Killer Kale Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, plus extra for finishing
• 1/2 cup white wine
• One 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes, such as Glen Muir
• 2 large bunches kale (about 3 pounds)
• 4 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken meat
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 pound whole wheat rigatoni
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Rub the red bell peppers all over with olive oil and place directly over a direct flame to char on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Remove from the flame and place into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for about 10 minutes. Once cool to the touch, remove the steamed peppers from the bowl and pull off the charred skin, stem and seeds.  Cut into slices and set aside until ready to use.

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic with the shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, and then add the white wine. Cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cans of tomatoes and the roasted red peppers. Mix well and bring to a steady boil. Reduce the heat so it is simmering.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale by removing stems and discarding. Tear the leaves up into bite-size pieces. Fold into the tomato sauce along with the chicken. Toss to combine and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, and if you notice that the vegetables are “dry,” add 1 cup chicken stock. Simmer until the kale is tender, all the flavors have come together and the sauce is thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the rigatoni pasta al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions, 8 to10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add directly to the Dutch oven with the finished sauce. Toss to coat everything and cook over low heat (this allows the last cooking of the pasta to be done in the sauce), 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little of the starchy pasta water if needed.

Serve the pasta in large bowls and top with spoonfuls of grated Parmesan and extra red chili flakes. Goes great with a chianti or merlot!

Turkey Carcass Soup

INGREDIENTS

For the stock:

• 1 turkey carcass, leftover from carving a whole turkey, including any leftover drippings or giblets (not the liver) if you have them
• Cold water
• 1 medium to large yellow onion, quartered
• 1 to 2 carrots, roughly chopped (can include tops)
• Several sprigs of fresh parsley
• 1 to 2 sprigs of thyme, or a teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Some celery tops

For the soup:

• 2 to 3 cups each, chopped carrots, onion, and celery
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves chopped (about 2 to 4 Tbsp)
• A couple cloves garlic, minced
• Seasoning  - a couple teaspoons or more of poultry seasoning (to taste) or a combination of ground rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and oregano
•  leftover chopped or shredded cooked turkey meat (removed from turkey carcass)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Frozen spinach/kale
• Egg noodles (optional)

METHOD

Making Stock

1 Remove all the usable turkey meat from the turkey carcass to save for making sandwiches later or for adding to the soup.

2 Break up the leftover bones of the carcass a bit, so they don't take up as much room in the pot. Put the leftover bones and skin into a large stock pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Add any drippings that weren't used to make gravy, and any giblets (except liver) that haven't been used already. Add a yellow onion that has been quartered, some chopped carrots, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, celery tops, and some peppercorns.

3 Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to a bare simmer or just below a simmer. Skim off any foamy crud that may float to the surface of the stock.

4 Add salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper. It sort of depends on how big your turkey is. You can always add salt to the soup later.

5 Cook for at least 4 hours, uncovered or partially uncovered (so the stock reduces), occassionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface. To help maintain a steady, even heat, you can cook the stock in a 180-200°F oven.

6 Remove the bones and veggies and strain the stock, ideally through a very fine mesh strainer.

7 If making stock for future use in soup you may want to reduce the stock by cooking it longer, uncovered, at a bare simmer, to make it more concentrated and easier to store.

Makes 3 to 4 quarts or more of stock, depending on the size of the turkey carcass, and how much water you added to cover it.

Making the Turkey Soup

Prepare the turkey soup much as you would a chicken soup. With your stock already made, add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Add some parsley, a couple cloves of garlic. Add seasoning - poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram and/or a bouillion cube. Cook at a bare simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. (Or you can sauté the vegetables in a little fat rendered from the soup first, and add back to the soup right before serving.) You can add rice, noodles*, or even leftover mashed potatoes (or not if you want the low carb version). Take some of the remaining turkey meat you reserved earlier, shred it into bite sized pieces and add to the soup. You may also want to add some chopped tomatoes, either fresh or canned and the frozen spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes a dash or two of Tabasco gives the soup a nice little kick.

Mean Green Minestrone

Easy Green Minestrone

Serves 8 (Makes about 16 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onion, diced
6 celery stalks, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dry)s
2 bay leafs
12 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound small-shaped pasta, like shells or elbow macaroni
6 ounces greens, like spinach, kale, or chard, cut into ribbons
2 (15-ounce) can white beans, like Great Northern or canneloni, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese, optional, to serve

1. In a large soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. 

2. Add the onion, celery, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and cook until the onion and celery are soft and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. 

3. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the chicken broth, the potatoes, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the pan.

5.  Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer the soup for 5 minutes. 

6. Add the green beans and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, until both the potatoes and the green beans are tender.

7. While the soup is simmering, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.

8. When the vegetables are tender, stir the greens and the white beans into the soup. Simmer until the greens are wilted and tender, 1 to 3 minutes. 

9. Taste and add additional pepper if needed.

10. To serve, add a scoop of pasta to each bowl and ladle the soup over top. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese.

From: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-easy-gre-15249