Sunday, October 11, 2009

10/5/09 - Collard Greens and Chicken Sausage

Lately a few friends have come to me and mentioned how they don't have the time to cook some of the meals that I post... and I admit I do sometimes spend more time cooking and prepping than your average home cook (especially one who works full time and travels a 10 days a month for work!). Not ever thing we eat is a 5 course extravaganza so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't skewing my food blog towards the multi-course ridiculousness that does happen on occasion. Some nights I just have stuff from the CSA that needs to be used, no time to go to the grocery store for the millionth time this week, or a trip the next day which mean I should be packing not trying out some new recipe. And tonight was definitely one of those nights.
I had plans for company on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, plus it was a Monday....and no one who works the 9 to 5 enjoys Mondays. I made a simple dinner tonight so that I would have time to prep a veggie lasagna for Wednesday night. This is something simple and pretty healthy that almost anyone can handle. I will admit however I am not really a collard greens fan.... spinach, swiss chard even kale but collards always seem bitter and leafy to me. Bacon helped this dish along so it was decent but I don't think I would ever buy collards on purpose. Another thing that made this dish even easier was adding in some left overs from last night....recycling always speeds things up and help cut down on some of the costs.

Chicken Sausage and Greens
2 chicken sausages (we had some hot italians from fairway...I would stay away from anything too sweet ie apple in this recipe)
1 c black bean "salsa"
1 c bell pepper & onion mix
2" cube thick sliced bacon diced
2 c collard greens (as mentioned not my favorite...try swiss chard instead!)

1) In a med size pot boil water to blanch the greens
2) Heat some bacon over med heat in a larger pan to render the fat out
3) Once the greens have boiled (and turned bright green) remove them from the boiling water (about 3 min) rinse in cold water to shock them and then add to the pan with the bacon
4) Stir the greens every few minutes so they don't burn - place a cover on pan to keep heat in
5) On a hot grill pan- place sausage and turn every 5 min or so until cooked throughout
6) Add bean and pepper mix to greens - stir to combine and heat
7) Once greens are tender and sausage is cooked (no pink or raw in the middle) serve