Kale with Sausage and Bacon & Fork Smashed Garlic Potatoes

The weather has been oddly cool for the summer, so this warm and hearty "fall" dish was perfect!

Kale with Sausage and Bacon

(Yields 2-3 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale
• 4-5 bacon slices, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 sausages, cut into 1/2 inch segments (I used roasted red pepper asiago sausages)
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Thoroughly wash and dry kale. Remove stems. Chops leaves into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside
2. Heat deep pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add sliced bacon. Cook for 5 minutes. 
3. Add sausage pieces and cook for another 3 minutes or until bacon is cooked but not crispy
4. At this point, I had a LOT of bacon fat in the bottom on my pan. If this is the case for you: remove bacon and sausage to a plate covered with paper towel. Pour most of the bacon fat into a container and discard (leave some bacon fat in the bottom of the pan to use for the next step). Blot bacon and sausage and set aside.
5. Put pan back onto heat and add onion. Cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and parsley and cook 2 more minutes.
6. Add kale, bacon and sausage. Cook about 10 minutes, until kale is wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

And here is the finished product:


I also made some fork smashed potatoes to eat with the kale dish.

Fork Smashed Garlic Potatoes

(Yields 2-3 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound of small potatoes, washed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes with skins on and cook for about 15 minutes or until tender
3. Remove potatoes from the water and place onto a cookie sheet brushed lightly with olive oil
4. Smash the potatoes with a large fork (be careful, the potatoes are very hot inside!)
5. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil
6. Place cookie sheet into preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy

Since I don't have a potato masher, I used a fork. Unfortately, my fork was a little small and I chopped/chunked my potatoes more than I smashed them. It didn't affect the flavor, they just don't like very smashed. Here is what they looked like!


Enjoy and thanks for reading!