The Best Leftover Chicken, Potato and Kale

My way of dressing up some leftover chicken.

Sunday night I roast a chicken. Use a roasting pan and fill the bottom with sliced potatoes, carrots and onion. Fill the pan with water until it reaches half the height of the potato. Sprinkle your favorite chili spice rub on top of the potatoes.

Add the rack. Rub the bird with the chili spice rub and cook in a 400F oven until the breast reads 161F.

Now that makes for a nice Sunday night dinner!

Separate the fat from the roasting liquid and store separately from any leftover chicken and potatoes.

Monday, I will chop some kale and fry with salt and cumin seed. Add a a half a cup of the roasting liquid and cover. Cook until  the kale is wilted down, about 7-10 minutes.

Add the sliced chicken and potatoes to the pan, cover, and cook 2-3 minutes until they are hot.

Serve in a bowl. Very yummy!

For Technologists

Great post from the archives, 5 ways to Improve Agile Team Velocity.

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Winter Lager, Chili Spiced Pork Loin, Beans and Kale

All I can say is, this was a very satisfying, chili and winter lager inspired meal. Even though there are three different components to this meal, the ingredients and prep done for completing one dish aids in the others.

The combination of winter lager, chili peppers, and maple syrup make a great base for the beans. I suppose you can also add tomatoes and mustard, but I left these out. I used the lager and peppers as poaching liquid for both the pork and kale which added both flavor and kick.

This is one recipe where you'll have to make best judgment on quantities of ingredients and cooking times. Key to the beans are their texture and thickness of the sauce, so I suggest checking it every five minutes once you are thirty minutes into the simmer. As for the pork, let a good thermometer do the work.

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb pork loin
• Mix of dried chili peppers, chili pepper powder, cumin seeds, coriander, garlic powder, salt.
• Bunch of kale
• Half a pound of dry pinto beans
• Onion and garlic chopped
• 3-4 bottles of Winter Lager (for cooking - more to drink!)
• Ketchup
• Maple Syrup
• 2 tablespoons of butter and flour for gravy

Prep Work

First, start by getting the chili peppers ready by toasting and then soaking them for thirty minutes in hot water. Reserve the liquid which will be used later.

Second, create a spice rub of ground cumin, coriander, several ground chili peppers, garlic powder and salt, save a couple of tablespoons, and rub the rest on the meat. Allow this to sit wrapped in the fridge for at least six hours.

Finally, boil the beans for three minutes and then let them sit covered in the hot water for an hour. Drain the beans and let them sit at room temperature.

I did all of this in the morning and finished the meal in the afternoon.

Dinner

Start with the beans. In a sauce pan, toast some cumin and then fry with onion and lots of garlic. Add in any remaining spice mixture from the pork and toss with the onions. Add beer, ketchup, maple syrup, and chili water to the pot until the beans are covered. Bring to a light boil and simmer for an hour. Beans should still have a bite and sauce should be thick.

To make the kale, toast more cumin seeds in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and bring to temperature, then add chopped kale. Toss until leaves begin to welt, then add a mix of chili water and winter lager until the bottom of the pan has liquid. Cover and steam at low heat for ten minutes. Plate the kale in a bowl and cover.

Preheat the oven onto 375. Heat the frying pan again with oil. Sear the pork on all sides 2-3 minutes. Add a mixture of beer and wine to the pan to fill the bottom and move the pan into the oven. Cook for about 30-40 minutes adding more liquid as needed. Cook until the pork's center reads 145F.

Remove the pork from the pan and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. If you have leftover juice in the pan, make a gravy by heating it and stirring in butter and flour.

For Technologists

This recipe requires balancing flavor and some planning so that you can complete them with minimal effort and mess. For those in IT, you know that "alignment" and balance between IT and Business responsibilities is difficult to achieve. In data science, there are additional challenges. My recent post on Balancing an Agile Data Organization speaks to efforts to align business and IT responsibilities to establish an agile data driven organization.

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Spicy Turkey, Kale, and Potato Soup

Every year on Thanksgiving and after all the guests have departed I go into my yearly ritual of making a turkey stock. Smash the bones so that it fits into a stock pot, add onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, bring to boil and simmer for two hours. Makes a great gelatinous broth that I use to make a variety of soups.

This soup is quick and easy to make. The potatoes and kale make it a hearty soup despite the lightness of the broth.

You'll notice that I am not including specific quantities of ingredients because it can be made for a single person or for a family. The quantity of ingredients used should be proportional to the volume of broth.

Ingredients

• Cumin
• Thai chili pepper (or any hot peppers will do)
• Olive or vegetable oil
• Chopped Onion
• Chopped celery and carrot, and fennel bulb
• Chopped Kale
• Turkey broth (can substitute chicken broth)
• Salt and pepper
• Baby potatoes cut in half
• Chopped bok choy

Directions

Bring broth to room temperature. In a separate stock pot, toast the cumin and chili peppers until fragrant. Add oil and onion and saute for five minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and fennel bulb and saute for five more minutes. Add kale and several tablespoons of the broth and cook for five minutes with the lid on. Add the broth, salt, pepper, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer the soup for ten minutes. Add bok choy and adjust seasoning if needed. Cook and simmer for five more minutes.

Serve immediately in large bowls.

For Technologists

Good soups require balance of flavor and texture. Ingredients need to be added in stages so that they cook properly. A variety of spices and ingredients are needed to provide richness and depth.

Recently, I completed a different post on balance. In The Agile Data Organization - Balancing Responsibilities in Data Science Programs, I discuss the need to develop a balance of skills and responsibilities between data scientists, business managers, and IT personnel in developing data science programs.

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Simple Grilled Kale With Plums

Here's another approach to grilled kale - call it the fifteen minute, two ingredient version. Ronan's grilled kale is a better recipe if you ate preparing this dish for guests and this is the version I do when I just need something quick.

Chop the kale into large bite-sized pieces. Toss with about a quarter cup of olive oil and plenty of salt. Place chopped kale in a deep grill basket and grill on medium heat with top closed. Shake and turn every five minutes until the leaves are wilted, about 10-15 minutes in total. Place kale on platter and add olive oil if the kale looks dry. Serve with sliced plums.

Also works well with peaches, nectarines and strawberries.

For Technologists

I wrote a post about three years ago stating, "I firmly believe the best products are simple." It was a plea to agile product owners to stop over complicating their products and features with too many bells and whistles and other nuances that add to complexity. MVP - minimal viable product - also works well in cooking with good ingredients and simple techniques.

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Grilled Salmon and Kale Chips

Sweet and salty kale chips are a unique and healthy accompaniment to rich salmon fillets.  Perfect any time of the year, but especially good now as the summer wanes and the fall approaches.  Sit on the deck or patio and enjoy a nice glass of wine while you dine.  This recipe is a family favorite – and you can never make enough kale chips.

 

 

Ingredients

For the kale chips:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 – 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (we use the minimum or less to make it less spicy)

1 medium bunch kale (12 oz.), washed, stemmed and chopped into 1” pieces

* We always double the kale chips – as I said for our family there can never be enough

For the salmon:

Salmon fillets (6-8 oz. each)

Olive oil

Fresh parsley, washed and finely chopped

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper, if desired

* There endless recipes for grilling salmon, pick your favorite or use this simple but fresh one

Directions

For the kale chips:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place rack(s) in center of oven
• Whisk all ingredients except kale in a small bowl
• Place kale in a large bowl and toss with dressing to coat
• Spread kale onto baking sheet in a single layer (you may have to do this in batches)
• Bake for 8-10 minutes
• Toss chips with a wooden spatula and return to oven for another 7-8 minutes, until crispy throughout

For the salmon:

• Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil grill grate
• Brush salmon fillets with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt (and black pepper if desired) and parsley
• Cook salmon 6-8 minutes per side or until the fish flakes easily with a fork

For Technologists

Salmon…they swim upstream…which makes me think of the struggles we sometime experience in growing and maturing our Agile practice.  Not all areas of an organization come along for the swim and partnering and collaborating is not always easy.  But as the saying goes, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming” and in the end everything will be delicious.  See more on this topic at Isaac’s post on driving an agile culture.

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Ronan's Grilled Kale

Here is a very versatile kale recipes. This one marries sweet and a little spice and was a hit at my department's summer picnic.

 

 

 

Ingredients

• Bunch of kale, the bigger the better. Washed, ideally dry
• Olive oil
• Red pepper
• 1-2 plums
• Honey
• Lime
• Chili pepper flakes
• Salt

Recipe

Get the charcoal or gas grill going medium or even low. Leave the kale whole and spread about a quarter cup of olive oil on the kale leaves. Then put on the grill along with the red pepper. Turn the kale and pepper every couple of minutes. The red pepper is done when there is good char on all sides, then take off the grill and put into a sealed plastic bag to steam. When the kale looks wet green, is wilted in most areas and charred at the ends, about 10 minutes take off and let sit on the cutting board.

Make the dressing with the olive oil, honey, lime, chili flakes, and salt. Don't ask me quantities, I wing it and hope you have some skill in making a dressing.

Slice off the ends of the kale and discard. Chop the remaining kale leaves and stem finely and put on a serving platter. Remove the red pepper and pull off the skin. Remove the seeds, slide into strips about half the length of the pepper and place on top of the kale. Pour the dressing on top and mix with the kale and pepper. Slice the plum into quarters and place on top like a garnish

Enjoy!

For Technologists

This recipe is about balance - sweet from the honey, spice from the chili flakes, and sour from the lime. Color balance from the green kale, red peppers, and purple/yellow plums.

Reminds me of my post on how to get teams to think agile. It requires diversity - both in skills, thinking, and ethnicity to achieve collaboration and drive innovation.

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