Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

My wife has been out of town for a little bit taking care of her mother. This has left me to mostly fend for myself at home. Fortunately, our youngest daughter, Kate, is currently living at home and has helped me to avoid going back to my old ways of hot dogs, pork and beans and eating out of the pan I cook in. She has also turned me on to Game of Thrones.

Anyway, she made these once before, but I didn’t really get a chance to try them. They are quick and easy to prepare, which is great. It’s not much of a recipe since she doesn’t measure anything. At least when I prepare things without measuring I have some general idea of the amounts or proportions. Since I have no clue here, I’ll just lay out the ingredients and leave to each of you to figure out what amounts work for you.

Ingredients:

• Petite Brussels Sprouts
• Olive oil
• Bacon
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Microwave some bacon.
2. Put olive oil in a pan and add Brussels Sprouts.
3. Break up the bacon into small pieces and add to the pan.
4. Add a small amount on garlic.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Saute for a few minute until Brussels Sprouts are done.

Kate suggests microwaving the bacon for two reasons. First, the paper towels that you use above and below the bacon will help draw out the grease so they are a little healthier. Second, it help to make them a bit more crisp and uniform so you can easily break them up into small pieces.

They were pretty good. The only thing I noticed was that some pieces seemed to have more garlic than others. I will probably leave out the garlic when I make these myself. I’m also thinking of adding some chili powder to give them some kick. I’m sure there is a lot that could be done with them. Any ideas?

My Belated Christmas Post

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Not that I haven’t eaten any new or interesting foods. I’m going to start at Christmas and then fill in the gaps later. Hopefully, I won’t let things go for so long again.

This Christmas, my family actually celebrated early. We have three kids who all have significant others and have to do the typical holiday sharing routine. This year we got them all together on Christmas Eve day and had our big meal and gift exchange then.

On the 23rd, we had some of the kids over and had a nice meal together. My oldest and her fiancee were in from Nashville and since we don’t see them often, we wanted to enjoy a family meal. We decided to show them a few of the new recipes that I’ve learned to like. We had Southwestern Salmon, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, rice pilaf, white rice, and some steak.

 

Erin and Jared both really enjoyed the salmon. I expected that since they love salmon. However, they said they weren’t fans of Brussels Sprouts. Well, they loved mine. They didn’t roast theirs so they had a whole different taste and texture. I need to remember to send them the recipe so they can make them down in Nashville.

The next day (Christmas Eve) we had everyone together. My wife was up around 6 AM starting all the food. We had roast turkey (which we didn’t brine this time), rib roast, mashed potatoes, red potatoes, peas, green beans, and rolls.

 

I skipped the rib roast as it is a little too fatty for me and I love turkey. I think there was another side, but I didn’t have that either. It was a great meal that everyone enjoyed thoroughly.

We also made up some treats for later. My wife and I baked brownies, snickerdoodles, and the more traditional Christmas cookies. I love snickerdoodles and have ever since I was young and my mom made them for us. We made them from a Krusteaz mix, but they were delicious.

After dinner we opened gifts. Later, we all played a game of Cards Against Humanity and continued to make a dent in the treat plate. I cleaned up – both the treats and in the game.

We didn’t have all our kids together for long, but it was the most fun we have ever had during the holidays.