Garlic Chicken with Kale & Wild Rice Casserole

My main focus of winter cooking tends to revolve around meals that will warm us up and make us forget how bitterly cold it is outside, even if that feeling is fleeting and only lasts through dinner.  In the summer my meal planning is simple and often non-existent since we mostly feast on burgers or anything we can throw on the grill, In the winter it's soup or chili, casseroles or curry dishes, etc.

One thing that is great about winter cooking is that most recipes tend to last for at least a few meals. That works out great for me because most evenings after a long day of work, I don't feel like doing much other than curling up under a blanket and watching TV...especially when it's pitch dark out at 5 pm.  Talk about depressing.  But at least I know this season is not forever...although in Wisconsin it certainly feels like it.

You could certainly make these recipes separate since they are so good just on their own, or you could simply pair the Garlic Chicken with plain rice if that's easier for you.  However, I found these two really compliment each other together.  If you're looking for a meal that will warm you up and last your family a couple days at least - then I recommend giving this a whirl.

Garlic Chicken with Kale & Wild Rice Casserole
Serves 4-6 (and leftovers to spare!)

For the chicken: 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless but I think that bone-in/skin on thighs would be delicious too!)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled, cloves separated

1 cup white wine (any wine that you like, since there will be most of the bottle leftover ;))

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 sprig fresh rosemary or teaspoon or so dried

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Cooking over medium heat, brown the chicken on both sides; about 4 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add garlic cloves to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until golden; about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.  

Carefully add wine to the skillet.  Stir in parsley and add rosemary.  Transfer chicken back to skillet.

Cover and continue to cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, turning the chicken over half way through cooking. Add ¼-cup more wine if it looks too dry when you go to turn over the chicken.

Remove from heat.  Transfer chicken to serving dish and spoon the garlic sauce over the chicken.  Serve.

Kale & Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

2 large bunches of Kale, leaves torn

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2-3 teaspoons thyme (dried – or more if using fresh)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream, canned coconut milk (or just more whole milk)

4 cups cooked wild rice (I used a rice cooker to make this ahead.  Can even be done a day before)

1 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large sweet onions, sliced into thin rings

Salt and pepper

Instructions

Grease a 2-3 quart casserole dish. Set aside.

Heat a very large skillet (the largest you have!) over medium-high heat. Add all of the torn kale to the skillet and add 1 cup of water. Cover the skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the kale is wilted. Once the kale is wilted and all of the water has been absorbed, remove the kale from the skillet and set aside.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the skillet is hot, sprinkle in the mushrooms in a single layer. Don't stir them! Let them sizzle until they have caramelized on the bottom, about 2 minutes. When the bottoms are caramelized, toss them once and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Continue to cook without stirring for about 5 minutes. Now add the butter to the skillet and cook until the butter begins to brown. Once the butter is browned reduce the heat and add the garlic, thyme and nutmeg and cook for about 10 seconds. Now add the kale back to the skillet with the mushrooms, garlic and spices and toss well.

Sprinkle the flour over the kale and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and chicken broth, bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes or until there is a thick sauce. Add the extra milk or cream and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked wild rice. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Now wipe the skillet and add the olive oil, cook over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Continue to cook until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle half the cheese over the casserole and then add the onions and the remaining cheese. Bake the casserole for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the onions are crispy. Serve!

Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Spiced Sweet Potato Fries & Johnsonville Grillers

Thanks to my friends at Johnsonville I was able to get a sneak peek taste test of their new Johnsonville Grillers!  They sent me packages of the Cheddar Cheese & Bacon as well as the Swiss Cheese & Mushroom.  Luckily we had a couple nice days in the midst of this prolonged winter into spring we've been having and we were able to bust out the lil' weber grill!  We had some friends over and we were able to try both flavors of Grillers - and they were both a hit!  My personal favorite was the Cheddar Cheese and Bacon...a winning combination in my book.  They have a ton of flavor, and they are easy to make - no pattying required - they are just ready to grill! These would be great for tailgating at Brewer games :)  You can keep them frozen until you are ready to use them and they are great re-heated the next day for leftover lunches! 

In addition to the Grillers...I also made my new "go-to" Sweet Potato Fry recipe that I'm in love with.  With the help of the culinary genius from Sprouted Kitchen, I can enjoy the delicious taste of sweet potato fries at home instead of having to order them at a restaurant.  I highly recommend these to accompany your burgers or really any meal! :)

Spiced Sweet Potato Fries
Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Pinch of chile powder

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Arrange a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat the oven to 425 F.  Scrub the sweet potatoes, pat dry, and cut them into 8 wedges (or thinner if you like more of a “fry” shape) each.  On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the wedges with the olive oil.  Sprinkle with paprika, garlic, chile, rosemary, and a generous amount of salt & pepper and toss again to coat.  Spread them out in an even layer (try not to overlap the potatoes too much). 

Roast in the oven, flipping the wedges over and rotating the pan halfway through (after 15 minutes), until the outside of the wedges are crisp and browned/darkened, for a total of 30-35 minutes.

  

Source: adapted from Sprouted Kitchen 

Red Potato & Leek Gratin

Welcome to cheesy potato heaven. 

Truth be told, there are not many recipes that I make twice - especially in one month.  It's not that I don't like recipes enough to make them again, it's just I love trying new things - and unless something is insanely delicious, I will opt for trying out new recipes over old ones.  However, I have made this dish now twice in the last month, and have had requests for more!  I made this for two different parties and it was a hit both times.  One of my friends who is not even a big potato fan went back for a second helping. That's when you know something is good :)

The first time I made the dish, it was to accompany my friend's main course of apple butter bourbon glazed pork chops, which were delicious as well! Now you may be thinking...what is a leek?  Or...what does a leek taste like?  Or...why is it named a leek?  These are all excellent questions.  Here are your answers: 

1)The leek, is a vegetable which belongs to the onion and garlic family. 

2) A leek tastes like a combination of onion and garlic - aka: delicious. 

3) I have no idea why it is named a leek. Just eat it. 

If you have never cooked with leeks before...I recommend this as your first experiment! 

Red Potato & Leek Gratin

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Yield: Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 stalks of leeks (I used most of the leek except for a few inches of the very tops of the greens) 

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. dried thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

8-10 small red potatoes (1.5 lbs.)

Chopped green onions

 for garnish

1 Tbsp. Bread crumbs

Instructions:

Rinse the leeks and cut in half lengthwise. Chop into 1” pieces. Carefully wash the leeks again in running water. Butter a baking dish. In a large skillet, heat the rest of butter on medium high heat and add leek.  Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and cook until leeks are soft.

Meanwhile, peel and slice the potatoes into ¼” pieces.  Soak in water until you are ready to use them (prevent from changing color). 

When leeks are soft, add thyme, salt, pepper, and heavy whipping cream. Simmer another 5 minutes until the sauce gets thickened.

Preheat an oven to 400F. Divide the potato, leek mixture, and each cheese according to your baking dish size (I divided them in half since my baking dish was fairly shallow).

 Layer one portion of potatoes in the baking dish.  Then layer one portion of leek mixture.  Layer one portion of each cheese. Repeat for each layer.  Sprinkle bread crumbs and green onion on top.

Cover with the aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. To check whether the dish is done, test by inserting a fork through the potatoes. If the skewer is able to go through the potato smoothly then it’s ready. Remove the cover and change oven setting to broil. Broil for 2-3 minutes until golden brown on top. Be careful not to broil for too long since you don’t want to burn the dish.

Remove from the oven and let it sit another 5-10 minutes before it’s ready to serve.

 Source: adapted from Just One Cookbook 

Loaded Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Leeks

I think adding the word "loaded" to a recipe makes it sound much more enticing.  Adding bacon to a recipe makes it taste much more delicious. The two combined are magical.  

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received free Simply Potatoes - made by Crystal Farms.  Thank you Foodbuzz!  They are simply easy to make, made from simple, fresh ingredients, and they and simply delicious!

Simply Potatoes makes a wide variety of fresh potato selections.  For this recipe, I used their Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  

Instead of a loaded baked potato - I decided to make loaded mashed potatoes and add a special twist by using leeks.  Leeks are part of the onion and garlic family, and they have a delicious - not too strong, not too subtle oniony/garlicky flavor.  

Loaded Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Leeks
Serves 4
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
3 TBS butter
1 leek (include part of stalk)
1 package Simply Potatoes Garlic Mashed Potatoes (24 ounces)
4 slices bacon
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
Fresh ground pepper & salt
Sour cream, shredded cheese, and bacon for garnish, if desired

Melt butter in large frying pan on medium heat. Wash and slice leek then rinse again in strainer.  Add leek to pan and simmer, covered for 10 minutes or until softened, stirring often.  Meanwhile, on small plate with paper towel add slices of bacon and cover with additional paper towel.  Microwave for 4-5 minutes, until crispy.  Add mashed potatoes to pan and stir.  Chop bacon into small pieces (reserve some for garnish if desired).  Add sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon, salt and pepper to the potatoes and stir.  Cook until heated through and serve immediately.  Garnish with additional cheese, sour cream, and bacon pieces if desired.  Enjoy!