simple roasted asparagus

    Sorry I have been MIA for the past few days and basically all of last week too.  Things are Crazy town here and I have not been feeling good and honestly the thought of food or looking at food has been making me nauseous. Which is insane for me.  Hopefully I am over that and back for good. I have lots of recipes in store to share with you, I just need to edit pictures and write up the recipes...  stay tuned

This is one of my favorite side dishes,  it is so easy to make, very minimal steps and such a tasty  dish.  When I married my husband I announced one night I was making asparagus for dinner and he said he was about to throw up on his mouth.  I was astonished how could he not like it.  Come to find out he had only had canned asparagus... YUCK!   Mushy soggy asparagus is not what I am about.
1 pound fresh asparagus (for roasting I like fatter spears)
1 clove garlic minced
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
  When choosing your asparagus look for firm spears with ends that aren't too dried out and tight, compact heads. As with almost all vegetables, look for asparagus that feels heavy for its size.  Start off by washing them up and aligning your asparagus. Take one hold it up then bend it, where it naturally breaks is where it is tender.

Discard the end..  Now you can repeat with each of them or line that now trimmed one up and cut the rest all about the same if they are similar in size.  I like the fold and break method it is kinda fun.
   Then lay them out on a cookies sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil then kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Mix them all together until coated.  Roll back out flat.   Place in oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Once during cooking roll the spears so they cook evenly. 

 I also love them topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Green beans with Portobello saute

     This is honestly my favorite  way to eat green beans.  This how I am making my green beans for Thanksgiving.  It is a little lighter than a traditional green  bean casserole and I think so flavorful.  The key is caramelizing. I love my onions, garlic and mushrooms really caramelized and sweet with very tender green beans
     You can use fresh green beans or pre trimmed frozen whole green beans, both ways work great! Just promise me nothing out of a can!!!  They should not even be considered green beans.  If that is the only way you have ever had them, please try this you might actually like green beans!

Ingredients serves 8  printer friendly recipe

• 3 pounds green beans, if fresh make sure you trim them
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2  red onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 portobello mushroom caps, or 2 pounds baby portobello mushrooms thinly sliced
•  salt, pepper to taste

Directions

Simmer green beans in salted boiling water 5 minutes. Drain green beans and return skillet to medium heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Add onions and garlic and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms  5 minutes with onions and garlic until browned nicely, add green beans back to the pan. Heat green beans through. Cook for 5 - 10 more minutes until green beans are desired softness. Transfer green beans and mushrooms to a serving plate.

Roasted brussel sprouts

   I might risk sounding extremely dumb but here I go. Until yesterday I was convinced it was two weeks til Thanksgiving not one.  So many things kept coming up  alluding to it being closer, but I pushed them all aside thinking they must be wrong it is not next week. Finally, I glanced at the calendar to see how wrong I was.  I guess this is what happens when I go on vacation the first week of November, I am way off.  Crap I need to get moving, I hate shopping for food a few days before  Thanksgiving I need to make my list and go today.  So when my kiddos wake up from naps we are off.

  I have had many people say to me they need more side recipes they are tired of green bean casserole.  True all canned ingredients making a green bean casserole is not my idea of a thanksgiving feast either, when homemade and fresh green beans it can be heaven.  But today I will give you few other ideas.

The first one is brussel sprouts... bad wrap huh.  I personally enjoy them when they are roasted and I was reminded of that last night while watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay.   I hope you did not miss it,  It was great  Ree Drummond from Pioneer Woman challenged HIM to a Thanksgiving throw down it was at her ranch and I will not tell you what happened maybe you recorded it or you can find it online somewhere. It was great.  I was routing for Ree the whole way.  I have been reading her blog for years now and I feel like she is my friend.  At least I like to think so. It was so fun to see her in her Lodge and with her family and friends.   Anyways sorry  for the tangent but Bobby Flay made these amazing looking brussel sprouts.  I have not tried these yet, but I will.  But I have made these before and I love them and so will you!   They are simple, quick and tasty!

 

Simple roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients serves 4

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5-10  minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be brown and caramelized when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately. 

These would also be great with sauteed bacon or  pancetta!  

Lentil Quinoa Salad

I am always on the search for another good quinoa recipe. The other day while watching the foodnetwork I saw Melissa D' Arabian (last years winner of The Next Food Network Star) use it in a recipe I was anxious to try it and I am happy I did it is totally different than how I had been using it. If you have not watched her show $10 dinners you should it is good and she gives great budget conscious tips.

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups
1/2 cup lentils
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lime, zested
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in
cold water. In a large microwave-proof bowl with a cover, add the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover
and microwave on high for 9 minutes. Let it sit for 2 minutes then stir. Quinoa should be tender enough to
eat, but with a little "pop" upon biting.
Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a saucepan, simmer the lentils in 2 cups water until
the lentils are tender, but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.

In a small bowl, whisk the mustard and vinegar together, and drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Add the
garlic powder, lime zest, and salt, and pepper, to taste.

To assemble the salad: In a medium salad bowl, mix the quinoa, lentils, green onions, and chopped cilantro.
Top the salad with the dressing, toss to coat and serve.
I loved it the next day.
pic

sweet potato fries.

I generally do not ever like sweet potatoes, not my thing. I have heard people rave about them made as fries though and thought I would give it a shot. They were actually pretty good. I love the olive oil and kosher salt they made this dish. They had more flavor than regular fries. I did not deep fry these, it might be good that way too, but this is the much healthier option.

{sweet potato fries}

fresh sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch fries
kosher or flake salt
fresh pepper
other dried herbs~thyme, rosemary, oregano, ect.
Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees. Place peeled & cut potatoes in to a medium bowl. Toss with olive oil, I use 2 TBSP per 1 large potato. Spread onto a baking sheet, keeping in a single layer. Sprinkle with a healthy dose of seasoning. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven & toss. Return to oven & continue to bake another 10 or so minutes. Watching carefully so as not to burn.

green beans

This is the green bean recipe I always make I adapted it from a recipe from allrecipes.com a few years back.



Green beans with bread crumbs
INGREDIENTS

* 2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1 onion chopped
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine onions and a little oil in pan and saute until soft. add green beans and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot. Cover, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, and let beans cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
2. Place beans in a medium serving bowl, and mix in bread crumbs, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and basil. Toss mixture until the beans are coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve.