 package)
3-4 apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: powdered sugar, ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce

Thaw the sheets of puff pastry for the amount of time specified on the package (usually 15-20 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 415 F. Halve and core the apples, and slice them as thinly as possible into half-moons . . .

. . . and try not to break your melon baller while you’re at it.

Hunh.

You can peel the apples if you want beforehand, but I like them with the peel on. Plus, less work for me.

And please try to get them just a little thinner than I did–though they’ll taste great either way.

Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, sugar, and salt.

Let them sit for a few minutes, stirring the juicy sugar around a few times so that the apples are evenly coated.

Spray a large baking sheet with baking or cooking spray . . .

. . . cut the sheets of puff pastry in half, and place the 4 rectangles on the baking sheet. Leaving about an inch margin on all sides, arrange the apple slices in an overlapping row down the middle of each puff pastry rectangle.

I also experimented with cutting the sheet of puff pastry into thirds, like so:

However, I prefer a lot of puff in my puff pastry. I mean, what’s the point of puff pastry without the puff? Right? So the halved sheets were the clear winners.

Bake the tarts for 18-20 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown. Here’s the not-so-puffy version (still great, mind you):

And here’s the puffity-puff-puff-puffatron!

Can you tell that I love the word “puff”? I think I just used it a record amount of times. Call up Mr. Guinness!

Remove the tarts from the baking sheet and place on a serving dish (I like to use my cutting board). Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar, with ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce. Mmmm.

 If you have leftover apple slices that didn’t fit on the puff pastry, dice them, store them in a little baggy in the fridge, and use them for a delicious oatmeal topping the next morning. Or force your husband to use them as a delicious oatmeal topping the next morning! Or stir them into your yoghurt, along with some wheat germ! The possibilities are countless.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Puff Pastry Apple Tart