Vegetable Barley Casserole

I adore this recipe. It's adapted from Weight Watchers. I can't get my picky eater to give it a try; mixed up foods are a big no no. However, Thing Two loves it. He helped me make it for dinner Saturday night and we thought we should share it on the blog. It's really that good. So good in fact the news at the end of this post still makes me feel terrible loss.


Vegetable Barley Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 t olive oil
• 1 small red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can corn, drained
• 3 C kale, coarsely chopped, thick stems removed
• 1 can Rotelle or other diced tomatoes with chiles
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 C cooked barley
• 1/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t oregano
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, corn and kale; cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, beans, barley cumin, oregano, salt and pepper; heat through.
4. Spray 3 qt. baking dish with cooking spray. Pour barley mixture into dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese. 
5. Bake 25-30 minutes until cheese melts and casserole is hot throughout. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Enjoy!

My helper said this looked just like a yummy salad he'd like to eat. He's now tasked me with finding him a kale salad. Hmmmm. You can substitute other greens such as collards, spinach or mustard greens for the kale.

And now all the ingredients have joined the party in the pot. The greens really cook down. I think I may up the greens by an extra cup next time.

Thing Two couldn't stop snatching the kale right out of the skillet and tasting. I raised them all the same, why can't all my kids eat this adventurously? WHY?

All in the casserole dish. Such pretty colors.

My little helper loved adding the cheese on top.

Not a good idea to take a shot through the glass oven door with an upward bouncing flash. I told my husband this could be a one in a series for a calendar of food blogger pinups like the TSA Pinup Calendar. He doubts it would be as successful. Oh, well future planned shots of my cookies baking is now scratched as well.

Out of the oven.

Into the bowls. Doesn't it look delicious? Such a delectable, healthy meal. I was several bites in and loving the chorus of family mmmmmmmms when tragedy struck...

...CRUNCH...

There shouldn't be something crunchy in this dish! What was that? I ran to the kitchen spit out the offending bite to discover...

GLASS! A big honking piece of glass. Uncool.

Mise en place failed me. I looked on the counter and noticed a large chip in the bowl I had used to hold the kale between chopping and adding to the skillet. The piece on my plate was only half the size of the chip so I could not risk my family continuing to eat the meal. I had the best smelling trash can Saturday night. Fortunately I have more kale and barley so this will be on the menu again this week. This time glass free.