Collards with Black Eyed Peas

After a scorching couple of days earlier this week, it finally cooled down and I was able to do a little cooking/baking without melting. Yesterday I made homemade cheez-its (yum) and today I baked a new oatmeal cookie recipe and made collard greens and stuffed chicken rolls for dinner. The recipe for the collards is inspired by my mom's hoppin' john recipe, and surprisingly, seems to be one of Matt's favorite veggie dishes.  People don't usually go for collards right off the bat - I mean, I did, but I grew up in the South - but he often requests this when I ask him what kind of veggies he wants.  When I don't ask him, we have broccoli. 

 

That's probably a pound of collards in the pot there, along with half an onion and some garlic that been quickly cooked in oil first.  This is also where I'm hoping my picture-taking improves.  The kitchen isn't terribly well-lit, and I'm still trying to figure out how to take a decent close-up picture of something (like a bunch of collard greens) that still lets the viewer know what you're seeing.  I add about half a cup of chicken broth, 1/8 tsp cloves, and some red pepper flakes (depends how spicy you like it), and let it cook over medium heat, partially covered, until the greens have wilted.  Remove the lid and cook until the liquid has cooked off. 

Look how much that's cooked down.  Add 1 can (or about 1.5 cups) of rinsed and drained black eyed peas and another half cup of broth.  You can add another type of bean, but I really like the black eyed peas with the smokiness of the cloves.  And I told you this was a riff on hoppin john.  I used navy beans once and it just wasn't the same.  Anyway, add the peas and broth, and cook, partially covered, until the greens are soft and most of the liquid has cooked off.  I think the whole thing takes about 40 minutes total.  The collards wilt really nicely when they've been cooked for a long time, and you don't want them crunchy at all.

This picture is a little blurry, but that's the rolled up chicken on the right.  It's chicken tenders stuffed with spinach and brie and topped off with some black pepper and then baked until the chicken is cooked and the brie has melted everywhere, which takes about 10 minutes in a 385 degree oven.  My chicken cooking skills are still pretty limited, but this was really easy (no cutting!) and pretty tasty.  I think I'd add a mustard sauce next time to add a little more of a kick.  I'm trying to expand my meat-cooking repertoire, but really have only expanded to chicken (I started at canned tuna).  It's a good thing that Matt is not a red meat-aholic because otherwise we would have broken up by now. 

Mmmmmm oatmeal cookies for dessert.  Those are oatmeal with raisins and apricots, and are thanks to the cookie class Mom and Dad sent me to for my birthday.

Collards with black eyed peas

Of my own design, but inspired by basic hoppin john recipes.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion (or half a large one), coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
crushed red pepper, to taste 
1 lb. collards, rinsed, trimmed from rib, and cut into 1-1.5 inch strips.
1 cup broth, divided
1/8 tsp cloves
1 can (~1.5 cups) black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
salt, pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlic, onion,  red pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring, until onions are translucent.  Add collards, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring well to combine.  Add 1/2 cup broth and cloves, cover, and cook until collards are wilted, remove lid and cook until broth has mostly cooked off.  The main point is that you never want the pan to be dry.  Add more broth, or turn down the heat, but don't let the collards dry out.  Add the rest of the broth and the black eyed peas, season with more salt and pepper if you want, although I tend to think there's enough salt in the canned peas and broth.  Cook uncovered until the broth has cooked off, turn off heat and serve.

Chicken Roll-Ups

Also of my own design, although I saw a recipe for stuffed chicken somewhere that was basically this, so I can't take credit for the idea.  I do think it would be good with some kind of sauce over top, maybe a nice mustard vinaigrette, but it's also pretty tasty on it's own.   

4 chicken breast tenders
1 cup spinach (I used frozen spinach, thawed it and squeezed the water out of it)
4 slices brie (you could substitute other cheese - we had a little bit of brie on hand)
salt, pepper
toothpicks

Preheat oven to 385.  Spray rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.  Evenly divide spinach across chicken, top with brie, salt, and pepper.  Starting with smaller end of cutlet, roll up and secure with a toothpick.  Place on baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.