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.

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake

There's just something about lemons and blueberries! They go so well together when the little tartness of the lemons mix with the sweet blueberries; it's like a match made in heaven.

During blueberry season, I always buy up some of the freshest blueberries I can find at the farmers market. Sweet, delicious, burst in your mouth blueberries. I like to flash freeze some and place them in food saver bags for use throughout the year.

There are so many things you can make with blueberries; top them on pancakes or waffles, bake them in muffins, make your own blueberry pie filling, top them on cheesecake, make blueberry turnovers, no bake blueberry cheesecake parfaits, blueberry coffee cake, cobbler, and even blueberry balsamic barbecue sauce. So many choices!

This is a wonderful spring and summer cake, but I chose to make it on a dreary rainy day in January. Oh my goodness, talk about lifting your spirits and bringing some sunshine in on an otherwise yucky day, it was fantastic.

Just the right amount of sweetness, with a little hint of tartness from the lemon, this is one delicious cake to serve as a dessert, or even enjoy a slice with coffee for breakfast!

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour, divided
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 tbsp lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
3 tbls fresh lemon juice
1 cup of powdered sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease, or spray with baking spray, a 10-inch Bundt pan

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each, and mix in vanilla extract.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour, salt and baking powder, and add the flour to the butter and sugar mixture. In a small bowl add the blueberries, lemon zest, and 1 cup flour stirring well to coat the blueberries; add to batter and stir or mix in well. Batter will be very thick.

Spoon batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for one (1) hour and 15 min or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack 5-10 minutes; remove cake and place on a cake plate or cake storage container.

Lemon Glaze
Whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth, and pour over and around the top of the cake allowing it to drip down the sides.

Also seen on Meal Plan Monday

Also seen on Weekend Potluck

Original recipe adapted from Real Housemoms

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.

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.

My Top 10 BEST recipes of 2017

Here are my Top 10 BEST recipes for 2017. I guess it should come as no surprise quite a few of them are pickling or jamming recipes, with a few luscious cakes and delightful main dishes thrown in.

I hope you enjoy browsing through them, as I did looking back on 2017 and finding the Top 10 to share with all of you.

So in case you missed them, here are the Top 10 BEST recipes for 2017.