Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

I have a freezer full of kale, chard and zucchini; I also have boxes of potatoes--blessings of the garden harvest. I don't think I've actually eaten the Olive Garden version, but the ingredients were perfect to give it a try. Oh man! I am super glad I tried this one. The ingredients sounded good, but when you put it all together it's Amazing! I did make a few changes: I used chicken thighs instead of sausage, added some lemon juice and used Arrowroot instead of cornstarch, and opted for the kale. I think next time I'll ad quinoa or rice, otherwise this is one really worth a go.

http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a45873/copycat-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-recipe/

Beet and Russian Kale with Goat cheese

Let the games begin. Daily, we've been harvesting lettuce for awesome salads. However, today was Russian Kale day. We've had too much, I had to use Pinterest to decide what to do. I actually used 2 different recipes (see previous post). I had beets to use up, so I just chopped and boiled, but kept the skins on. My goat cheese had gotten too soft, so I froze it before crumbling. I absolutely love goat cheese! This is one dish you should not skip/skimp on goat cheese. The russian kale is light and goes well with beets. I recommend preparing this a couple of hours in advance and chilling, however, room temperature was delicious as well. I think if we end up with more russian kale, I will be making this one again. Very easy to prepare. :)

http://www.marthastewart.com/904221/beet-and-kale-salad-goat-cheese

Red Russian Kale with Garlic and Lemon

Let the games begin. Daily, we've been harvesting lettuce for awesome salads. However, today was Russian Kale day. We've had too much, I had to use Pinterest to decide what to do. I actually used 2 different recipes (see next post). Jason loves a similar dish with chards, so I replicated it with Russian Kale. I added mushrooms and red onions as per our usual. It was very nice. Not as pungent as chards. A very tolerable super food. :)

http://salu-salo.com/red-russian-kale-with-garlic-and-lemon/

Paleo Lemon Chicken Kale Soup

End of the week food inventory....Chicken breast, lemons, kale....Pinterest....Aha! I found (on my own board labeled "Bucket List:SOUP" this recipe. For more bulk (and goodness), I added some frozen zucchini and yellow squash (from our garden). The recipe actually says it's creamy because they use a food processor for the onion w/olive oil. I skipped that step because I like chunks of onion in my soup. I also only put in 2 cups of broth and the frozen veggies, chicken and salt help liquify for just the right amount of juices. It's sometimes hard to judge because the hubby doesn't like his soup too "soupy". Since we're not strict paleo'ers, I probably would have added cornstarch to thicken if need be but it turned out great! I purposefully chose a night when the teenager wasn't home because this dish IS earthy (and delicious to us old folks). :D  Bon appetit!

http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/autoimmune-paleo-creamy-lemon-chicken-kale-soup/

Kale Lasagna

I almost forgot to post this amazing dish! The boy ate it up as if he didn't even realize it had kale in it. But, really, kale makes a great substitute for spinach. Also, this recipe originally called for sausage, but I used a random manager's special selection of ground chicken meatballs and bacon. :) I did make this the night before and was a great treat to just toss it in the oven. Looking back, I think this recipe would be great to put in the crockpot for a few hours and call it good (and without heating up the house). Overall, this was a great recipe to sneak some greens in your child's dinner and have him coming back for more. :)

http://www.marthastewart.com/313468/lasagna-with-sausage-and-kale

Chicken, Kale and Lentil Soup

Oh boy...garden goodies starting to come in...kale and chard....we'll see if I need to freeze some or if I can get creative enough to sneak kale into recipes for the next few days wink emoticon 

So, I perused the internet and found this recipe from food.com...

http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-lentil-soup-with-kale-286773

It was delicious!