Chicken Sausage with White Beans, Kale, and Lemon

This meal is fast, satisfying, and virtuous, which makes it an instant winner in my book.  Found here and adapted only slightly.

Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a heavy bottomed skillet and heat until oil is shimmery (medium-high works best for this, I’ve found.) Reduce heat to low.  Add sliced sausage rounds and cook on each side for 10 min.  After sausage cooks through, bring the heat up to medium high and brown on each side for 2 min until crispy and dark.  (I used raw sausage, so the additional cook time was necessary. If you’re short on time, use cooked sausage, skip the 10 minute cook, and brown over high heat for 4-5 min to add a little extra flavor.) Remove from pan. (I added a little water here to deglaze the skillet, as I found that the browned bits on the bottom were getting a little too dark for my taste– but this may have been unnecessary, as you’ll see below!) Add diced carrots, onion, and celery (the mirepoix from trader joe’s is a great timesaver if you’re lucky enough to live near a store.) Add 2 sliced garlic cloves.  Add a couple of bay leaves if you have them (I got lucky.)

Drain one can of cannellini beans. I like to rinse them as well in order to get rid of some extra sodium. Add beans to skillet, then juice half of a lemon and add it in, trying to hit the bottom of the pan. This will lift the browned bits off the bottom, adding flavor and saving you the effort of scrubbing it out! The first time I made The Amateur Gourmet’s recipe, I used an entire lemon but found that the finished product was a little too acidic for my taste. I LOVE lemon juice and am constantly looking for an excuse to use it in recipes, so if it was too much for me, it might be too much for you.

Add a few big handfuls of kale (more than you think you’ll need), cover, and let the kale wilt. Grind some pepper, add a little extra lemon, and you’re ready to go!

pot stickers on Food52

Food52 somehow manages to hit the nail on the head every single time. Easy weeknight recipe? Sure. Complex, have-the-whole-day-free, need mental stimulation ordeal? Yup. Beautiful food photography? Always.

For me, pot stickers were relegated to the “order them when you go out because you sure as hell can’t make them at home” category. Vrunka‘s recipe definitely proved me wrong on that count. Planning to try these this week.

there’s some beautiful food photography on instagram! found here

Farro salad with cranberries, goat cheese

I needed a spring-like lunch after hearing news of impending snow

recipe:
cook farro as directed (usually 1/2 grain/water ratio.) let the farro cool (crucial step if you want meaty chunks of feta!) portion out about 1 cup’s worth.
squeeze half a lemon over the grain and mix it in. drizzle about 3/4 tablespoon of olive oil, then add salt and pepper to taste.
on a skillet over medium-high heat, toast 3 tbsp almond slices until fragrant and golden-brown. keep a close eye on them as they have a tendency to burn immediately and without warning. let cool and mix into farro along with 2 tbsp dried cranberries (or cherries, or currants…) add 2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese. add another squeeze of lemon for good measure.

found here

chestnut staircase, found here

collected treasures on the kitchn

Chicken Barley Soup

sometimes winter hits me right in the gut.

So: chicken barley soup (with rosemary sprig, cause we’re fancy like that.)

Recipe:

add 2 tbsp olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat. add 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 diced carrots, half of an onion, and 3 diced stalks of celery. cook 5-7 min until soft.

push the veggies to one side and add 5 chicken drumsticks, skin side down (i like drumsticks because they are cheap and flavorful, but any bone-in cut will do.)

brown over medium-high heat for 4 min on each side, or until crispy and caramel-colored. as chicken browns, add 1 tsp cumin, 3 cloves, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1/2 tsp oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

add 6 cups of water, 3 potatoes diced into 1-inch chunks, and 1 cup barley. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 40 min.

after 40 min are up, skim the fat off the surface and ladle into bowls.

I ate mine with a piece of crusty toast and goat cheese…but that’s just an idea (albeit a good one.)

for the comforting kitchen