Happy Monday (that’s an order!) to you all! I hope the week is starting off on the right foot for everyone. For me, that means a big glass of veggie juice at 7:40am, a cup of coffee with vanilla sugar and a devotional starting at 7:45am, and a feeling of “I can do this” as the upcoming events of the week rush through my brain and I step out the door to go to work trying to cram each thought and each project into the correct mental cranny. A good outfit to help me feel pretty also makes a big difference–isn’t it amazing how bad a day can become when you just don’t feel like your face ever came together in the morning? And you’re convinced your pants are clinging in an unflattering way?

Juice, coffee, feeling presentable–that helps my Monday roll out the gate without a grimace.

Anyway, today I have a recipe for you all that has made many Monday night appearances at our table, partly because it requires near-zero thought and near-zero effort. Which also sweetens the pill-that-can-be-Monday. This dinner is so quick to throw together, and it never fails to please. It was inspired by the preliminary steps in this quiche, and I just love its simplicity: only 4 ingredients. Only 1 skillet. Heck yeah.

Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

1 lb bacon
1 red onion
12 oz kale
2/3 cup dry sherry or white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rice, to serve

Chop up the bacon and fry it in a large skillet over medium high heat until browned and crispy.

Yes, in case you’re wondering, this is the most labor-intensive part of the recipe. It’s all water running downhill from here.

Drain all but 1 TBS of the fat.

Now look at the cup full of grease that you just saved yourself from, and feel good!

Look at the grease you spattered on the counter and also feel good. Because you can just wipe it up with a soapy sponge, and the problem disappears.

And when your “problems” can be fixed with a sponge . . . well, then you can really count your blessings.

Dice the onion and add it to the bacon. Fry over medium heat until the onion is softened, 6-8 minutes.

Chop up the kale and add it to the skillet little by little, stirring until wilted. I added almost all of it at once, just for dramatic effect.

But it will cook down a ton! I promise.

Add the sherry or white wine and bring to a simmer. I have to warn you that the flavor of sherry is quite distinctive. It has an acidic edge to it that I happen to love, but if you don’t, feel free to do the white wine, or even a white wine or sherry + chicken broth split.

Cook the kale for about 10 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed/evaporated almost completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper–and I love liberal amounts of black pepper, as you can see.

Serve over rice!

I think I’ve made this every Monday for the past 3 weeks.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Bacon and Kale Skillet