"Slow"-Baked White Beans With Kale

This came from Recipes for Health originally, but I tweaked a few things to add a little more spice to it as well as to make cooking time a little faster because I got a late start on it. Ideally you'd do all the prep early and let the oven do most of the work, but with the right adjustments, either way works!

Ingredients

1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed in two changes of water (I actually used 1/2 bag of frozen kale + ~2 cups of fresh baby spinach)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I omitted and used Pam and water and a splash of white wine, but the oil would help the veggies soften best probably)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 2/3 cups white beans (3/4 pound) or dried lima beans, picked over and soaked for at least four hours and drained (I used 2 cans of cannelini beans)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water (I used 1 1/4 cup marinara sauce)

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are using fresh kale, you may want to blanch it first to extract some of the bitterness.

2. Heat a greased/oiled pan over medium heat; add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the kale/spinach and let all veggies soften, adding more liquid (water, wine, or tomato sauce) as needed/desired.

3. Add the drained beans, red pepper flakes, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper. Transfer to a large (greased) ovenproof casserole and place in the oven. Bake until the beans are tender and creamy (original recipe was for 3 hours and for if you are using dried beans -- I only cooked this for about 20-30min). Taste and adjust salt

4. Mix together a bit of olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 10min until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

Yield: Serves six (or two, if you're Scott and I. There were no leftovers.)

(Oh and a poached egg on top is delicious :) )

Vegetarian Italian Sausage and Bean Stew with Polenta

I got this recipe from the Morningstar website and just made a few tweaks. We *really* liked it, and it is super-easy to prepare. Throw together a salad and a take-and-bake crusty loaf of break (we love Pillsbury) and you have a wonderful (and healthy) meal with minimal effort. The hardest part is finding the veggie sausage crumbles -- if you can't, you could use the regular ground crumbles, but I'd add some more savory spices if you go that route.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil (I just used Pam)
2 Tbsp jarred minced garlic (or fresh, to taste)
1 1/2 cups chopped white onions
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
2 cans (15 oz. each) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
1 package Morningstar Farms Sausage Style Recipe Crumbles
1 package (16 oz.) prepared polenta (preferrably with Italian seasoning) cut into 1/4-inch slices
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste...and a dash of cayenne pepper if so inclined

Directions
1. In large saucepan combine olive oil (or Pam), onions, and garlic over medium heat, saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, and sausage crumbles. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Season additionally if desired.
3. Fry polenta slices in a large skillet in olive oil (or Pam) until golden and crusty, about 3 minutes per side. Spoon stew over polenta slices and serve immediately.