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!