Spicy Collards and Rice

I grew up southern, and well that often meant vegetables cooked in a pot with bacon grease, fatback, or a huge chunk of butter...ok let's be honest practically the whole stick of butter. I probably still have cholesterol floating around n my veins from childhood. Collards were no different, and as an adult I have shied away from cooking them because I had no idea what to do with them other than smother them in cholesterol. Well since my new health kick, the whole trying to eat a bigger variety of vegetables thing, I have broke down and bought a bag of frozen collards. They have been staring at me from my freezer every since...taunting me in my failure to use them. Well today I braved these baffling collards and quite frankly they turned out delicious. 

Here is what you will need:

Chipotle Hot Sauce

2 tbs of Minced Garlic    

Olive Oil Spray

1 Cup of Frozen Collard Greens

1/2 Cup of Cooked Rice

First I let the collards thaw slightly and then I tossed them in a lightly sprayed pan with two tablespoons of minced garlic and a couple of dashes of smoked chipotle hot sauce. Then I sautéd together until the garlic began to brown.

Last I tossed in a 1/2 cup of slightly warmed cooked rice (leftovers). Stirred it together until completely warmed through.

The great thing about the rice was that it kept the heat from the chipotle hot sauce from being too much. It was delicious blend of garlicky and spicy flavors.  I had mine with grilled chicken and slightly tart apples. Sounds weird, but the heat and tartness just seemed to work well together.  

All of this is for a serving of one, but if you have an adventurous family, or you are lucky and already have a collards loving family, then by all means adjust this to suite your needs. As for my family, well Dork doesn't eat collards, and I wasn't willing to fight that battle with Quirky today.