XMAS DAY Dinner

[Deleted]

Warm Tasty Greens with Garlic







Italian Herb-Crusted Pork Loin





Italian Herb-Crusted Pork Loin



Ingredients



3 tablespoons olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon each dried basil, thyme and rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 boneless pork loin roast (3 to 4 pounds)

8 medium carrots, halved lengthwise

2 medium onions, quartered



Directions



In a small bowl, mix oil, garlic and seasonings; rub over roast. Arrange carrots and onions on the bottom of a 13x9-in. baking pan. Place roast over vegetables, fat side up. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour.



Preheat oven to 475°. Roast the pork for 20 minutes.



Reduce oven setting to 425°. Roast 30-40 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 145° and vegetables are tender. Remove roast from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes before slicing.



Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 295 calories, 13g fat (4g saturated fat), 85mg cholesterol, 388mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 2g fiber), 34g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 5 lean meat, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.



Originally published as Italian Herb Crusted Pork Loin in Taste of Home December 2015





Warm Tasty Greens with Garlic



Ingredients



1 pound kale, trimmed and torn (about 20 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt



Directions



In a 6-qt. stockpot, bring 1 in. of water to a boil. Add kale; cook, covered, 10-15 minutes or until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon; discard cooking liquid.



In same pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Add kale, parsley and salt; heat through, stirring occasionally.



Nutrition Facts

2/3 cup: 137 calories, 9g fat (1g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 216mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate (0 sugars, 3g fiber), 4g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 2 fat.


AMEN

[clarencebunsen]

Nice

[Clipper]

Very nice. I would probably eliminate the carrots though. I love carrots but not cooked with a roast. The greens look and sound delicious. I am going to give them a try. I have tried Kale in the past and didn't care for it, but the seasonings and garlic in this recipe look good and probably would cover the flavor that I was not fond of with the Kale. I will try it, and might even at some point add some cherry peppers and Italian sausage and make them a bit like Utica style greens.

PS: PB I am trying to acquire a taste for your favorite nutritious green, having bought it a couple of times since you spoke of it's nutritional value several months ago. I tried it just steamed like spinach, and I tried it in a salad. I found it a bit bitter for my taste, especially raw in the salad. I love cooked greens, and kale is supposed to be much more nutritious than some other greens, so I'll continue to try it different ways. Golden Corral has chopped cooked kale on the buffet. It is simply chopped fine, cooked in water with onion and served like chopped spinach for a side dish. I have eaten it that way a few times, with a splash of vinegar.

[Deleted]

Escarole in the raw is a bitter green but I tend to like htat is as also great for the liver which I was told from my Grandmother and a Jewish friend of mine who also loves it. His Mom agrees.

I tend to cook it two ways with or without beans. Cannellini beans that is.

If I do it without beans then I just have a sink full of cold water of which I place the Escarole which I slice 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches wide from top to bottom of the bunch(s). Let it soak in the water to crisp up especially if it was limp. Usually 20 minutes. Then I drain the sink while and with my hands grabbing bunches of the greens and agitating them to rinse out any dirt. Fill the sink again and rinse again.

I have a large pot of boiling water with 1 TBS salt. I add the greens ( might have to do this in batches if doing a lot) and let them cook for several minutes. You want them al denti. I take them out rinse in cold water then drain.

When I am ready I put several teaspoons olive oil in the pot and several garlic cloves that I have crushed and minced. Do no let the garlic get brown . Throw rinsed escarole in the hot oil and with tongs mix and stir until cooked. Right at this point I add a packet of salt free herb ox chicken broth granules. ( I buy them in a green small carton at Walmart your favorite store in the soup area. I always use the salt free.) Add 1 cup water depending on how soupy you want this and a can of drained cannellini beans and a pinch of hot pepper and black pepper.
That's it. If I do not want beans in it I don't add them.

[Deleted]

I use a can of white beans to one bunch escarole. I like a lot of beans like the way Joey's Restaurant makes them.

Once you have washed and rinsed and boiled the escarole and let them drain you can use that to make the Utica Greens.

[Clipper]

The Franklin Hotel in Rome used to serve greens and beans as a lunch special occasionally. I don't know how traditional it may be but I liked them with fresh grated parm on top of the hot greens.

[kit]

Sounds delicious, but I never boil my greens. That washes away the nutrients. I steam them. Not only do the greens cook faster at the higher temperature but the nutrients stay in the greens and ultimately go to my tummy where they belong, rather than down the drain.

I agree, Clipper... kale is a bit bitter all by itself but there are flavors like garlic, vinegar, white wine, cheese, etc. that an be added to them to make them delicious. And you're right... kale is very high in nutrition.