Kale Salad

This salad knocked my socks off which was pretty awesome considering it was made from leftover kale and random bits of things from the cupboards! A salad was in order since I had a bunch of leftover kale from the deliciously healthy Green Meatloaf. There was also some leftover feta languishing away in the fridge so I tossed that it and topped it off with one of my favorite salad topping combos: cranberries and pecans (or sunflower seeds). A tangy lemon vinaigrette was mixed up and my poor leftover kale was turned into a deliciously zippy salad. The tartness of the vinaigrette worked well with the sweetness of the cranberries. The best part is it was amazing the next day for breakfast! Since kale is so hearty it stood up to the dressing and did not get soggy and mushy after it was dressed. The flavors melded together well and I've already got another kale salad lined up for this week!

P.S. Let's admire this beautiful yellow Fiesta salad bowl from the Kitchen Kraft line. Thanks Mother Unit!

Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave

A pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Mix it all together and shake, shake, shake!

**Note: this was the basic recipe, I did end up tweaking it by adding a little more of this and that until it suited my taste. 

Mushroom and Kale Lasagna

I'm loving this recipe even though I made it a tad unhealthy with the addition of more cheese. Mr. Lawyer's only complaint was the texture, evidently I was a bit overzealous with the "chopped fine" bit. He also likes his veggies to be on the crunchy side whether they are steamed, baked, or stir-fried. So next time I won't mince them so well.

Veggies! I loved the hidden veggies in this dish, you couldn't even taste the kale (actually I used red chard but very similar) it was all about the mushrooms. 

Technique! My rolling technique could use a little help. Looking at the other pictures it appears that the filling was spread evenly over the noodle and then rolled. I put a dollop in the center and wrapped it around so I found that the rolls expanded a little when they cooked and became more oval in shape.

I had some extra ricotta mixture so I stuffed it in between the rolls.

Cheese! This recipe was from a yummy healthy website that I love but I refuse to compromise on cheese (also what else was I going to do with all that leftover mozzarella?!). So I added a little bit to the ricotta mixture and then smothered the top in a more traditional lasagna type way. It was amazing.

Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Rolls

(adapted from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
10 (9 oz dry) lasagna noodles, cooked
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce
5 cups kale, stems removed, chopped fine
8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, whisked
salt and fresh pepper
3 oz (10 tbsp) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded....or a lot more.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
2. Place kale in a food processor and pulse a few times until chopped.
3. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about a minute. Add kale, salt and pepper and sauté about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, cook until soft, an additional 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper.
4. Combine cooked kale, mushrooms, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out cooked lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of mushroom kale mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
5. Ladle 1 cup of sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, until cheese melts.