How to Make Collard Greens - Crabby Style

My Collard Green Recipe

I really love vegetables. One of my all-time favorites is collard greens. These may be considered soul food or southern food, but to me they are just plain good eating. If I make up a mess of collards, they usually don't last over a couple of days.

Every cook has a favorite method for making collard greens. The traditional method is to strip the leaves from the stems and to cook only the leaves in a pot that has 2 or more ham hocks that have cooked for a long time in seasoned water. This recipe usually takes 2 or more hours to cook. In addition, you have to purchase ham hocks, so you can't just grab what is in the 'frig or pantry for the traditional recipe. This version often has hot pepper sauce or dried chili as an added flavor.

My recipe is simple, but delicious, and requires few special ingredients (unless you want to use oriental chili in your greens). The other nice thing is that my recipe takes around an hour and a half.

Ingredients:

1 plastic grocery sack full of collard greens
4 strips of bacon
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 stick butter or margarine
4 Tbsp Canola or Olive oil
Ground oriental chili to taste (optional)
Water to cover greens once they are wilted
Salt to taste

Steps:
1. Wash the greens thoroughly to remove dirt, sand, etc.
2. Seperate the leaves of the greens from the stems.
3. If you are going to use the stems, cut them into 1/4 - 3/8" lengths.
4. Roll several leaves together and cut them into 1/2" strips.
5. Place the sliced greens into one set of bowls, and the stems into another bowl.
6. Slice the bacon across each strip, into 1/2" wide strips.
7. Put a large pan on medium high heat and add the oil and bacon.
8. Once the bacon has given up some of its fat, add the garlic.
9. Cook the garlic until it starts to change color, then start adding the stems to the pot, about 1/3 at a time, waiting for the stems to soften and change color.
10. Once all the stems are in, stir and add the butter.
11. Cover the pan and saute the stems a few more minutes.
12. Uncover the pan and add the leaves, filling the pan almost to the top.
13. Stir the greens regularly until they have wilted and changed color.
14. Add the remaining greens in batches as they wilt in the pan until you have put all of them in.
15. After all of the greens have changed color, add water to cover.
16. Add salt to the greens. The water should be a little salty to season the greens as they finish cooking.
17. Add the oriental chili (optional).
18. Simmer the greens for a while longer, checking for tenderness. When they reach the desired tenderness, turn off the heat.
19. Put some in a bowl, serve with some buttered cornbread and enjoy!

Below you will find a video of this recipe.

God bless you and yours and have a Great Day!

Quick And Easy Green Chili Soup

Quick And Easy Green Chili Soup - So Easy A Kid Can Make It

This is a simple, spicy soup that I came up with that uses canned items for most of the ingredients. This makes it simple enough for a kid to prepare. For safety reasons, there should be adult supervision when items are being cut. You can vary the heat by deveining the jalapeño, or by adding another jalapeño to spice it up more. With one jalapeño, it is not too hot for my ten year old, so you might want to use this as a guide. If you do get it too hot, add some more American or Velveeta to cool it down a bit. The cooking times are for a 800 watt microwave oven. You can make this on the stove top, but you have to be very careful not to burn the cheeses. For thicker soup, cut the milk in half.

Ingredients:
1 family size can cream of mushroom
1 can roasted and chopped green chili
1 can whole kernel corn
1 diced jalapeño
1/2 onion diced
2 tablespoons cream (optional)
1/2 cup milk
pepper to taste
4 slices American cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 inch slice of Velveeta or other processed cheese

Utensils:
1 large microwave safe bowl
1 large spoon
1 knife

Directions:

1. In a large bowl,mix together all ingredients except cheeses.
2. Heat in microwave for 6 minutes, stirring every one and one-half minutes.
3. After 4 minutes, add sliced cheese and Velveeta.
4. After 6 minutes, stir in cheddar.
5. Heat 2 minutes or more if needed, stir mixture until cheeses are melted in.
6. Serve with tortilla chips.
7. Enjoy!

Quesadillas - Quick Easy and Delicious

Quesadillas - Quick and Easy

If you like Mexican cuisine, you have probably had quesadillas. They are traditionally made by melting cheese along with chilis or salsa in betweem two flour tortillas. I have seen these with both crisp and soft tortillas, but by far my favorites are the crisp ones.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for awesome appetizer.

Ingredients:
Flour Tortillas
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Diced, Peeled Green Chilis or Jalapeños
Diced Onion
Butter or Oil to brown the Quesadillas in

Utensils:
Frying Pan
Spatula
Knife
Pizza Cutter (optional)

1. Turn your stove on medium heat


2. Place the pan on the burner


3. Place a pat of butter, margarine or some oil in the pan


4. Once oil is hot, place a flour tortilla in the pan


5. Cover tortilla with onions, cheese and chilis


6. Place a tortilla on top of the filling


7. Cook until the cheese melts, then flip the quesadilla over


8. Brown on second side to desired crispness


9. Flip quesadilla over again if you want the first side more crisp


10. Plate the quesadilla, then slice into quarters or eighths


11. Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole


12. Enjoy!

Hope you like the recipe. Have a great day and God Bless you and yours. Check out the video of this wonderful snack.