Roasted Shredded Brussels Sprouts

I love Brussels Sprouts! Since we try to "eat the seasons," and they are only fresh and local in the fall and winter here, I buy them quite often during that time from a local farm or farmers market and enjoy them a multitude of ways.

The other day I saw a recipe for a shredded Brussels Sprouts salad, so that got me thinking of trying to shred some to roast. I played around with a few ideas, and finally settled on this recipe.

The Brussels Sprouts cooked this way are wonderful; the little crispy edges of the sprouts and the diced onion just go so well together. Topping them with the toasted pecans and crumbled bacon just pushed it over the top and the maple balsamic vinegar adds just the right touch of sweet and tart. It's delicious!

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 lb fresh Brussels Sprouts
3 strips of bacon
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped medium
1 small onion, diced
2 tbsp Maple Balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp pure maple syrup)

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp maple syrup together to combine and set aside.

Cut bottoms and remove any blemished leaves from the fresh Brussels sprouts; shred in food processor using slicing blade.

Toast pecans or walnuts on a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes, or just until toasty. Remove from oven and set aside. Place the 3 strips of bacon on the baking sheet and cook until crispy; remove and drain on paper towels.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from baking sheet. Place the chopped onions on the baking sheet and move around with spatula to coat. Top with the shredded Brussels sprouts and stir around well. Bake 5 minutes, open oven and stir. Brussels sprouts will be turning a bright green and getting slightly browned on the edges. Continue to cook 2-3 more minutes, or until cooked through and edges are browned.

Remove from oven and spoon into a serving dish. Sprinkle with maple balsamic vinegar and toss well to coat. Top with toasted pecans and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately while hot.

Serves: 4 side dish servings

Also seen on Meal Plan Monday

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Frog Balls {Pickled Brussels Sprouts}

Before you laugh out loud, don't discount these amazing Frog Balls {Pickled Brussels Sprouts} until you taste them! I mean, come on, the name has to make you laugh just as it did me. To be honest, I made them the first time just because of the name!

You're going to want to add these to your pickling projects. Buy the freshest Brussels Sprouts you can while they are in season, preferably from a farm or farmers market, and make some of these delicious frog balls. So yummy, they taste very much like Bread & Butter pickles; sweet with a touch of tart, perfect on a relish tray, and excellent with Bloody Mary's.

Italian Farmers Market Veggie Soup

On a recent visit to my local farmers market, I scored fresh Brussels sprouts on the stalk. They are so delicious, and the greens so tender, so I thought, why not use them in a vegetable soup? I also had a fresh rutabaga, carrots, celery and onions, so I set out to make this soup.

I used the greens from the Brussels sprouts, but you can use any greens you want, even chopped cabbage would work. The beauty of this recipe is you can use almost any vegetable you want. The base to the soup is simple, so play around and use any of your favorites in this nourishing soup.

Use vegetable stock to keep it vegetarian, or add your favorite turkey or chicken bone broth. Talk about fresh and delicious, it is so good you won't even miss the meat.

RECIPE
Ingredients
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups petite diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock (or turkey or chicken bone broth)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, cut into coins (cut larger pieces in half)
1 1/2 cups rutabaga, chopped into small cubes (or use butternut squash, acorn squash or turnips)
1 1/2 cups fresh Brussels sprouts, cut in half (or use cabbage, chopped)
1 heaping cup greens ( I used the leaves from fresh Brussels sprouts, but you can use collard greens, turnip greens, any greens you like, cut into small pieces)
2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Place tomato sauce, petite diced tomatoes, stock/broth, celery, dried onion flakes, minced garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer covered about 20 minutes.

Add carrots and rutabaga and cook until almost tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in Brussels sprouts and greens and cook until tender.

Serve hot over rice or soup noodles, if desired.

Also seen on Meal Plan Monday

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Strawberry Dijon Sauce

I recently received a small produce box from Farmbox Direct, a virtual online Organic Farmer's Market delivering amazing products right to your door.

"I started Farmbox Direct with a vision of how food SHOULD be: fresh, local (when mother nature permits), and free from pesticides! Having grown up in a family of farmers and living on a farm, I spent summers working at my uncle’s compost in the Midwest, learning how to live off the land, and the benefits of local and organic food! You could say the foundation of Farmbox Direct is in my blood!

After I became a mother I really began to pay very close attention to exactly what was in the food not only I was eating, but also what I was feeding my daughter. I was a busy NYC working mom, I didn't always have time to make a weekly trip to my local farmers market to pick up the freshest local, and organic items for my kitchen, I began to realize the true need for this service!

What was in the box!

I decided to step down from the corporate world, and go back to my roots! I personally hand pick every Farm, Artisan, and Vendor we deal with! If it’s not USDA Certified Organic, we do not carry it! We strive to bring you local USDA Certified Organic when Mother Nature permits! My goal is to bring you an Organic Farmers Market in it’s purity to your door!

Our promise is to bring you ONLY USDA Certified Organic Produce, and Local USDA Certified Organic items when Mother Nature permits! All farms we work with use ZERO pesticides on the produce they grow! Our Artisanal items come direct from the Artisan! Our eggs are cage free, free range, and come directly from that Farm. We believe in farm to table, the way food should be! Ashley Tyrner, Farmbox Direct CEO.

Disclaimer: The produce used in this post was provided by Farmbox Direct. All opinions are my own.

Things I personally like about Farmbox Direct:

• No weekly commitment
• You can customize up to 5 substitutions each week
• No registration or membership fees
• All packing used is recycled and biodegradable
• All produce is certified organic (All are 100% certified organic and follow the strict USDA standards. Organic is a unique label that can only be placed on a product that has been certified, unlike other labels you might see at your local supermarket).

At this time delivery is not available to all states, however, it is the goal of Farmbox Direct to expand their delivery area in the very near future.

My box arrived early on a Friday morning and everything inside the box was perfectly wrapped and still cold due to an ice pack on the bottom. The smaller fruits or veggies were protected by being packed in a smaller box. Some of the veggies were inside green veggie bags (I'm keeping those to use to store the veggies in the refrigerator).

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce
3 tbsp. strawberry jam 
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Heat strawberry jam in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Mix in remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Drizzle over top of roasted Brussels sprouts.

Method
Preheat oven to 400. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.

Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 25-35 minutes or until they are crisped on the outside and tender on the inside.

Stir around from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly.

Sprinkle with more kosher salt, if desired, and serve immediately with sauce drizzled over top.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.