Favorite Easy Meal for a Lazy Night

Tuesday evening found me, at nearly six o' clock, flopped lazily onto my belly across our queen-size bed, eyes drooping, body tired, and no sign of supper in sight.

"I'm going to need a cooking pep talk because I really don't feel like cooking tonight," I mumbled, as I let my eyes drift closed and settled my head on folded hands.

Keith sat on the bed beside me and obligingly started in on all the practical merits of cooking dinner.  It's cheaper.  We already bought the groceries.  They'll go bad if we don't cook them soon.  Blah, blah, blah...not helping.

"You're not very good at this," I whined as I flopped onto my back, eyes still closed.  "I need motivation, inspiration.  Don't get all rational on me."

"Well, we have the ingredients to make Turkey Sausage with Chickpeas and Kale," he cajoled.  I reluctantly opened one eye.  "It's sooooo good.  And we can practically make that in our sleep."

"Now you're talking!"

So we made one of our favorite meals.  We became kind of obsessed with kale earlier this year, it's now one of our favorite vegetables.  I like chickpeas in just about anything.  And the spicy Italian turkey sausage we get at the grocery store is just delicious no matter what you do with it.  We love this recipe so much we make it over and over again and never get even a little bit tired of it.  It's simple, healthy, delicious.  And it's a one-pot meal, so fewer dishes which is always a plus.  And it really is so easy we can practically make it in our sleep.

I've never blogged about it before, and was reminded of exactly why when I tried to take pictures.  It's virtually impossible to take a photo of this dish that looks as truly yummy as it actually is.  It's not really a looker in the presentation department.  But it's so good, it's not to be missed.  So you'll just have to trust me and try it for yourself.

Turkey Sausage with Chickpeas and Kale

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 pkg. (5 links) Italian turkey sausage
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 bunch fresh kale, stemmed and roughly chopped

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Slit the turkey sausage casings so that you can dump the meat in and brown it like you would ground beef.

Add the garlic and onion once the sausage gets pretty close to well-browned and cook until onion is fragrant and softened.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium and add in the kale.

If you use a big bunch of kale (we always do) it will look like you're never going to fit it all in the skillet.  Just keep piling it in, and pressing it down and together.  As long as you can get the lid to fit, you're good to go.

Once the kale starts to wilt it will shrink down a lot.  Cook covered for about fifteen minutes, then add the chickpeas, cover, and cook for five minutes more.

Serve hot and spoon any extra liquid over the top.  This recipe will make four very generous servings, and it keeps great as leftovers.  Enjoy!