Roasted Brussel Sprouts and fast food, my way!

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments on my One Year Blogoversary!

I made this recipe about a month ago. That’s how far behind I am in blogging. I’m out the door at 6:45am every weekday, and home about 11 hours later.  I usually jump into making dinner right away, and if I have a little time to myself– I try to catch up on what the rest of my food blogging friends have been posting.

This is a really quick post, tonight. So, I thought I’d share how I cook on a work night, with all of you.  That’s why I won’t have a recipe written out, like I usually do.  I think this is an easy dinner, that’s more about technique and not being afraid to season your food. When I’m cooking fast, I don’t measure. I taste… add a little seasoning at a time, and one final time before plating.

I’m not a fan of Brussel sprout, but my husband is.  I thought I’d try roasting them, with the attitude that I was going to work on eating more of these funny lookin’ vegetables. I always thought of them as miniature cabbages, which I hated as a kid. For the record, I like cabbage, now.

I’ve blogged how I keep my bacon frozen. I sliced some and started to render the fat in my cast iron skillet.

I shoved the bacon off to the side, and placed the cut Brussel sprouts, face down. On medium-high heat, I let these brown for a minute or two…

I like to season with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper. Just a sprinkle… and into a preheated oven at 400F they go. They take between 10-15 minutes to be cooked with a golden color.

On another burner, I’ve heated some olive oil.  I belong to the club, where I don’t sear with extra virgin olive oil. I use EVOO more as a dressing or finishing oil. That’s what I’ve heard a lot of reputable chefs say, and so that’s what I do.  The oil is hot, so I put two pork chops in, seasoned with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper only.  That goes into the oven, next to the Brussel sprouts.  How long? Oh, 7-8 minutes. I always cook by temperature. 140F is good for us.

I found some yams, which I peeled and cooked and mashed. No sugar. Just a splash of OJ and a pinch of salt.  The chops got removed, and covered in foil. On a whim, I quickly cooked some sliced apples with a little bit of apple cider and water, and a dash of cinnamon. Then I deglazed the pan with some apple cider, a splash of dry white wine (sauvignon blanc) for a simple pan sauce.

In less than 30 minutes, we had dinner. This is my idea of fast food– not from a drive-thru, but by learning a few techniques like roasting veggies and searing meat.  Pan sauces, to me, are flavorful and an easy way to clean the pan– that’s what deglazing is all about! Overall, the meal was healthy– well, the bacon might be negotiable.  In my world, bacon makes everything taste great. My husband loves bacon on and with anything!

I liked the Brussel sprouts, too!  They had a nice nutty flavor, with the bacon… yeah, I ate a healthy serving of them.   I think this would be a great way to convince someone to try Brussel sprouts. It’s so much better than my childhood memories of boiled Brussel sprouts. How I used to dread it when my mother made them that way.

I’m signing off early, tonight. I still have two bread recipes and a few other meals I’ve made, that I’ve yet to share. My leftover turkey meat is frozen. I don’t see me having much time to make the recipes that I have planned until this weekend.

Night all!