Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 20 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. Brussel sprouts
3 tbsp olive oil separated
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or use a Silpat silicone baking mat.

Trim off the outer, dry leaves, cut the bottom off and slice sprouts lengthwise.
In a large bowl, toss Brussel sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to coat thoroughly.
Transfer the Brussel sprouts to baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
Place Brussel sprouts back in bowl. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey and toss to coat evenly. Taste and season with kosher salt if necessary and serve

Chinese Pork Meatballs/Chinese Fried Rice

You just can’t have one without the other, as the old song used to say! Oh, that was love and marriage….for those old enough to remember. I had purchased ground pork and ground beef to make Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie. Since I did not use all of the pork I had fresh ground pork to use up. Pinterest again! There was also some leftover chicken breast from the rotisserie chicken I had purchased. Clean out the fridge!!! Today you are getting both recipes…..

Chinese Pork Meatballs

Ingredients

∙ Makes 20 meatballs

1 lb. Ground pork
3 Garlic cloves
1 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Brown sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Five-spice powder
2 pinches White pepper, ground
3 tbsp Peanut oil

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the pork, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and pepper, and mix well.

Roll 1 heaping tablespoon of pork mixture into a ball and continue until all the pork mixture is used.

In a wok over medium heat, heat the peanut oil. Using a wok spatula, spread the oil to coat enough of the wok surface to fry about 10 meatballs at a time. Lower the meatballs into the wok in batches.

Cook without moving for about 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are cooked through. Use the spatula to carefully rotate the meatballs to cook on the other sides.

Keep rotating the meatballs gently until cooked through.

Serving Tip

For a heavenly dipping sauce, combine equal parts low-sodium soy sauce and honey.

Chinese Fried Rice Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 cups cooked brown or white rice
1 cup frozen peas and diced carrots
1 egg, whisked
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
3 green onions, diced

Instructions

Add veggies and oil to a large pan or skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Scoot all of the veggies to one half of the pan. Add egg and allow to cook for 1 minute, then scramble it with a spoon or spatula and stir in with veggies.
Add rice to pan. Add soy sauce and stir over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until browned. Sprinkle remaining seasonings over the rice and stir another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.

No Bake Key Lime Pie in a Jar

Now that I have sufficient Mason Jars, I wanted to experiment with other uses besides breakfast foods. Our friends, Joanne and Chuck had us for a wonderful dinner and served this No Bake Key Lime Pie in a Jar. WOW! Below is her recipe. Warning – making it in the Mason jam jars shown is quite a large serving. I found those 1 cup jars locally and that would be just enough! Yeah, it is sweet…surprise!!!

NO BAKE KEY LIME PIE IN A JAR

This recipe is super easy to whip up and makes around 4 small jar servings. Here is what you need:

1 package of graham crackers (or Emperador lime filled cookies)
2 tbsp butter
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese (softened)
2/3 can condensed milk (around 7oz)
1/2 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
1/3 cup key lime juice to taste – this is up to you! Some people like more tart, some people don’t. Just pour until you get it right!
whipped topping – the amount will depend on your jars.
limes to garnish
4 small glass jars (depending on the size)

She added zest of a lime as well in order to punch up the flavour.

The first thing you want to do is crush up your Emperador or graham crackers and mix them with 2 tbsp of butter. There are tons of ways to do this but I like putting my graham crackers in a large Ziploc bag and crushing with my hands, then pouring into a bowl to mix with the butter. Once you have done that set it aside.

For the pie filling combine your cream cheese, condensed milk, Greek yogurt and key lime juice in a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, whip vigorously with a whisk until you have a smooth, creamy texture. If you find your filling isn’t as green as you like add in a drop or two of green gel coloring. Once mixed, pop it into the fridge for about 10 minutes while you get your jars ready.

Now pour about 1/3 cup of crushed graham crackers into the bottom of your jar and lightly pack them down. You don’t want it to be too hard, so make sure it is just enough to stay in place.

After that take your filling mixture out of the fridge and pour about 2/3 cup into your jar and sprinkle on some more graham crackers. Now top it with some whipped topping and a slice of lime and serve!

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

There was sausage. There was shrimp. There were Costco Ancient Grains. What can I make? Jambalaya!! What is that you say…

Jambalaya is a Louisiana origin dish of Spanish and French (especially Provençal cuisine) influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Traditionally, the meat always includes sausage of some sort, often a smoked sausage such as andouille, along with some other meat or seafood, frequently pork, chicken, crawfish, or shrimp. The vegetables are usually a soffritto-like mixture known as the “holy trinity” in Creole and Cajun cooking, consisting of onion, celery, and green bell pepper, though other vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, chilis, and garlic are also used. After browning and sauteing the meat and vegetables, rice, seasonings, and broth are added and the entire dish is cooked together until the rice is done.

Jambalaya is similar to (but distinct from) other rice-and-meat dishes known in Louisiana cuisine. Gumbo uses similar sausages, meats, seafood, vegetables and seasonings. However, gumbo includes filé powder and okra, which are not common in jambalaya. Gumbo is also usually served over white rice, which is prepared separate from the rest of the dish, unlike jambalaya, where the rice is prepared with the other ingredients. Étouffée is a stew which always includes shellfish such as shrimp or crayfish, but does not have the sausage common to jambalaya and gumbo. Also, like gumbo, étouffée is usually served over separately prepared rice.

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya (for TWO people, half the recipe!)

Ingredients

12 ounces sausage, sliced into 1/4″ slices (Costco Kielbasa works just fine)
2 cups of peeled, deveined shrimp
4 cups of chicken broth or stock
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup of instant rice/ Ancient Grains
2- 14 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of paprika
3 cloves of minced garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

In a large stock pot on medium heat, add olive oil, onions, peppers, garlic and the bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes covered.

Add tomatoes, sausage, chicken broth or stock and remaining seasonings and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes.

Add instant rice (here I used Costco’s Ancient Grains) and shrimp. Stir and cook for 5 minutes or until rice is tender and shrimp turns orange. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.