Shredded Brussel Sprouts

Growing up we didn't really eat brussel sprouts.  I think it was when I was on my own I started steaming them and then dousing them with butter.  They were pretty good.  Then I figured out cutting them in half and roasting them with olive oil salt and pepper was better.  I just found this recipe in the New Southern Living cookbook.  Shredded brussel sprouts.  Will said "these are brussel sprouts?!"  Yep they're pretty good. 

2 lb brussel sprouts
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 small red onion minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBSP light brown sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about a teaspoon

Rinse the brussel sprouts, remove any old leaves and thinly slice the brussel sprouts.  A mandolin slicer works great if you have one.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add the brussel sprouts, onion and garlic.  Saute for about 8-10 minutes until the sprouts are tender.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl.  Add the vinegar and brown sugar to the skillet and simmer for 30 seconds.  Pour over brussel sprouts.

Squeeze a little lemon juice over them and toss together. 

Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

I'm always looking for new ways to make the same ol' veggies.  Here is a tasty twist for cauliflower! 

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 large cauliflower florets cut off of core

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Stir together first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.   Stir in the cauliflower.  Place cauliflower pieces on foil lined baking sheet and roast for 1 hour or until tender.  That's it! 

Vegetarian Jap Chae

Audrey has been begging me to make Jap Chae for weeks.  It is her birthday week so my mom and I made this and the Chicken with Pineapple fried rice for her birthday dinner.  

Jap chae is a Korean dish that dates back to the 17th century.  It is made of sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon) stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables flavored with soy sauce and sweetened with sugar.  It is usually garnished with sesame seeds.  The hardest part about making this is cutting the carrots into little matchsticks.  I think the carrots are the best part though.  Crunchy and sweet.  It is really important to stir fry all of the vegetables separately even though it is tempting to throw them all into the pan together.  You want to keep the flavors and colors of each vegetable to themselves until you mix them with the noodles.  The noodles are a Korean glass noodles and almost disappear into the water when they are boiling.  Its pretty neat to see (or not to see haha).  Hope you love it! 

Ingredients:

1 bundle of potato starch cellophane noodles (at the Asian market it is called dangmyeon)
5 oz of fresh spinach
1/2 medium yellow onion, julienned
2 carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
8-10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 stalks green onions, sliced in 1.5” slices (green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Canola oil  (amounts will vary, please see directions)
soy sauce  (amounts will vary, please see directions)
sesame oil (amounts will vary, please see directions)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Make the noodles:  Boil one bundle of noodles for 5 minutes until they are al dente.  Drain the noodles and do not rinse.  Add noodles to a large mixing bowl and cut them three or four times with kitchen shears.  Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and two tablespoons of sesame seed oil to the noodles and toss until the sauce is evenly distributed and set aside.
Using the same pot as the noodles, add just a little bit of water (2 inches or so) and boil the spinach for 1 minute.  Drain the spinach and let it cool just enough and then squeeze as much water out as possible.

 Massage the spinach with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Really massage it don't be afraid to get your hands dirty here.  Add spinach to the large noodle filled bowl.

Heat a wok or large frying pan on high.  Add 1 teaspoon of canola oil and cook sliced onions for 2 minutes stirring them as they start to turn translucent.  Season with a 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add the onions to the bowl of noodles.  Repeat the same process as the onions except reduce cooking times to 1  minute for the carrots, 2 minutes for the bell red pepper, 1 minute for the shiitake mushrooms, and 10 seconds for the green onions.

Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of ground pepper to the noodle bowl and use your hands to mix everything together.

Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the hot wok and add minced garlic.  Allow garlic to cook for a few seconds and add the entire bowl of  noodles and vegetables to the wok/pan.  Stir-fry everything for 2-3 minutes.  

Transfer noodles to a large serving platter and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.  Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from  herbivoracious.com

Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens

I didn't think I really liked beets but we got some from a Farmers Market basket the other day so I was kind of forced to make them.  I know the best way to bring out the flavor in most veggies is to roast them.  Its no different for a beet.  These are definitely not the canned beets your parents tried to get you to eat when you were a kid.  These are delicious.  The greens are also amazing.  Together its a perfect pairing.  The beets are sweet and the greens just a little bitter.  I just realized I didn't get a picture of the gorgeous beets before I chopped them all up.  I will have to add next time I make this dish. 

Ingredients:
1 bunch beets with greens
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped shallot (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or orange juice (optional)

Roast the beets:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on, and remove the greens. Rinse greens, removing any large stems, and set aside. Place the beets in a small baking dish or roasting pan, and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you wish to peel the beets, it is easier to do so once they have been roasted.
Cover, and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet. 

Make the greens:  When the roasted beets are almost done, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and shallot, and cook for a minute. Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until greens are wilted and tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the red wine vinegar or orange juice last.  

When the roasted beets are cool to the touch you can remove the skins.  Slice the beets and serve on the greens.  

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Oriental Turkey Patties

This recipe was part of a ladies golf league cookbook.  It is one of the tastiest and healthiest recipes for ground turkey.  My kids seriously love these and will request them for dinner on a weekly basis.  It is a one pot recipe which makes for easy clean up. I usually double this recipe for the reason that it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.  If you do decide to double the recipe I recommend using a large electric skillet if you have one. 


For the turkey patties:
1 package fresh ground turkey (1 1/4 pounds)
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 TBSP canola oil
2 stalks celery chopped
1 small onion sliced
1 medium red bell pepper cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

For the sauce: 
1 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Mix the ingredients to the sauce and set aside.

Cut and chop the onion, red and green bell peppers and celery and set aside.

To make the patties mix the first 4 ingredients and form into 4-6 round patties.  Its OK to get your hands dirty here.  Next, wash hands and heat oil in a large skillet.  When the oil is hot and shimmering add the patties.  Saute the patties for about 3 minutes on each side until they are a nice deep brown color.

Remove the patties and set aside on a plate.  In the same large skillet, add the chopped vegetables, and saute for about 5 minutes then add in the sauce. Cook for about 3-5 minutes then nestle the patties around the veggies and add the can of diced tomatoes.  Simmer for an addition 10 minutes or until the patties are no longer pink in the middle.  Serve with white or brown rice.