Kale with Ancho Pepper

I recently bought ground ancho pepper from Penzeys and have been itching to use it.  From what I understand, ancho peppers are dried poblano peppers.  They are mild, with a slightly sweet flavor.  I was in the mood for kale, so I fiddled around with different combinations of kale and ancho.  I settled on the recipe below, which tastes good and is actually fairly easy to make!

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1/4 tsp sea salt (you can add more to taste, but remember that kale shrinks as it cooks)

1 cup water

2 tsp ground ancho pepper

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

10 oz kale (washed, large stems removed, and cut into big pieces)

2 potatoes, boiled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (optional)

Directions

1.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on med-high heat.   Once hot, add the garlic and saute for 3 mins, until light brown. 

2.  Add the salt, water, ancho pepper, black pepper, and kale.  Stir (as much as possible since there will be a lot of kale).  Cover and let it cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. 

3.  Optional: After the kale is cooked, toss in the boiled potatoes.  Serve hot