Potato-Kale Soup with Gruyere

I made this soup for dinner tonight.  It was a quick and easy soup to make.  It hasn't been very cold lately but I've been craving soup anyway.  This recipe could easily be made-over into a vegetarian meal with just a few tweaks.  I would suggest switching to low-sodium vegetable broth.  If you are a vegan then you would have to use a butter substitute and a cheese substitute but if not the switch to veggie broth is about all you need to do.  You could also bring this up to a dinner stew level with the addition of some shredded chicken.  Too bad I thought of that idea after I had already eaten a bowl of soup.  I was also thinking that you could substitute frozen spinach or even Swiss chard if you don't like kale.  The recipe is originally from www.myrecipes.com.  I thought the soup was very tasty.  Serve with some crusty french bread for a delish meal.

Potato-Kale Soup with Gruyere

Yield:  6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

7 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

4 cups coarsely chopped peeled Yukon gold potato (about 1-1/2 pounds)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

6 cups chopped fresh Kale (about ¾ pound)

1 teaspoon dried basil

9 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

Preparation:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Stir in broth, potato, salt, and bay leaf; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.

Stir in kale and basil.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until kale is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Partially mash potatoes with a potato masher until thick and chunky.  Top with cheese.

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

Photo from RealSimple.com

This meal came from RealSimple.com.  It could quite possibly be the best meal I have ever made or eaten in my life.  I am not exaggerating here.  It was absolutely delicious.  Of course, I could be prejudiced because my mom used to make oven roasted lemon chicken and potatoes all the time for us when I was a little girl.  I could be remembering those delicious meals and savoring this one in my memory.  Who cares?!  It was so good.  It filled every need for comfort food that I ever had.  When I make it again (you notice I said "when" not "if"), I will use more potatoes.  I am a huge potato fan. I could eat them all day long but I don't...  And to say it was easy, doesn't make it clear enough.  It was so "Real Simple" that it was a complete no brainer.  I can't imagine why I hadn't thought of this myself a long time ago.  The best part is that I got to use the convection roast feature of my new oven.  Wow!  Just wow!  I am in love this this meal.  Just add a glass of wine and you've got dinner.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

Serves 4

Hands-on Time: 15 Mins.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ pound trimmed green beans
8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3-1/4 pounds)

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of t he olive oil.  Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

2.      In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices.  Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans.  Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive oil mixture and coat thoroughly.  Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet.  Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

3.   Roast for 50 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet.  Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender.  Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; dividing the green beans and potatoes equally.  Serve warm.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook