As I was flipping through my planner at work today, I realized something crazy: Thanksgiving is next week! It feels like November just started, so it’s hard to believe we’re already on the verge of the holidays.

I love this time of year because, while it’s hectic, there’s always some type of get together to look forward to. Many of our family gatherings over the next month are centered around a delicious spread of food. I lalways make a couple of old standbys (like grandma’s green bean casserole), along with a new recipe or two.

Because I know oven space is especially precious on Thanksgiving, I’m always on the hunt for dishes that can be made ahead of time or cooked quickly on the stove. I love this cheesy garlic kale because it has delicious flavor but isn’t as heavy as some of the more traditional holiday vegetable side dishes.

There are a few people in my family who turn their noses up at kale, but this recipe is husband approved. James isn’t a huge vegetable fan, but he actually went back for seconds when I served this with dinner last night! This is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket even after the holidays are over because of how quickly it comes together. I recently paired it with chicken sausage and polenta and loved how it complemented the rest of the meal. 

Cheesy Garlic Kale

serves 4-6

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large bunch kale
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
  [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add kale to skillet and carefully pour water over top. Cook kale until bright green and soft and all the water is evaporated.
3. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. cheese, salt and pepper to skillet and toss kale until evenly coated. Remove from heat and top with remaining parmesan.

[/directions]

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Every evening when I go outside to water our plants and garden, I close my eyes and take in the amazing, natural smells they all emit. While I’m a big fan of flowers, the potted herbs lining our back deck produce my favorite smells. My parents have always been gardeners, so the smell of fresh herbs has always signaled summer to me. It reminds me of running around the backyard as a kid looking for caterpillars on the dill plants and summers filled with my mom’s homemade pesto.

Fresh herbs help elevate everyday meals with their strong fragrances and flavors. I plant a wide variety of herbs in pots on our back porch every summer to use in everything from drinks to desserts. Basil and mint are the two I find myself using most often.

I wanted to throw together an easy dinner last night with what we had on hand, so I plucked some herbs from their pots and made this healthy meal come to life. I always cut chicken breasts in half because they’re so large they can easily be split. It’s very important to make sure you don’t marinate this chicken for more than one hour because there’s vinegar in the marinade, which will give the chicken an odd texture if it sits too long before cooking.

You can easily swap out other herbs you have on hand for the ones I use in this recipe. I served our chicken alongside kale I sautéed in a small amount of butter, but it would also taste great with my everyday salad. To make this meal a bit fancier, you can cut a slit in the middle of the chicken breasts and stuff them with goat cheese. Because everything’s better with cheese, right?

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 2 large chicken breasts, weighing about 1 lb. total
• 1/4 cup high-quality olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• Salt

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Take each chicken breast and cut it in half vertically in order to get four, thinner chicken breasts. Season chicken generously with salt, place in a gallon-sized freezer bag and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs and red pepper. Carefully pour marinade over the chicken in the plastic bag. Squeeze all of the air out of the plastic bag before sealing it and tossing the chicken to coat. Refrigerate chicken for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. About 15 minutes before your chicken is done marinating, preheat your grill over medium-high heat. Once it’s preheated, place chicken on grill and cook for three to four minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from grill and serve immediately. Season with more salt to suit your taste.

[/directions]

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The first trip James and I ever took together was to the city we live in now, Bloomington. He wanted to show me around the town he went to college in and I fell in love from the moment I saw the downtown. We visited so many amazing restaurants and parks and I’m happy we can go back to them any time we want now!

One of our first meals that weekend was at Farm Bloomington, a restaurant on Kirkwood that serves a unique menu that showcases local foods. We started our meal with an order of their popular garlic fries and I’ve been wanting to recreate a healthier version ever since. Although, you can’t really compete with the original.

Most of our kitchen is packed up for our move next week, so all of the cooking I’m doing is simple. I’ve got a cast-iron skillet and cookie sheet to get us through to next Friday. You can’t beat recipes that are easy to throw together!

This recipe makes enough for two hearty servings or four small, side dish servings. If you’re feeding a crowd, double it.

Oven-Baked Garlic Fries

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 large russet potato
• 1/2 Tbsp. high-quality olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut potato into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cut each slice into thin fries, about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Toss potatoes, oil, garlic, parsley and salt together in a large bowl.
4. Spread fries onto a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Cook fries until slightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 30 minutes, flipping the fries once halfway through cooking.

[/directions]

The post Oven-Baked Garlic Fries appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.