Braised Chicken with Kale

Being a stay-at-home mom allows me to use the dutch oven during the week.  I rarely use it though because our after school schedule is crazy and using the dutch oven often requires hours of supervised cooking time that I don't usually have.  However, a few days ago we had a relaxing Friday afternoon, so I made this dish.  This is a real low-cost meal.  Chicken quarters are so cheap!  Braising makes the chicken really tender and it easily comes off the bone.  I haven't really cooked or eaten kale a lot so this gave me another opportunity to try it out.  Unfortunately, none of us were big fans of this dish.  I liked the sauce that the kale was in, but the chicken didn't end up with a lot of flavor.  Overall, this was only a so-so dish for us.

Braised Chicken with Kale
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (16-ounce) package cut prewashed kale
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place flour in a dish, and dredge chicken. Place 2 leg quarters in pan, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 leg quarters. Remove from pan.

3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add garlic; cook for 20 seconds. Add half of kale; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining half of kale; cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; stir in vinegar. Serve chicken over kale mixture.

Family Rating: So-so.