New Recipe and Wednesday

Last night we got about 5 inches of snow. I was hoping for a day off of work at the very least a 2 hour delay. I brought work home and my computer fully expecting to be out a day. Completely preparing myself for not being able to make it in.

As I am laying in bed this morning at about 6:30am, just starting to wake up, I am thinking "oh please, oh please, oh please let us be closed today". Jason was already awake and I know he already knows but I am afraid to ask him for fear of being disappointed but I have to know. Imagine my disappointment when I hear we are on "unscheduled leave" which basically means nothing -- well okay something -- you can ask for the day off without advance notice. What a royal bummer. I ended up staying home anyway working for part of morning and then taking the rest of the afternoon off because I had a doctor's appointment around lunch time.

Aidan had the day off and he was thrilled. After my doctor's appointment, Jason went to the movies. He went to see "Up in the Air". He won't tell anyone about it and just says, "you'll have to wait to read the blog". I'm still waiting for the review of "Youth in Revolt" and "Avatar". By next Oscars we should get a good review of the movies for this years Oscars :)

I tried a new recipe tonight. It was really flavorful and hearty and quite good. I give it 4 out 5 stars. Here is the recipe:

Smothered Beans with Leeks and Collard Greens

Ingredients
1 cup dried Great Northern beans
1/4 cup dried pinto beans
1 quart water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced leeks (about 2 large)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound collard greens, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped

Preparation
Sort and wash beans; place in a large saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain beans. Add 1 quart water and return beans to pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Cool. Drain beans in a colander over a bowl, reserving cooking liquid; set beans aside. Add enough water to cooking liquid to equal 3 cups; set aside.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add leeks, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until leeks are tender. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer leek mixture to a large bowl; add greens. Toss well to combine.
Place half of greens mixture in bottom of Dutch oven; top with beans. Spread remaining greens mixture over beans. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Pour reserved liquid over greens. Cover and simmer over medium heat 1 hour or until beans are tender, stirring once. Uncover and stir in tomatoes; simmer 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 153 (24% from fat)
Fat: 4.1g (sat 0.6g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.6g)
Protein: 7.5g
Carbohydrate: 24g
Fiber: 7.8g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 2.3mg
Sodium: 382mg
Calcium: 158mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

I used can beans because I can never prepare well enough in advance. Since I didn't have the bean liquid I just used leftover low-sodium chicken broth and water which worked great. I also used diced tomatoes and not whole. Who needs the extra step of cutting? It's good. I had a lot of leftovers but it will be good for lunch. The kids were not fans but we really liked it.

We may get up to 24 inches of snow this weekend. We're a bit concerned because cousin Jesse is coming to visit us on Friday. Aidan can not wait for him to arrive. He keeps asking when he is coming. It is very cute.