Toasted Orzo with Kale and White Beans

And just like that, everything has suddenly gotten easier around my house. This past week, I did quite a bit of cooking, baked a couple times, went out with friends for lunch (with the baby, of course), and even managed to stay up past 9:30. Life is getting back to "normal" with the addition of one very sweet little person. (Oh, and speaking of our Maisy, I want to say thank you for the comments of kind words and congratulations with my last post.)

I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in my kitchen, cooking dinner every night. If Sage isn't home yet, it can be a little bit of a challenge with both a newborn and a three year old, but I'm working it out. The key is keeping the meals very simple. This recipe fit the bill perfectly- not a tremendous amount of prep work involved and it came together very quickly. It was a lovely meal that tasted of summer to me. Toasted whole wheat orzo with parmesan is tossed with lemony kale, white beans and grape tomatoes for a healthy but very flavorful dish.

You might have noticed kale doesn't normally make an appearance on this blog. The last time I cooked with it, over a year and a half ago, Sage insisted he didn't like it. Something made me buy it anyways this week, and guess what. He enjoyed it in this. Now I'm wondering what took me so long. I'm going to have a lot of kale catching up to do.

Toasted Orzo with Kale and White Beans
adapted from allrecipes
serves 2-3 as a meal

1 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 cup whole wheat orzo 
2 cups very hot vegetable stock, plus about a 1/3 cup for cooking the kale
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small bunch of kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups grape tomatoes (you could halve them, but to keep it easy, I left them whole)
1 (15.5 oz) can of Cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
fresh lemon juice, to taste

Heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add orzo and toast 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the 2 cups hot stock and 1/4 tsp salt, stir, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 12 minutes, or until orzo is tender but still firm to bite and liquid is almost completely absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in parmesan and set aside.

While orzo simmers, heat remaining half tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in kale, then add about 1/4 cup of vegetable stock, the nutmeg and several grinds of pepper. Cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding a splash of stock as needed. Add tomatoes and beans to skillet, recover, and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Toss orzo with kale mixture. Add desired amount of lemon juice (my lemon yielded a 1/4 cup of juice, and I ended up using it all. I would probably only use 2-3 tablespoons next time. It was delicious, but a little on the tart side.) Serve warm.

Kale and Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash

The other day I decided to buy kale while at the grocery. At first I thought I'd make a soup, with sausage and potatoes (similar to my favorite soup from Olive Garden, which I don't think I've had in 7 years since Sage doesn't like that restaurant.) But then I wasn't so in the mood for soup.

Yesterday I was hanging out with my cousin, who also enjoys cooking and being creative in the kitchen. She mentioned how she had a butternut squash she was planning to stuff...and I had a light bulb moment. I realized I could stuff the butternut I had with the kale and sausage! (So, thanks, Leesa. I stole your concept- and it was delicious!!!)

I did learn something interesting. When I was putting this together, I found out Sage was predisposed to not like the kale, stemming from a stint as an Applebees server/bartender when he was younger. Apparently every plate had to go out with a garnish of raw kale- "No kale, no sale"- so to him, its a garnish. So even though I assured him it wouldn't taste like the raw garnish he'd sampled as a twenty year old boy, he didn't keep an open mind about it. So, while he liked the dish, he wasn't fond of the kale in it. (I loved it though!) I guess next time I makes this, I will have to use spinach instead since he loves that.

I couldn't find turkey sausage anywhere in the store, but regular Italian sausage was on sale, so even though I never eat pork sausage, that's what I used. It was really okay in this, but I much prefer turkey sausage. I think this dish is fun because you could really switch up what you put in it. I'd like to add canned diced tomatoes next time and maybe try a different cheese or perhaps a grain. And of course, for my non-kale liking husband, spinach.

1 small to medium butternut squash
olive oil
2 mild Italian Sausage links (regular or turkey), casings removed
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups roughly chopped kale, ribs removed (about 1/2 a bunch)
1/4 cup vegetable (or chicken) broth
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp dried basil
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400. Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Place in roasting pan cut side up and brush top with olive oil. Roast until flesh is soft and edges are lightly browned, about 35-40 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat skillet over medium. Add sausage and onion, stirring frequently and using spoon to break up sausage. Saute for 5-7 minutes, until sausage is mostly browned and onions are becoming translucent. Add garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.
3. Add kale, broth, basil, red pepper, salt and pepper. Reduce heat slightly, and stirring frequently, continue cooking until kale is wilted, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, scoop out butternut, leaving about a 1/3 inch thick border attached to the skin. Coarsley chop the scooped out squash and add to the skillet. Stir gently to combine. Stuff the hallowed out butternut with sausage and kale mixture. If any leftover stuffing, mound in roasting pan. Top both stuffed squash (and any leftover mound) with breadcrumbs and parmesan.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.