Sauteed Kale and Eggs

Meet my new favorite breakfast!photo 2 (5)

Kale and eggs – if you haven’t eaten greens for this most important meal of the day… Well, what are you waiting for?  They are freaking delicious.  The first time I had cooked greens for breakfast was in Jamaica – I found out it’s OK.  Other cultures *apparently* do this, so don’t be afraid of a little out-of-the-ordinary culinary excursion.

Besides being my favorite breakfast food, eggs are nutritional powerhouses.  Out-dated nutritional advice shuns eggs.  Jump into the new millennium and experiment with all the fabulous superfoods – starting with eggs!

Recipe:  with so few ingredients, it’s really important to not skimp on quality here!

eggs, 1-2 per person (free pastured, local eggs are best)

kale, 1 big handful per person (organic, pre-chopped in the bag is a major time-saver)

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fat, 1 tsp. (bacon grease, butter, coconut oil or a combo of these)

salt (Himalayan pink salt, sea salt)

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium low for 5 minutes. photo 1 (6)

To the hot pan, add your choice of fat.  I use about 1 teaspoon bacon grease.  Add 1 big handful of chopped kale and salt.

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It will spit and sputter from the moisture on the greens and that’s OK.  Saute the kale 2-3 minutes or until you get a deepening in color and they wilt reducing the volume by about half.  You may get some “cooked” spots on the kale, that is just fine, as well.  Remove the kale to serving plate.

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If the greens have absorbed all the fat, add a bit more.  Gently crack 1-2 eggs into same skillet.  photo 5 (2)

Don’t move ’em, don’t touch ’em at all!  Add salt (and pepper, if desired).   When cooked to your preference, gently slide a spatula under the eggs and place right on top of the kale.  Beautiful!  Delicious!  Nutritious!  Bon Appetit!

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That’s it!  How simple and way faster than driving through some scary clown establishment.  Feed yourself, feed your kids and enjoy!

A final word about salt:  If you don’t think you like greens, try adding some salt.  Go easy – it’s way easier to add than it is to take out.  Remember your greens will shrink by about half, so when you salt, salt for about half the amount you normally would.  Very often there is a bitterness associated with greens, like kale.  Salt will reduce the bitterness.  So, get high-quality, natural salt (not bleached and processed) and use it to enhance your greens!

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Green Eggs and Ham Fritatta

Move over, Dr. Suess!  This is what I’m talking about:  fritslice

What you have here is a protein-packed powerhouse of nutrition using a ton of kale, farm-fresh eggs, ham and cheddar cheese.   A fritatta is an Italian baked omelet.  It is easy and delicious.  Let’s make one!!

Start by packing  your blender full of kale greens,

about 8 oz.  kale

You will need to add liquid (water or milk) to liquify the kale.  Start with 1/4 cup of liquid and add more as needed.  frit2frit3

Now, add in the eggs.  For this big ole fritatta, you need a full dozen farm fresh eggs.  Look at the color of those yokes!  You don’t find that at the grocery store!!   Add the eggs to your blender along with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tps. black pepper and pulse a few times to incorporate.

Meanwhile, finely chop 1.5 cup of ham and a red onion.  frit4 Cook this over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet with a tsp. of butter to brown the ham and soften the onions.  This will take about 7 minutes.  Now would be a good time to pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Once the meat is browned to your liking turn the heat to low, add the green eggs to the pan.  frit5

As the eggs begin to set, gently stir and let the all the ingredients become friends.  Because you have added more liquid (from the kale and water/milk) it will be a little looser than “just eggs” so let it go til you think it’s about half-way set.  frit6

Top this with 1 cup (or more, I won’t tell!) of grated cheddar cheese and slide the whole thing into your preheated oven.  frit7

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the center is mostly set and the cheese is melty.  Now, switch your oven to broiler and brown the top.  frit8 Don’t let it burn!  Just let it take on some broiler action loving!   Remove from heat and let it sit out for 10 minutes.  This allows any moisture to draw back into the fritatta and makes for beautiful slices.   frit9

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