Skillet Chili Stew

Have you ever shared a meal with someone and known immediately that your life would never be the same? I know it sounds crazy, but I wouldn’t ask if it hadn’t happened to me. Bill and I are self-proclaimed chili connoisseurs. And we each have perfected our own chili recipes, which are each the best ever. Kind of like that old Chinese proverb, “There is only one perfect child in the world, and every mother has it.” But a few years ago, before we were “us”, Bill invited me over cause he was making chili. And when he got out a large stainless steel skillet, I was skeptical. By the time I saw the refried beans go into the mix, I was beginning to regret my decision.

But then it was ready. And I took a bite. And my chili life has never been the same.

 <–Chililifechanger

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 medium yellow onion, diced
-1 seeded jalapeno, diced
-1 1/2 pounds ground beef
-5 cloves garlic, minced
-1 can refried beans
-1 can beans (your choice!)
-2 cans diced tomatoes, seasoned as you wish
-cumin
-chili powder
-chipotle pepper powder
-dried oregano

Here’s what you do:
This whole thing cooks in one skillet, so be sure to choose a large one. start by sauteeing the onions and jalapeno over a medium heat until they’re soft. You can use any oil you like, although I usually go with hot pepper or garlic infused sunflower oil. Next, add in the ground beef and seasonings (To your taste, of course. I am usually light on the oregano and chili powders and heavier on the cumin.).

Now we’ve gotten to my favorite part: the beanlog. Once the meat is cooked through, go ahead and drop that can of refried beans in the pan.

I love the beanlog mostly because it looks like something that shouldn’t be eaten for dinner. But also because it is what I learned from Bill that fateful night when I knew my chili would never be the same. I never before would have considered refried beans in chili; nor would I have made it in a skillet. For me, chili was always a crockpot affair. But I guess we never really  know what will change us.

Give the beans a few minutes to warm up and then add in your tomatoes and regular beans. When it comes to these beans, you can use whatever beans you’ve got. Lots of folks like to stick to kidney or chili beans when it comes to chili, but I encourage experimentation. There are so many varieties of beans, and they’re all usually delicious and a good source of fiber.

Once everything is mixed in, let it simmer for a few minutes to get a little flavorshare action going. Then serve with your preferred garnishes and enjoy!

Of course, I have heard many theories on chili and when it should be served. Some folks say it should set for at least a day before being served for optimum flavor, while others recommend freezing, thawing, and reheating before serving. But let’s all keep it real for a minute and admit that nobody has time for that!

Total prep time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people
Common allergens: tomatoes

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli salad is sort of a legend in our family. But if I’m going to be honest (and I am), it’s not an actual family recipe. We lived in Alaska for three years in the mid-90s and one of our neighbors made this salad one day. Mom started making it for potlucks and barbecues. The more people eat it, the more legendary it becomes. I’ve modified it slightly, because I prefer more of a tang in the dressing. But that’s all beside the point.

I unassumingly made broccoli salad this summer while working as the cook at a southern Maryland summer camp. I had no idea the dish would create such a stir. At the end of each day during the staff work/training week, the staff members go around and shares a high (required) and low (optional) point of their day. No less than six people mentioned the broccoli salad as their highlight. It became a thing throughout the summer; people would ask when it was next on the menu. One person (not naming names!!) even told me she made herself sick eating too much at once. It was the most-frequently asked-for recipe of the summer, so here goes…

 

Here’s what you’ll need:

-2 medium heads broccoli, cut into small florets
-1/2 red onion, chopped
-1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
-1/2 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
-1 cup mayonnaise
-1 tablespoon lemon juice (I generally prefer to squeeze half a lemon, and for the record, this was not part of the original recipe)
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar (the original recipe called for white vinegar, but a good friend and mentor of mine taught me that white vinegar is only for cleaning)

Here’s what you do:

This is probably one of the easiest things you’ll ever make. Mix the dry ingredients (minus the sugar) in a large bowl and everything else in a smaller bowl.

 

The dressing is kind of finicky. The measurements I provided are approximations. You really need to taste it and add ingredients based on the taste you prefer. Once the dressing is satisfactory, dress the salad and refrigerate for at least an hour. You CAN serve it immediately, but it’s exponentially tastier when it’s cold.

 

Total prep time: 20 minutes + refrigeration time
Serves: 4-6 people
Common allergens: eggs

Red Lentil Soup (or, The Time we Offended an Entire Nation)*

It’s been over a decade since I spent a summer abroad at Kings College London, but I still remember this experience as if it happened yesterday. It was the first weekend of my summer semester abroad and I had ventured into the heart of the city with a girl who lived down the hall from me. We were [un]lucky enough to be in England in one of their hottest summers on record, and had just trekked all the way from our campus in the Upper West End down across the Thames River, and to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (not the original, of course). By the time we got there we were sweat-soaked and starving, and looked for the first restaurant we could find.

We stumbled upon Tas Pide, and having absolutely no clue what it was all about, we decided that the quaint rock-faced store front was all the welcome we needed to rest our already tired feet. We ventured inside in the midst of a mid-afternoon lull in business. Aside from us there were only two other small parties in the restaurant. We were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant, but close to the window so we could feel what little breeze there was. I noticed that there was a large bottle of water on the table, which was atypical for the United Kingdom. We were immediately greeted by our server with bowls of soup and a basket of bread – before we even ordered our drinks!

There was a lightness in the air at the restaurant, a feeling of being at home despite being across an ocean. We began chatting about the restaurant, trying our best to figure out what type of place we had stepped into. I had a sense that there was some sort of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern influence, but couldn’t put my finger on it. A server brought menus to us, and as just as I began reading the history of the restaurant and their roots in Anatolia (present-day Turkey), my friend asked, “Where are you guys from, Greece?” Knowing the less-than-loving relationship shared by Turks and Greeks, my heart skipped a beat as the server curtly replied, “No…Turkey.” If we didn’t already have a flashing neon sign above our heads that said, “HEY, WE’RE AMERICANS!” we certainly did then.

The menu was filled with items of which we had never heard. We decided in the end to each order a pide; since that was essentially the name of the restaurant, it must be good, right? The server assured us we had made good choices and we would be satisfied with our food. We continued enjoying the soup and bread and waited for our pide. We didn’t really know what to expect, other than that the word sounded kind of like ‘pita’ so we figured it was some sort of bread with a pocket. And we weren’t that far off. A pide is essentially a canoe-shaped pizza, but better! The toppings on a pide might range from cheese and vegetables to beef sausage and egg. The Turks, while lovers of simplicity, also enjoy versatility in their food.

We certainly were not disappointed in the arrival of our pides, which seemed to happen at just the right time. We had been finished with our soup and bread for a couple minutes and were enjoying the comfortable, quiet atmosphere of the place. If they had waited much longer we may have wanted to take an afternoon siesta right there on the restaurant floor! After eating a couple pieces each, though, we were disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to finish our meals there. I was very saddened by this. My pide had beef, cheese, peas, parsley, and garlic on it and was absolutely one of the most interesting things I had eaten to date. Of course, this was before the age of smartphones in which we all snap photos of our fancy and exotic meals before we eat them, so I don’t have pictures of the actual event to share.

We had stopped eating our pide on account of how delightfully full we were. Our server asked us why we didn’t like them. This was my first lesson in Turkish food culture. In Turkey, guests are served food almost constantly. It is part of the culture to feed people and feed them well. If you stop by to visit a friend, they won’t pull out chips, salsa, and beer (like we might here in the US), but they may very well whip up an entire meal for you. The Turkish people are very hospitable, always wanting to make their guests comfortable and their bellies full.

But back to the issue at hand. The fact that we were full after only a couple pieces of pide translated as dissatisfaction with the food. We explained to the server that we enjoyed the food, but were just full and were headed to the Tate Modern Museum and couldn’t take food with us. The next thing we know, the manager came over to make sure we didn’t have any problems with the food, and then sent us complimentary rice pudding for dessert. We were still SO FULL. But we had already offended the entire nation of Turkey by confusing them for Greece, so we forced down the rice pudding, paid the bill, and went on our merry way.

Fast forward ten years and my sister is getting married….to a Turkish dude! So for the past five years or so, I’ve been introduced first-hand to the delights of Turkish cuisine. Turkish food is generally pretty simple, yet delicious. They use a lot of garlic..in EVERYTHING. Which is probably why I love it so much. Other common flavorings, herbs, and spices include dill, parsley, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, and lemon.

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
-1 large potato, diced
-1 large carrot, diced
-1 medium yellow onion, chopped
-2 tablespoons butter
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-salt, pepper, paprika, and sugar for seasoning

Here’s what you do:
Cover lentils, potato, carrot, and onion in cold water and boil until all veggies are soft. Then drain and puree the veggies, returning them to your stockpot afterwards. Add boiling water until the soup is at your desired consistency. It should be relatively thick, but smooth.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter and olive oil together, then add salt, pepper, and paprika, adding this mix to the soup once foamy. Stir the soup well and add a pinch of sugar. Be sure to serve with a hearty bread.

Total prep time: 1 hour-ish
Serves: 10-12 people
Common allergens: NONE! (this one’s even gluten free!)

*This post is part of an assignment for CUL111: Culinary Theory & Sanitation at Stratford University.

Hearty Lasagna

I really like eating Italian food. Don’t we all? I tend to not veer too far from my usual dishes: carbonara and stuffed shells. But more on that later. Today I decided I wanted lasagna. But I always find that lasagna is actually pretty boring. And so I just started adding stuff to the bowl…which led to my inability to stop eating once it was done.

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1/2 box lasagna noodles
-1 jar of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce
-5 links of hot (or mild, or sweet…whatever) Italian sausage, casings removed
-80z. package of baby bella mushrooms, stalks removed, then diced
-1/3 cup marinated roasted red peppers, diced
-15oz tub ricotta cheese
-8oz cottage cheese
-1 1/2 tablespoons pesto
-2oz blue cheese (or if you’re fancy, gorgonzola)
-4 garlic cloves
-12oz log fresh mozzarella, sliced
-1/4 cup breadcrumbs
-shredded parmesan cheese

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cook up the sausage in a large frying pan or wok. Once cooked and crumbled, add mushrooms and red peppers and cook a little longer. Drain and put in a large mixing bowl. I might add that the Pampered Chef’s Scoop & Drain tool is quite helpful for this task.

Next up is the noodles. I snap my lasagna noodles in half before boiling. It just makes the cooking process a little easier. And let’s be honest – nobody ever really sees the noodles to notice that they’re not full-length pieces. While the noodles are boiling, add the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, blue cheese, pesto, garlic (freshly pressed), 1/4 cup pasta sauce, and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese to the sausage/pepper/mushroom mix. Once the noodles are finished cooking, drain and rinse with cold water. Spread 1/3 cup pasta sauce around the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Lay pasta flat, covering the sauce.

Then spread half of the filling across the pan, topping with pieces of mozzarella.

Repeat layers of noodles, filling, mozzarella, and noodles. Top with the remainder of pasta sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and mozzarella slices. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until internal temperature is at least 155. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan and bake for another five minutes until melted.

As a complete side note, it goes delightfully with this bottle of wine:

Total prep time: 90 minutes
Serves: 10-12 people
Common allergens: tomatoes, dairy

Some Other Beginning’s End

Please forgive me while I deviate from my normal posts about what I’ve been cooking lately and tell you a little about what’s been going on in my life lately. Because truth be told, I didn’t make a single meal that I ate this weekend. Needless to say, I haven’t been developing my kitchen creativity much lately.

But that’s all about to change. March 2014 is the start of a whole new adventure in my life. It is the new beginning to which the title of this post alludes. The end of another new beginning that happened four years ago when I moved to Maryland for the first job offer I got out of grad school. But I’m not here to dwell on the endings, and nobody likes to talk about lay-offs anyway. What I am here to talk about is why, at almost 30, and with two post-secondary degrees already, I’m going back to school. School that I can’t really afford. I am going anyway.

You see, when I realized I was going to have to find a new job, I immediately started applying for jobs that matched my previous experience and/or education. I’m no idiot, and I know that the market is competitive right now. But I had now idea HOW competitive. I probably applied for at least 150 different jobs. I received maybe six “Thanks, but no thanks.” emails. And then one day I was looking through a page of nerdy tattoos and saw this one, a quote from the ever-so-wise Albus Dumbledore.

Which got me thinking about how I always say things like, “One day when I have my own restaurant…” and “I have all these ideas for different types of eateries that I think people would enjoy…” and that was when I realized I was going about things all the wrong way. Sure, I still need a job (or two…maybe three) to pay the bills. But why continue applying to positions in human resources or recreation when what I really want to do is feed people? And I’ve got to start somewhere. It turns out that somewhere is a culinary arts associate’s degree and low-paying job as a prep cook.

So while it is in some ways terrifying to know that the job I start this week doing prep work at a restaurant here in the city is going to pay less than one third of my previous job, it is also somewhat delightful to be figuring out how to navigate life and adjust to a new lifestyle. With a new school and a new job on the horizon, I am looking forward to making this change and doing what [it took me almost a decade to figure out] makes me happy.

I find myself thinking about the past few months and how they’ve played out, and realizing that things really do happen for a reason. I never would have quit a fast-paced, high-stress, secure, professional job to return to school and make such a drastic career change. But when that position was eliminated, I had the option to choose anything. It was a perfect situation to take the plunge.

I hope you’ll join me as I set out on this adventure. I plan to, of course, continue sharing recipes here, but also to share my journey through school, work, and life.

Spicy Jambalaya

This weekend some friends of mine handed me their credit card and said, “You’re in charge of dinner.” I could have just ordered pizza or Chinese, but it’s always fun to cook for a captive audience so we chatted a little about what they were in the mood to eat. Essentially the only stipulations that came out of our conversation was that we all wanted something hearty since it was a cold day. I got to thinking about different soups or stews, and then something made me think of one of my old college roommates, Jacob Hein. He used to always make this crazy jambalaya with everything in it except the kitchen sink. He also taught me an appreciation for amaretto sours, but that’s another story for another day. I’ve never made jambalaya before but I remembered Jacob making it and it always seemed like he just threw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it simmer. So that’s kind of what I did…

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
-8 ounce ham steak, diced
-1 pound skinless, boneless chicken, diced
-2 cups dry white rice (I prefer jasmine)
-6 cups chicken stock
-1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
-1 green pepper, cored and finely chopped
-1 red pepper, cored and finely chopped
-3 jalapeno peppers, cored and finely chopped
-2 onions, minced
-2 large tomatoes, diced
-3 leeks, white sections, finely chopped
-2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
-garlic powder
-paprika
-cayenne pepper
-oregano
-salt & pepper
-olive oil

Here’s what you do:

In a saucepan, cook chicken, seasoning with garlic, paprika, and cayenne. Do the same to heat and season the sausage and ham. (You can also add shrimp to make this extra delicious, but I had a couple of non-seafood fans to feed!)

In a large stockpot, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil, Worchestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Add peppers, onions, leeks, and tomatoes. Add meats, dry rice, and chicken stock. Stir every couple minutes or so, and make sure it keeps bubbling. Add a hefty amount of garlic, cayenne, and paprika, and a little oregano. Salt and pepper it to your taste. Maybe some red pepper flakes too if you like it extra spicy (which we do!). Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, ENJOY!!!

Total prep time: 1.5 hours
Serves: 10-12 people
Common allergens: tomatoes

Mushroom Risotto Stuffed Peppers

The thing I like about stuffed peppers is that, much like a taco salad from Qdoba, YOU CAN EAT THE BOWL.

Here’s what you’ll need:
-4 ounces diced pancetta*
-1/2 cup dry risotto
-1 1/2 cups chicken stock
-1 onion
-2 large green peppers, tops removed and hollowed out
-2 mini red/orange/yellow sweet peppers (if you can’t find mini peppers, use either one whole or a half of two different colors)
-1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
-1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
-1/4 cup butter
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-garlic powder
-oregano
-salt & pepper
-1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*Can easily be vegetarianized by omitting this.

Here’s what you do:
In a saucepan or stockpot, saute the pancetta in one tablespoon of olive oil until some edges start to crisp up. Mince onion and sweet peppers in a food processor and add to the pot along with butter. Once butter is melted, simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add risotto and half of the chicken stock. Continue stirring every so often until the risotto soaks up the liquid, then add the rest of the stock and continue doing the same. Add garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper to your liking. In the mean time, saute the mushrooms in a separate pan in one tablespoon of olive oil. Season with garlic powder. When they are finished, add to the risotto mix. After the risotto has absorbed all the chicken stock, stir in the tomatoes, then the cheese.

Once all the cheese is melted, scoop into the hollowed out green peppers. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle a little cheese on top, and dig in!

Total prep time: 45 minutes
Serves: 2 people (although there will be a little filling leftover, and it’s easy to multiply!)
Common allergens: tomatoes, dairy

Kentucky Bourbon Bread Pudding

Some friends of mine just bought a new house and invited a bunch of people over for dinner last night. I asked what I should bring and they said, “Dessert.” This was perfect as I’ve been toying around with the idea of a bread pudding for a while and just needed an occasion to make it. Whenever I go out to eat and they have bread pudding on the menu, I have to try it. It’s one of those desserts that shouldn’t taste good but almost always tastes soooooo good. Thus far, the best bread puddings I’ve had have been at The Blue Dog Saloon in Port Tobacco, Maryland and Rips in Bowie, Maryland. And their secret (well, is it a secret if they tell you?) is that they use bourbon! So I thought I’d give it a shot. (Do you see what I did there?)

Here’s what you’ll need:
Pudding
-2 loaves hearty Italian or French bread
-1 quart half and half
-1 cup sugar
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/4 teaspoon almond extract
-ground cinnamon
-ground nutmeg
-2 tablespoons bourbon
-1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
-powdered sugar (for dusting)

Glaze
-1 cup sugar
-1/2 cup butter
-1 cup heavy cream
-1/4 cup bourbon
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-1 tablespoon light corn syrup
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Here’s what you do:

Tear bread into bite-sized pieces, using as much or as little crust as you like. Depending on the type of bread you use, you may choose to use it all. I am lucky to live a few blocks from a delightful little Italian market and deli that bakes fresh bread multiple times daily and used a couple of their loaves.

But if you aren’t so lucky, your local grocery store bakery will most likely have something you can use. I would shy away from wheats, sourdoughs, and multigrains. Once the bread is torn apart, put it in a 9×13 casserole dish, then add the pecans. Be careful to mix the pecans and bread too thoroughly or all the nuts will fall to the bottom. sprinkle the sugar evenly on top of the bread. Then sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top, to your taste.  Separately, mix eggs, half and half, almond extract, and bourbon. and pour over the bread mixture. You may have to press some of the bread down a little to ensure that it gets wet, but try  not to pack it down into the dish.

Now, let’s pause for a second and talk about bourbon. In 1964, Congress declared bourbon America’s only native spirit. Over 90% of the world’s bourbon is produced in Kentucky. Due to the climate and large natural deposits of limestone in The Bluegrass State, it’s about the only place in the world that is ideal for production. There are more barrels of bourbon in the Commonwealth of Kentucky than there are people. Over the past decade, The Kentucky Bourbon Trail has been a driving force in increasing tourism (and likely bourbon production as well, which has more than doubled since 1999). Let’s face it. Bourbon is one of many reasons that Kentucky Kicks Ass. Thanks to the 9000 Kentuckians who distill bourbon for a living, you have your pick of brands to choose from for this recipe. Naturally, though, I went the classy route…

But enough about bourbon (and Kentucky…for now)! Let the bread soak up all that deliciousness for about five minutes, then put it in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. You want the tips of the bread to be crispy but the rest of everything to be gooey.  In the meantime, mix all the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and stir together until they start to boil and foam.

Continue stirring for about a minute or two. Once the pudding comes out of the oven, pour the glaze over top and let settle. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately or keep it in the oven on 225 during dinner (after you’ve glazed it), then dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Total prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 12-14 people
Common allergens: eggs, pecans, dairy

Sweet & Sauer Hotdish

Ever have one of those days when you know you have some really random items in the refrigerator and pantry and know just exactly how to use them up? Yeah, me neither. Thankfully, we have the interwebs. My main goal was to use up some leftover sauerkraut we had in the fridge before it got a little too fermented. I’ve been a fan of sauerkraut most of my adult life (especially on brats fresh off the grill), but last year I was on a whirlwind trip across Europe that turned casual enjoyment into a slightly inappropriate obsession. We were only in the EU for five full days, during which we spent time in Amsterdam, Prague, and Budapest. I was delightfully surprised at the ready availability of sauerkraut on almost every restaurant menu we browsed. Since my return to the USofA almost a year ago, I’ve been on a mission to work the [literally translated] sour cabbage into my kitchen at every possible opportunity.

While sauerkraut is high in sodium, it has some redeeming qualities too. Because it’s cabbage, it has cancer cell growth inhibiting properties (like sprouts!) and is good for the health of your eyes as well. Oh, but I digress…

Back to Thursday night’s dinner. I searched the Googles for what to make with ground beef and sauerkraut. I got back 187 options, none of which were acceptable to me. So I did what any self-respecting cook would do: I raided the pantry and winged it. (Wunged it? Wanged it?) What I ended up with was a non-traditional hotdish. For those of you unfamiliar with the hotdish phenomenon, it’s mostly an upper Midwestern dish that contains meat, starch, vegetable, and canned soup. There are [literally] countless options for what goes in a hotdish, and while mine is not the more traditional fare, it turned out to be pretty tasty in the end.

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 pound ground bison
-1 1/4 cup sauerkraut, undrained
-1 medium yellow onion, chopped
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-3 tablespoons dried split peas
-2 medium potatoes
-1 can cranberry sauce
-seasoned salt
-shredded parmesan cheese
-2 eggs, beaten
-oil for frying (I prefer corn oil, but I can’t really tell you why)

Here’s what you do:

Heat fry oil in a small saucepan on the stove or in a deep fryer if you’ve got one. Wash and peel potatoes. Once the skin is removed, keep peeling the potato so you get thin chips. Fry the chips for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, like this:

If you have to fry them in multiple batches, keep a close eye and perhaps reduce the temperature of the heat source as you go along, or you might end up with potatoes that look like this:

OOPS!!! Drain the potatoes on a paper towel, sprinkle with seasoned salt, and let cool.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil for about 2 minutes, then add the raw meat and split peas. (This is going to have to simmer a while to soften the peas enough to be enjoyable. If you don’t want to chance it, you can pre-soak the peas or use frozen/tinned peas.) Break up the meat into small pieces, then add sauerkraut. Once the meat is all cooked, turn the heat down and let it all simmer. Add eggs and stir. Once the juices all start to simmer away, add the cranberry sauce, stir, and simmer some more until there aren’t any liquids left in the pan.

Pour the meat mix into a square casserole dish. Sprinkle a light layer of parmesan on top of the meat, layer the potato chips on top of that, then another light layer of parmesan. Bake for 7 minutes at 375, then enjoy!

Total prep time: 1 hour-ish
Serves: 4 people
Common allergens: eggs, (and if you use peanut oil to fry your potatoes, well, there’s that)

Honey Garlic Sprouts

This is an insanely easy and unbelievably delicious concoction. The good news for those who grew up hating the tiny cabbages: these aren’t your mama’s Brussels sprouts! Even more good news: sprouts are believed to contain anti-cancer properties, unless boiled, so we’ll have none of that! This one falls into the vegetarian category for sure, and can be considered vegan depending on your beliefs about honey. But more on that later.

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed and quartered
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-4 cloves garlic, freshly pressed
-1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans (or sometimes I use cashews, depending on what’s in the pantry)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1/2 cup honey (preferably local, to build your immune system!)

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Mix together the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss over the sprouts and pecans. Spread the pecans out flat on a baking pan (I’m of course a fan of the Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pans) and bake for about 35 minutes, until the edges start to brown.

Remove from the oven, place in a bowl and pour honey over the sprouts, stirring lightly. Then enjoy. I recommend eating all of these when you make them – they’re alright when reheated, but not nearly as good.

Total prep time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people
Common allergens: pecans