Sunday, December 13, 2009

MPM--Ingredient of the Month Edition

Ho Ho Ho! Sorry to disappear there for a bit but I had an unusual week and was not cooking much. But, due to an amazing batch of brussels sprouts done by my sister in law at Thanksgiving, I've been on a sprouts kick. Now, anything can be gussied up with cheese and bacon, but if you are in the mood for that, her recipe (from Emeril on Good Morning America, here) was unbelievable.

I wasn't up for the extra work or calories, so at home, I started with Kelly's Barefoot Contessa recipe. Very basic, and very yummy! But I also had seen The Bitten Word's paean to sprouts on their website, so I also tried them their way, roasted with bacon and apples. Verdict? They were nice with the apples and bacon, but I actually liked them best in Kelly's recipe. I may not be totally fair to the Bitten Word here, because my bacon over-roasted things a bit, but apparently, when roasted, I really enjoy the sprouts themselves and don't need them all gussied up. Who knew?

One reason for nothing major last week: my kids have started wrestling. They may not last long there because it exhausts them and throws them off at school for the next day, which is not acceptable. But meanwhile, it means that two days a week, I give them dinner-for-lunch and just grab peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit for a quick boost after practice.

So, this week:

Monday: sandwiches (wrestling)

Tuesday: my husband's holiday party (without families) so I will either go out with the kids (Chik-Fil-A family night, anyone?) or have friends over. We'll see--it's a lot of nights out, but at least the CFA has an indoor playground.

Wednesday: wrestling again.

Thursday: a Thursday Wednesday Spaghetti--woohoo!

Friday: something from the freezer--chili maybe? I think we'll get our outdoor tree this night.

Not much inspiration but for a few of you who wondered if I fell off the face of the earth--I'm fine, just in the holiday swim, and without much inspiration to share meal-planning-wise. I hope your December is going beautifully!

3 comments:

Mom24 said...

Brussels Sprouts are my son and my hubby's favorite veggies. At our Whole Foods you can buy a gigantic stalk of them for $5. They last two meals and they're very, very fresh, which of course helps to make them delicious.

Glad things are going well, I've been thinking of you. Have a good week.

Chaos Cottage said...

I like brussels sprouts too. We're having them for dinner tonight. I also liked to roast asparagus. Yum-o!

Pam

Kathleen said...

Love brussel sprouts!

You asked about the quinoa.

I buy a pre-rinsed brand sometimes -- this was "Ancient Harvest." It's not bitter. I ended up buying a special sieve to rinse quinoa most of the time, though. And rinse it much longer than they say!