Brussel Sprouts!

I have not made brussel sprouts in a long time.  Try over 10 years ago in some high school home ec class, (the closes to domestication I ever got).  That was the first time I ever tried them too.  I remember we steamed them and I did liking them, mom was shocked.  After that I've had them here and there, but never really sought them out.  I have been really excited to make something with them and have collected several recipes.  These past few weeks I have been having the same issue with brussel sprouts that I was having with carrots, and kept forgetting about them.

I finally roasted some up and they were delicious and I always remembered.  I used a recipe from poppytalk but I cut the spouts amount in half but otherwise I stuck pretty close to the recipe.  I hope you like them.

I know they don't look amazing, but they are! 

Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
2 servings 

• 1/2 lb brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Trim the sprouts by cutting off the stem end and peeling back a layer of leaves. Cut the sprouts in half.
3. Soak sprouts in a bowl of cold water, giving them a good shake so that any dirt falls to the bottom of the bowl.
4. Scoop out the sprouts and dry them with a clean tea towel. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
5. Use your hands to roll the sprouts around so that all the sprouts get evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt (I like tobe generous here) and the aleppo pepper or cayenne.
6. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, giving the tray a shake once or twice, until crispy and tender. Serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

Chicken Milanese and Carrots

I was sooo excited to roast some carrots, or do something with them.  Problem is, I have been crazy busy lately and not been able to do much cooking or had much desire to the one free night I have a week.  So I bought this lovely bunch of carrots and was set to make something, I can't remember what anymore, but it took me a week or so to get to it.  When I pulled the carrots out, they had gone soft.  I was seriously, very sad.  I really wanted to make whatever with those carrots and now I couldn't.  My dinner was ruined.  I don't remember what I ate instead, probably a bowl of pasta with a bit of salt. Tear. 


On the next grocery run I picked up carrots again and made a point to use them as soon as possible.  I also had the recipe for Chicken Milanese bookmarked in my Fresh Flavor Fast, so I decided to give it a try and add the carrots as a side.  I use a quick recipe from Great Food Fast  to make the carrots.  It all turned out great.  It was fast, yummy and great as a leftover.  I don't have a rack that I can put in the oven so I used a pizza pan that has holes in it to bake the chicken on over a pan.  It seemed to work fine.  While the chicken was in the oven, the carrots cooked up quickly and everything was ready pretty close to the same time.    I kept the onion with the dressing separate from the arugula so that it didn't wither or go brown waiting for the next meal.  

Chicken Milanese
4 servings 

• 1 1/4 cups plain dried breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges, for serving
• 5 ounces baby arugula
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss breadcrumbs and oil until well combined; spread on sheet. Cook, tossing once, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. 
2. Place flour and eggs in separate bowls; season with salt and pepper. Place a rack on another rimmed baking sheet (or make it up like me!).
3. One at a time, place chicken breasts between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or bottom of a small heavy pan(I used the pan route), pound until 1/2 inch thick. 
4. Coat chicken on both sides with flour (shaking off excess), then dip in eggs (allowing excess to drip off); dredge in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly to adhere.
5. Bake chicken on rack, without turning, until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.
6. In a bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add onion and toss.  Top a bed of Arugula with the onion mixture and place the chicken on top. 

Roasted Carrots
4 servings (unless you're like me, then its 2)

• 9 carrots (1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pepper

1. Quarter and cut carrots into 2-inch lengths. 
2. In a skillet, bring carrots, sugar, 1/2 cup water, butter, and salt to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, partly covered, 6 minutes.
3. Cook uncovered, over high, tossing often until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Season with pepper.

Enjoy! 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Sage

I had some leftover squash I need to use up before it went bad so I decided to try this quick side recipe from my Great Food Fast cookbook.  I had been wanting to try a simple roasted squash recipe besides my usual butter and brown sugar, but I don't think this is the one for me.  I shared with my neighbors, who liked it, but there was something I didn't quite like.  

It was okay, but maybe I just added too much sage, I didn't measure it.  Maybe I just don't like fresh sage, even though I have never noticed a dislike of sage in general before now.  I was not sure how much squash I had to use, it seamed to be about 2 pounds, like the recipe called for, but maybe it was less.  Another good reason to hope for the food scale I ask for from Santa this year.  Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Sage
4 to 6 side servings

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage 

1. Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add butternut squash. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until squash is lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Add 1/4 cup water, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook until squash is fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and toss with sage.

Enjoy!