Collard Greens with Ham

They're not the prettiest food in the world, but they are delicious. :)

My husband works on the other side of the country, in West Virginia (We live in Utah), and he came home one day telling me he wanted to cook dinner. He made steak, fries and collard greens. The collard greens he served were canned greens. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but c'mon... Homemade is always better. ;) I told him I'd make FRESH collard greens for him one day, and it may have been a mistake. Now it's a staple in our home. lol... Sometimes I make it with bacon, sometimes ham, whatever.

Here's what you'll need:

Collard greens (I buy 2 bunches)
Ham or bacon
olive oil or butter
onion
garlic
chicken stock
red pepper flakes
salt, pepper and seasonings to taste

First thing, remove the stems from the greens. You mostly just want the leafy part. If you fold them in half and pull on the leaves, the hard stem in the middle will usually just come right off. Chop the greens up into 2inch-ish squares and wash REALLY well.

Add oil to medium to large pot and saute the onion and ham, until onion is soft. If you're using bacon here, don't add oil. Cook the chopped bacon first and save a little oil for the onion, then proceed. Add the garlic and greens, and cook until the greens start to wilt. Pour in enough stock to just cover the wilted greens. Usually takes about 4 cups for me. Add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and seasonings. I use my usual "Tony's creole" seasoning.

Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until the greens are tender. Add more salt and seasonings if needed.

Seriously, that's it.