My sister in law sent me a pin of this recipe that she made and loved recently and I couldn’t get it out of my mind, it looked like my kind of soup. Of course, I don’t usually have the ingredients I need to make recipes when I’m ready to make them – let’s just say that I’m a natural and determined improviser when I’m hungry or in the mood to cook.

This Beef and Tomato Vegetable Soup is the perfect example of using whatever ingredients you have on hand to make something delicious and good for you too.

Cooking with Swiss Chard

I have been swooning over all the pretty Swiss chard I’ve been seeing in the grocery store and decided to add it to this soup. Swiss chard reminds me of my grandpa, he introduced it to me from his garden – he grew a ton of it every summer. I love how versatile it is, I tend to treat it like I do spinach or kale by adding it to soups like this or simply sautéing it as a side dish.

To prepare swiss card, simply fold longways and cut away the leafy part away from the stem. From there you can roll up the large chard leaves and slice into ribbons. Chop the stems separately. (Check out this post for a visual graphic on how to prepare swiss chard!)

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You all know by now, I like my greens. Spinach, kale, chard…I’ll take it all. Especially this time of year when I find myself googling ‘how to boost immune systems in children’, when I already know the answer. In case you weren’t sure, greens definitely play a part in the good nutrition part of boosting immune systems – and apparently we need all the help we can get lately.

The struggle is real when it comes to including as many greens as possible into my family’s diet. I like to use spinach leaves in place of lettuce in salad and try to include it in pasta or soup as much as possible (see this Pesto Pasta with Turkey and Kale and Chicken Gnocchi Soup). This meatless pasta dish made with whole wheat pasta, greens and Bush’s Great Northern Beans is another way to get some good nutrition on the table – and quick! With beans, pasta and canned crushed tomatoes being pantry staples, this is such a great base pasta recipe to add any fresh vegetable too.

Swiss chard with beans sauteed in tomato sauce are the perfect pairing and a great way to introduce a new leafy green and include beans to your diet.

If your family needs some meat to balance out the meal, add some roasted or grilled Italian chicken or turkey sausage to each dish. With or without the sausage, this is the kind of meal that is exactly what I need when I’m craving something hearty and healthy.

Swiss Chard with White Beans in Tomato Sauce over Pasta

Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 bunch swiss chard, shredded
• 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup of water (added to crushed tomato can to pick up remnant flavor)
• 1 15 oz can of Bush's Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
• a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• red hot pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/2 box of whole wheat pasta

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, heat olive oil and begin to saute onion and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add chard to pan and saute until soft and wilted, about 8-10 minutes. Add can of tomato sauce with additional water to pan. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add can of white beans to sauce and cook for about 2-3 more minutes until sauce is slightly thick and flavors have come together.
3. Drain pasta and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve sauce over pasta with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

So hearty and healthy, I love the combinations of greens, tomato sauce and beans in this recipe. Hope you enjoy it too! Recipe from Aggie's Kitchen, inspired from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

This recipe was created in partnership with Bush’s Beans. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Aggie’s Kitchen.

The post Eat Your Greens! Swiss Chard with White Beans in Tomato Sauce over Pasta appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I spent some time with my family this weekend, and as per usual, my grandpa sent me home with some home grown goodies. During the winter his trees are bursting with tons of citrus like tangerines, grapefruits and lemons  and my car gets loaded up with plenty of gorgeous fruit, but this time around I came home with a huge bag of Swiss chard. He must have known I’ve been craving greens lately. This Kale and Chard Green Power Salad with Maple Vinaigrette definitely satisfied that craving.

I’ve been craving greens in the worst way. I am pretty sure I felt the same way this time last year, because I remember making and eating a super salad like this one every day for lunch for almost a month. I have to say, I’ve never tried Swiss chard raw in a salad before, at least not that I remember. I usually eat it sauteed in olive oil with lots of garlic, in soup or in tomato sauce over pasta. Swiss chard is one of my favorite greens, and I have a hard time resisting picking it up every time I pass by it at the produce market. As excited as I am to have so much Swiss chard in my possession (only half is shown in the picture above), I’m slightly concerned I may run out of ideas of how to cook it up in the next week.

Have you tried Swiss chard? What’s your favorite way to cook it up?

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I really hope this recipe doesn’t scare you off. I know that it’s a little…different. It is honestly so delicious…I was hooked on it for days when my husband was out of town and I was dining alone in the evenings. Well, I wasn’t exactly alone, but when it’s just me and the kids, the kids are pretty happy with a bowl of buttered noodles and veggies while I am usually looking for something a little more exciting.

This tortilla pizza was exciting.

It was a random put together. I had sauteed some rainbow chard (oh how I love rainbow chard!!!) in a little olive oil and Aleppo pepper…and needed to eat it with something. I had some homemade salsa in the fridge, and the rest just happened. It was a building process…the beans and Ezekiel tortilla were my protein, the greens my super veggie, and the salsa was the flavor.

I can seriously eat like this everyday.

Rainbow Chard Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients:

• Ezekiel Sprouted Tortilla
• Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Aleppo Pepper
• Pinto Beans, drained, rinsed and dried (I prefer Bush's Beans pintos)
• Red Onion, sliced
• Homemade Salsa

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 400.
2. Take your defrosted Ezekiel tortilla and place on baking sheet (tip: to keep bottom of tortilla crisp and to avoid getting too soggy, I preheat baking sheet with the oven so that it's already hot when the tortilla hits it). Spread thin layer of salsa on tortilla then top with thinly sliced red onion, sauteed rainbow chard and pinto beans.
3. Bake in oven for about 5-7 minutes or until tortilla is crisp and slightly browned. Take out and let cool. Drizzle salsa over top, slice and serve (to yourself).

Check out my Pinterest board for more pizza recipes.
Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Pizza & Flatbread on Pinterest.

The post {Dinner for One} Rainbow Chard Tortilla Pizza appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Here’s the recipe a lot of you have been asking me for…

After getting back from my trip to Napa, I couldn’t wait to make this chili for my family.  I convinced my children to try it using an idea I got from my new friend Connie Gutterson…she asks her kids to rate some of the recipes she makes for them…my son totally bought into the “rating game” and ate a nice bowl himself.  My daughter, she didn’t care so much about the rating part, she just dove in and gobbled up her share.  I had to restrain myself from showing too much excitement so they wouldn’t get suspicious…

Sammy (age 5) rates this “5 spoons” and “3 thumbs up”!

I added a little quinoa to the chili to make it even more nutritious.  My kids think of quinoa as “rice”…whatever works right?!

Another tip I learned from Connie…Be sure to “fry” your sauce before adding in the liquids.  What that means is cooking down the roasted pepper and tomatillo puree in a little olive oil along with the onions and garlic until it “pulls away from the pan”…doing this enhances the flavor by concentrating and thickening up the sauce a bit.

Enjoy!

(Oh…and to keep things on the up and up here’s a little disclaimer…Bush Beans covered the costs of my trip but does not pay me to say nice things about them.)

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Bush’s White Bean Chile Verde with Sonoma Pesto

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Oven/Stovetop

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Ingredients

• 1 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 lb poblano chiles
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 TB minced garlic
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano (use regular oregano if you don’t have Mexican)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cans (15.5 oz) BUSH’s Cannellini Beans, with liquid
• 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 4 cups Swiss chard, stemmed, cut 1 inch wide strips
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Optional Toppings

• Salsa Verde (purchased)
• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
• Sonoma Pesto (see recipe below)

Sonoma Pesto

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 serrano chile
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts or peanuts
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 ounces olive oil
• zest and juice from 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400°F.
2. Place tomatillos and poblano chiles on sheet pan. Roast in oven until peppers have blistered and tomatillos are soft. Remove from oven. Place tomatillos in blender. Once poblanos are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and skins. Add to blender, blend until smooth.
3. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add onions, cook until caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano, cook until aromatic.
4. Add tomatillo mixture, cook for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
5. Add stock, beans and their liquid. Bring to simmer, cook for 20 minutes.
6. Add cilantro, chicken and chard. Bring to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Sonoma Pesto

1. Combine all pesto ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Drizzle the pesto on top of the chile verde and finish with salsa verde, as desired.

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