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Roasted Brussels Sprouts for folks who don’t even like Brussels Sprouts

Jan 092013

Roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, onions and parmesan

I love it when people come to my house for a visit and get to be guinea pigs. And I love it even more when it is a dish that most folks proclaim they hate. Or have never tried because they heard everyone else talk about how bad it is.

And that is the way a lot of people feel about brussels sprouts.

They have a preconceived notion that they taste horrible.

They don’t. They are WONDERFUL. They just have to be cooked right.

So the night I made these and my friend Kaye and her daughter Kailen stopped by I wouldn’t even tell them what they were eating…LOL. I just let them savor the moment of deliciousness and then sprang it on them. They were SHOCKED. Neither of them had ever had brussels sprout and both thought that would be something they would never try, much less like.

I personally ate 3 helpings. I couldn’t stay away and just kept eating and eating and eating. Yep, it is just THAT good!

ingredients for roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, onion, and parmesan cheese

Ingredients

1-2 pounds fresh large brussels sprouts, washed, cut in quarters, brown ends cut off

4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 sweet onion

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Bake the bacon on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes.

saute the onions for the roasted brussels sprouts

While the bacon is baking, heat olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onion until lightly brown and translucent.

Once the bacon has cooked remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Then crumble.

quarter brussel sprouts and toss with salt, pepper and bacon grease

Cut the brussels sprouts into quarters and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour the bacon grease over the brussels sprouts and toss lightly to coat. Add the brussels sprouts to the foil lined pan that the bacon cooked in and place in oven (on 400 degrees) for 20 minutes.

mix onion, bacon and Parmesan cheese

Combine the onions, crumbled bacon and Parmesan cheese in the bowl and toss until combined.

combine the bacon, onion and cheese to the brussel sprouts

Remove the brussels sprouts from the oven and combine the bacon, onion and cheese mixture with the brussels sprouts. Toss lightly on the pan being careful not to tear the aluminum foil, then return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, onions and parmesean

Serve immediately.

WOW! Buford Hwy Farmer’s Market

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Aug 082012

Buford Highway Farmers Market

Yesterday I had to take my niece to the airport and it provided me with the perfect opportunity to visit the Buford Hwy Farmer’s Market. I heard about it a few weeks ago and have been trying my best to get there but something always seemed to come up. Well, I finally made it and it was everything I had heard and more!!

Foods of the World

As you walk in you see a big world globe…because well, they have foods from all over the world!

It is amazing at the HUGE variety of foods that they have. They also have flowers, wall fountains outdoor, nesting dolls, small appliances, kitchen tools, etc. Basically, you name it!

sugar plums

Look!

It’s Sugar Plums…that will be dancing in my head!

I saw all kinds of produce that I had no idea even existed. Indian Bitter Melon which I bought for my Mom because it is supposed to help with cholesterol. I also bought dragon fruit and Korean melon (which I will tell you about in another post).

produce

This is just a small portion of the produce section. The produce section alone is larger than most grocery stores.

pork uterus

They also have a large meat section. With EVERY kind of meat you can possibly imagine and some you never want to see again. I mean really, WHO would buy a pork uterus??? And what would you do with it? Ohhh, never mind, I don’t think I really want to know the answer to that.

They had everything from traditional cuts to the exotic. Trust me when I say they had every part of an animal you could ever want to purchase.

seafood

And the seafood department was HUGE! So many different kinds of fish, shrimp, mussels, crab, etc.

octopus

Even Octopus.

NOOOOO, I didn’t come home with that.

I did however buy some weird octopus flavored chips from the Asian section.I just couldn’t resist getting them and making Tate try them. He is like Mikey, he will eat anything. And he did try them…and liked them. I couldn’t try them…they smelled horrid and once I got that first whiff I was done.

teas

Teas, as far as the eye can see.

international grogery

Each aisle is marked with the region that the food comes from. It makes it easy to navigate your way around the globe. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, European, Jamaican, Hispanic, African and American foods are all represented. We spent hours browsing around and being amazed at all the things available that we had never seen before. I can’t wait to go back and I suggest that if you are ever in the Atlanta area you make it a point to visit the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market. They have no idea who I am and this post is in no way sponsered by them, I just had to share a small piece of my experience with you because I felt I had truly taken a trip around the world.

Italian Cheeseburgers

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May 162012

Italian Cheeseburgers

As I was thinking about supper recently I got to wondering how I could make the ground beef I had stretch far enough to make burgers for everyone. As I was browsing through the freezer I spotted a package of Johnsonville Mild Italian Ground Sausage and thought why not an Italian Cheeseburger? I mean really, sounds pretty good to me. And GOOD it was!!

Italian Cheeseburger

Italian Cheeseburger

1 lb ground Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage

2 lb ground beef

1 TBSP steak seasoning

2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce

Buns

Sliced Borden 3 Cheese Italiano or Havarati cheese (or cheese of choice)

Toppings of choice

Directions:

Mix ground beef, ground sausage, steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce really well and form into patties. Grill or fry in a pan until done. Place a patty on a bun and top with havarati cheese and other toppings of choice.

We loved ours with caramelized onions and peppers and a slice of fresh tomato!!

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Southern Ranch Fried Chicken

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Mar 212012

Yep, THE number one staple to any Southerner’s picnic, family gathering, church social, funeral, reunion or party of any kind.

southern style fried chicken

Fried Chicken

There are so many different ways to cook fried chicken and they are all correct. It just depends on what region you live in and how your Momma and Grandmomma done it as to which you probably use in your home. Growing up I didn’t care to much about cooking. My Daddy was always in the kitchen cooking up something and while I remember it being a passion of his I didn’t hang out with him in there too much. Now, I regret that and I wish I had made a pest out of myself and made him show me what he was doing. So many of his recipes went to the grave with him, lost forever. So, when I started looking for a fried chicken recipe I went to my Great Aunt Ruth. With both of my Grandmomma’s and my Dad gone I had to look somewhere. My Momma didn’t like to cook a lot when we were young and since my Daddy did it was usually his job. Ya’ll have heard me talk about my Aunt Ruth many times and she is one of the best cooks I know…and I have ALWAYS loved her fried chicken.

Ruth told me that the trick to any good fried chicken is to marinate it in a mix of buttermilk and egg for at least several hours, preferably overnight.

chicken soaking in buttermilk and egg

After your chicken has marinated you want to gather your other ingredients.

fried chicken ingredients

Flour, Salt and Pepper.It doesn’t really matter if you use self-rising flour or all-purpose flour. Just flour.

I know you see the ranch dressing up there, I am getting to it…

…you see, we have experimented with adding many flavors to the mix and the one that is requested the most is Ranch Dressing mix. We also like adding some cayenne pepper or chili powder and cajun seasoning for a spicy fried chicken. Or add a little powdered sugar for a taste more in line with Chick-Fil-A chicken. We also like to add dry Italian dressing. Or just Italian seasoning. You can also do lemon pepper seasoning. See where this is going? The possibilities are limitless.

bread chicken for frying

Mix all your dry ingredients together and dredge your chicken in it.

Cast Iron Deep fryer

Ruth also told me to always fry my chicken in Peanut Oil.

So that is what I use. Heat your oil in a heavy pan on medium-high, then drop your chicken in, just be careful of oil splatters.

southern style fried chicken

Remove it from the oil and place on a paper towel to drain when it is golden brown.

Fried Chicken

Chicken (I use chicken tenders)

Buttermilk

1 egg

Flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

Seasonings of your choice (Ranch was used in this batch)

Directions:

Whip one egg and add to buttermilk. You will use enough buttermilk to cover your chicken and marinate at least 4 hours, preferably over-night. Heat oil in a heavy pot on medium-high heat. After chicken has marinated mix flour, salt, pepper and seasonings of choice together. Dredge chicken in the flour mix coating well. Place chicken, one at a time, in oil. Fry until golden brown.

If your oil is too hot your chicken will cook too quickly on the outside and be raw on the inside so make sure not to use too high of heat.

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