Simply Sides 21 - Brussel Sprouts Gratin

I have been very adventurous with food in my 30's so far.  We never had brussel sprouts growing up in my parent's house.  So I was 34 before I even tried them!  I like them a lot, and am not sure what all the fuss is about.  They're just mini cabbages.  And I like cabbage!  Gruyere cheese was on sale this week at my local Aldi, as were brussel sprouts.  So I picked up both and got to work making this AMAZING side dish.  Crunchy, creamy, and just plain delish!  You must try this! Find the original recipe HERE.


Brussel Sprout Gratin

Ingredients:

• 16 oz brussel sprouts, trimmed
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs flour
• 3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 2 oz grated Gruyere (use white cheddar if Gruyere is not available or too pricey)
• a couple sprinkles of grated parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Toss brussel sprouts with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Stir and then cook another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in pan.  Stir in flour and cook for 3-4 minutes until flour taste is cooked out.  Stir in milk, and a bit more salt and pepper.  Let thicken for a minute.  Stir in half the Gruyere and a sprinkle of parmesan.  Pour over top of brussel spouts.  Sprinkle remaining Gruyere and parmesan over top. Bake another ten minutes until brown and bubbly.  Enjoy!

Chicken in Creamy Bacon Sauce - Pinterest Pick #11

I LOVE BACON! As does the rest of the world it seems.  Chicken and bacon together are a great combo, and you pair that with a creamy sauce... Delish!  I found THIS recipe through Pinterest.  I altered a few things.  I used boneless/skinless breasts instead of chicken thighs as we are a white meat household.  I used milk instead of cream as that's all I had on hand (sauce was still perfectly creamy, so use what you got!).  And I left out the oregano, but added smoked paprika.  This dish will definitely go in to our dinner rotation!  Find the original pin HERE.

Chicken in Creamy Bacon Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in to cubes (or 6 thighs if you like dark meat)
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup flour (plus an additional tablespoon)
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup cream (or milk)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:
Rub chicken pieces with 1 tbs garlic and all lemon juice, set aside.
Put bacon in skillet and cook over medium til crispy.  Remove bacon pieces but leave grease in skillet.
Place flour (seasoned with salt and pepper) in a large zip top bag.  Add chicken, shake well.  Add chicken to pan and cook until golden brown, Remove from pan.  Add remaining garlic and onions and saute til translucent.
Add 1 tbs flour to 1/4 water and stir well.  Add bacon, paprika, salt and pepper to pan.  Add in chicken broth.  Stir in flour/water mixture.  Let sauce thicken slightly.  Add chicken back to pan.  Cover and cook 20 minutes.  Stir in cream (or milk). Serve with rice or buttered noodles.
Enjoy!

Corn Dog Mini-Muffins - Pinterest Pick #10

I have seen this recipe on Pinterest several times and a couple weeks ago I thought that it was time to make it!  You can find my pin for it HERE and the original recipe HERE. To make it better, next time, I need to bake it about 2-3 minutes less.  Also, I might add some shredded cheese right before I push the hot dogs in.  The only thing I changed in this recipe so far was to pre-bake my hot dogs before putting them in the muffin tin, because I like my hot dogs really well done.  You do it the way you like!

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3 hot dogs, cut into 8 pieces each

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  If you are pre-baking your hot dog pieces, now is the time to stick them in the oven!

Prepare batter by stirring together Jiffy mix, eggs, and milk.  Let rest 5 minutes. Spoon a tablespoon of batter in each mini muffin cup.  (My pan has 24 slots.)

Place a hot dog bite in the middle of each batter cup.  Bake for 10 minutes (Next time I will only bake for 8, so you could start with 8 minutes and check on them from there).  I served mine with homemade honey mustard.

Enjoy!

Simply Sides 20 - Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

I was craving spinach and artichoke dip a few weeks ago.  I've never made it, only ordered it out or had it at parties.  I ran across a recipe on Hellmann's mayo website, and tried it out.  It was pretty good, but I have some ideas of how to change it up and make it my own, and I will next time! You can find the original recipe HERE.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• 10oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 8oz cream cheese (let sit at room temp at least 4 hours or microwave, stirring every 10 seconds)
• 3/4 cup mayo (I only use Hellmann's, use what you like)
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 package Knorr veg mix
• 1 can artichokes, drained and chopped (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheese.  Mix well then put in baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese. Bake 35 minutes.  Serve with bread cubes or tortilla chips.
Enjoy!

Lasagna Roll-Ups - Home Cooked Recipe #69

The great thing about the following, is that it's super versatile.  You can change out the filling, the cheeses, the sauce... You can really make it your own and still follow the same basic steps!

Lasagna Roll-Ups (Spinach/Artichoke/Roasted Pepper Alfredo - Vegetarian)

Ingredients
6 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained, and cooled (you can easily double this)
4 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz shredded mozzarella
4 oz frozen spinach, cooked
1 roasted red bell pepper, divided
4 canned artichokes, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan
4 tbs butter
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt butter in saucepan over medium.  Add salt, pepper, and a couple dashes of garlic powder.  Chop roasted red pepper into a small dice.  Add half to pan. Saute 5 minutes. Add cream, bring to a boil, reduce to low, and stir in parmesan.
Stir together ricotta, half of mozzarella, spinach, artichokes, and other half of roasted pepper.  Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of garlic powder. Divide mixture into 6, and spread each section on one of the lasagna noodles.  Roll up.  
Place a couple spoonfuls of sauce into the bottom of baking dish.  Place rolls in pan.  Cover with remaining sauce.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top.  Cover with foil, bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.
Enjoy!