Risotto, Kale, and a Blog Friend

If you have not ventured over to Marlow's blog at Gluten Hates Me, you should. She is witty, genuine, funny, and very readable, and she has some great recipes to boot.

Last week she posted this white bean and risotto recipe and it piqued my interest. When my husband and I were scrounging for an easy, protein-filled dinner, it immediately came to my mind.

We get lots of kale from our CSA, and while much of it goes into smoothies, we sometimes have some left over. This recipe was perfect to use up the last of our crispy kale.

We made a few modifications for things we had in our home (fresh garden tomatoes!) and cooked ourselves up a batch. It was delicious.

So, without further ado, an affordable and delightful dinner from us (and Marlow!) to you:

Creamy Kale Risotto

Ingredients:
3 T. olive oil (divided)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
3/4 cup water
1 bunch chopped kale (stems removed)
1 c. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 box risotto mix (we used Lundberg's Parmesan Risotto)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for one minute.
2. In another skillet, cook risotto according to package directions, minus 5 minutes (take the risotto mix off of the burner when it's 5 minutes away from being done).
3. Add one can of drained garbanzo beans (or other beans, we just like garbanzos!) to the garlic skillet. Stir and then allow to cook for 3 minutes.

4. Add 3/4 c. water to the garlic skillet and the kale. Stir and then cover to let the kale steam and wilt.
5. Stir every 5 minutes. When the kale is wilted, add the risotto mixture and the tomatoes into the garlic skillet. Cook everything together on low heat for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy but not soggy.
6. Eat and enjoy!

We served it up with some Pamela's cornbread. This was the ultimate comfort food - creamy, warm, and filled with healthy veggies and protein. We liked it so much we are making it again this week!

What are your go-to comfort foods?