Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussels sprouts have always been one of those vegetables that seemed to me hard to prepare correctly. I found this recipe online and it is great. 

How to cook Brussels sprouts by roasting them:

Trimming

Alright, the next step in learning how to cook Brussels sprouts. Once the vegetables are washed, you want to make sure they look good! And that means a few things.

• You'll want to remove any yellow or brown leaves from your Brussels sprouts. They're wilted and won't be any good. Just keep the nice, tight, bright green sprout!

• After a while, the Brussels sprouts' stem can get kind of tough. You can trim a little bit of the stem off to get a more tender sprout. Don't take off too much though – not much more than an eighth of an inch – or the leaves will just won't hold together anymore.

Cutting

Finally, once the sprouts are clean and trimmed, you may need to cut them up a little bit. It's important that the sprouts not be too big, or it'll take too long for them to cook. And then by the time the center is cooked, the outside will be overcooked and will release that nasty sulfur smell.

It's also important that your Brussels sprout pieces all be about the same size, for just the same reasons. If some pieces are much smaller, they'll be overcooked by the time the bigger ones are done! And that's no good.

So here's what you need to do:

• Any Brussels sprout that has a diameter much bigger than an inch and a half should be cut in half.

• If you have a variety of sizes, cut the medium sprouts in half, and the bigger ones in quarters, so that all the pieces are about the same size.

And that's pretty much all you need to do! And we're ready to learn how to cook Brussels sprouts.

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Prepare the Brussels sprouts as described above. Be sure to quarter them or halve them if they're too big.

3. Toss the sprouts with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. You can also add some herbs or spices to the mix. Garlic is especially good!

   • Each sprout should be coated in oil, to keep it from drying out, but it doesn't need to be very thick at all. In fact, the thinner the better!  YOU ONLY NEED 1-2 TBSP.

4. Place the Brussels sprouts on a sheet pan in a single layer.

5. Roast the sprouts for about 30 minutes, until they're starting to get nicely browned. Stir them halfway through the cooking time.

6. Serve, and enjoy!

Salad Dressing

After trying many salad dressing recipes, here's the one my family likes best. It just happens to be the easiest one too!

This simple recipe will dress a large green salad.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp vinegar (we like the white balsamic from Trader Joe's)

2 tbsp maple syrup ( or sweetener of choice)

Dash garlic salt

Combine all ingredients and whisk together or blend in magic bullet. For a nice variation add a few berries before blending. After dressing the salad, add fresh pepper and (more) garlic salt to taste.

Variation: blend a few raspberries with the rest of the ingredients. Add some pecans!

Chocolate Milk

This a non-dairy version which my son enjoys regularly. I like mine heated.

Ingredients:  

1 cup very cold  non-dairy milk, vanilla flavored

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cocoa

Blend all ingredients until foamy. 

Oven Roasted Sliced Potatoes

These potatoes are one of our favorite snacks and are so easy to prepare

Simply quarter potatoes then slice each quarter into 3-4 pieces. Spray a sheet pan with vegetable oil spray. Lay the  potatoes on the pan and sprinkle with salt and parsley and any other seasonings you like. Cook at 425 for about 30 minutes. When you see a little browning you'll know they're done.

Refried Beans Without the Refry

A friend gave me this recipe and it is so flavorful!  This is a favorite, especially over brown rice, very healthful, no fat.

INGREDIENTS:

1 onion, peeled and halved

4 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

9 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. 

2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency. 

You can also eat as a bean soup.

Chaco Canyon

If you're looking for a healthy restaurant in the Seattle area,  I recommend Chaco Canyon. 
We especially like the lentil burgers and the Thai Peanut Bowl.

Description from menu:

Chaco’s spicy, gingery peanut sauce atop brown rice, sesame-baked cabbage (raw mixed vegetables available on request), and fresh baby spinach, topped with toasted peanuts.


Fresh baby spinach with brown rice is really good ... Something you can always have on hand !

Scalloped Potatoes

This is a recipe from the Newstart Club. It tastes just like the butter and cheese version. Super good and healthy!

Ingredients

• 1 qt. thinly sliced, scrubbed raw potatoes (with skins)
• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. onion powder, onion flakes or raw onions
• 
  

Instructions

1. Put potatoes in thinly oiled baking dish
2. Liquefy all other ingredients and pour over potatoes
3. Cover with foil and bake 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees
4. Remove foil, sprinkle with paprika and return to oven just long enough to brown.