Making braised kale today....

When I was straightening out the freezer I came across a container of homemade ham stock, my liquid of choice to use when I braise kale. Since I'm the only one who really likes it I've experimented and found I can make it and freeze in individual servings, usually in snack size zip bags, and then thaw and reheat in the microwave for when I want it.

Remember the soft boiled eggs on kale I made....one of my favorites.

Anyway, that will be my big cooking for today.

I have a big red pepper all by itself in the veggie drawer. I also have some Italian sausage. half a container of my left over sauce from Jakes dinner.Mozz cheese.

stuffed pepper for me tonight.. 

Finding stuff you forgot and using it is like finding a dollar bill on the ground....

Finding stuff you forgot when it is WAY past being used is like setting YOUR dollar bill on fire......

I like to use everything I buy, although there are some things I do waste.

Enjoy your meal!

My kale is done and sitting in the pan where I will let it cool down and then portion for me....

I tried some different ingredients this time - fun with food time for sure.

I started as usual for me, a couple slices of bacon rendered down and removed when browned and crisp. Then, in the bacon fat I caramalized half an onion, adding salt to break it down and about 1/2 tsp. brown sugar to help it brown. Taking my cue from Barb, I saw a cubanelle pepper in the drawer that was starting to get soft so I thought, why not cut that up and let it add some flavor. So when the onion was light brown I added the chopped cubanelle and some red pepper flakes and let that soften. I deglazed the pan with some Pinot Grigio from the open bottle in the refrigerator because I thought the acid in the wine might help break down the fiber of the kale...why not try? I let it simmer for a few minutes for the wine to reduce. Then I added my ham stock and about 1/2 c. of my chicken stock I made yesterday, let it come to a boil and added the chopped kale.

It cooked on a low boil for about 30 minutes until I thought it was tender enough for my taste. Then I added the reserved bacon, which will get soft but still have the flavor of crisp bacon. The color is no longer bright green but the flavor is good. And since I'm the only one who will eat the dish then I'm the only one who has to be happy!

The cubanelle pepper cooks down and almost melts into any dish you add them to...nice flavor you can't really identify but adding to the overall goodness. I'll have to add it next time, too.