easy peasy and super healthy kale and root vegetable stew

I think we're due for a recipe around here... something warming, healthy, and Mommy friendly.

Normally I plan meals loosely and have staples ready in the freezer/pantry to throw something together. Often though lately I am being forced to improvise with what I have. We're on food stamps right now, ( :( ) which is a huge benefit to us for now, but our budget is extremely limited, so I find myself stretching what we have even more as the month winds down. A lot of times I find I've purchased an ingredient for one purpose but end up using it for something completely different later. This was the case for last night's dinner.

I bought like ten pounds of carrots and three pounds of kale with the intention to juice them, and have yet to get to that part... and there were sweet potatoes in the fruit basket that had been begging to be cooked for a couple weeks... good thing about root vegetables, they keep for a good while... couple that with my stock pile of canned beans (thank you WIC)... I had something delish in mind.

I've made this "stew" before... it's really an elaboration on one of my favorite meals, beans and greens (usually butter beans or field peas and collards). It's hearty, extremely healthy and - to top it off - great for "picking from" to feed a self-feeding infant! I tend to choose meals so that I don't have to prepare something completely different for Noah. Top it off with the fact that every meal I cook should be at least gluten free and ideally both gluten free AND casein free for Dakota... well, I have a lot of factors to consider. This pretty much covers them all.

Kale and Root Vegetable Stew (original recipe by Brooke Hammel)

Ingredients:
2 - 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks (1 1/2 inches minimum)
4 large whole carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4 or 5 big handfuls of chopped kale (I recommend prewashed, prepackaged kale - kale has lots of pesticides and is hard to clean unless you want to buy organic, and that is even better!)
1/3 to half a 6-qt soup pot full of water (3 qts seems like a lot... so lean towards 2 qts or 8 - 9 cups)
two packets of Wiley's Greens Seasoning (available in the produce section, otherwise click on link and order)
1 can of black eyed peas, unseasoned and drained
1 can of Great Northern beans, unseasoned and drained
a little garlic

Directions: This recipe couldn't be easier and is ready to eat as soon as your root vegetables are soft. You don't want to overcook them because the sweet potatoes will break down and become mushy.

Chop the root vegetables into 1 - 1/2 in chunks. Fill your soup pot about 1/3 to 1/2 full of water. Add the Wiley's seasoning packets. Kick the heat up to high to get the water hot and ready for wilting the kale. Add the cans of beans and chopped kale. Bring to a boil and then a hearty simmer until your root vegetables are soft, but not too soft, and the kale is wilted, about 20 minutes.

I served mine with sprouted Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast (gluten free bread by Udi's for Dakota) and real butter.

The best part is this is totally baby friendly! I just fished out chunks of sweet potato, carrots, beans and kale and they were perfectly soft, and perfectly ready for my little baby boy to eat!

Yes that is a fairy wand he is holding... don't ask.

Everyone enjoyed it... well, almost everyone - Shiloh won't eat much of anything these days that looks "weird"... the hubs ate two bowls of it. And there's at least four servings remaining in the fridge. This should serve up to 8 people I reckon and give us leftovers for tonight.

Enjoy it! Bless y'all!

Love B

making sure I don't waste those fruits and veggies... a great vegetarian soul food meal!

After spending so much time Saturday going through the profuse amount of fruits and vegetables I decided to go ahead and cook up some of them for a great soul food dinner. There is nothing like simple soul food. And being a lover of classic Southern fare, I rarely plan a meal without thinking of the heart. This meal was easy to prepare - didn't take hours - and hit the spot just perfectly!

Here's the menu:

fresh field peas (aka crowder peas)
cheesy brocolli rice casserole
mashed sweet potatoes
homemade macaroni and cheese
...served with a biscuit!

The field peas are simple - I cheat and use Uncle Wiley's Beans & Peas Seasoning - it's a great shortcut that yields rich and delicious flavor. You can buy it in the produce section at Kroger - $.99 a packet and so worth it! I use one packet per pound of peas. Great with butter beans too. We eat a lot of butter beans and home grown collards.



The cheesy broccoli rice casserole I made with fresh broccoli that we received from Nature's Garden Delivered. I used 1 head of broccoli and halved the recipe. The full recipe is below:

1 head of fresh broccoli, steamed and chopped (you can use frozen too - 10oz is good)
3 cups of rice - brown rice is great - adds texture
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook your broccoli and rice separate (rice is generally 2:1 water to rice ratio - about 1 1/2 cups of dry rice will yield 3 cups cooked - I think). Saute your diced
onions in the butter, along with the garlic. Once broccoli, rice and onions are cooked, dump them together, add the soup and cheese and mix well. Add to a casserole dish and top with more cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 - 25 minutes. YUMMY!

For the sweet taters, I peeled and boiled about 8 or 9 small garnet sweet potatoes. I have TONS of them from the produce delivery to use up and I love sweet potatoes, so I reckon I'll be repeating this recipe. Once they were soft I simply mashed them with PLENTY of butter and raw sugar. Add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg if you like. Don't get them too sweet or they might as well be dessert! You want the flavor of the potato to come through too...

The macaroni and cheese is also surprisingly easy but you have to plan ahead. Paula Deen has a great slow cooker mac and cheese recipe that will blow your mind. . If you start it in your slow cooker in advance of your meal it will save you the prep time with the broccoli rice casserole and sweet taters. Click on the link for the recipe! Gotta love Paula Deen - takes a true Southern woman to cook like that!! (Psst: If you get in a bind for time, Publix makes some surprisingly homemade tasting mac and cheese... yum).

Serve it with a buttery biscuit and you'll be a happy belly! Mary B's biscuits are the bomb and don't involve any floury mess on your countertop!

The other great part about all of this is that you can eat these leftovers for a few days afterwards and the flavors only get better!

Enjoy! I know we did.