bacon

Stuck in a vegetable rut? Not sure what to feed those picky vegetable eaters? I have the cure! BACON!!!!! Yes, bacon nature’s cure to the mundane. Brussels sprouts were as foreign to me as the Chinese language, or Wham!, but on one fateful night, those beautiful mini cabbages rolled into my life. I’ve been obsessed ever since. Believe it or not, there are people out there who aren’t too excited about the idea of brussels sprouts. After these skewers they’ll be begging for more.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz Bag of Fresh Brussels Sprouts
8 Skewers
8 Strips of Turkey Bacon (or pork bacon, if you’re into that sort of thing)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. The first step in making Brussels Sprout Skewers is to prep the brussels sprouts. Begin by cutting the hard bottoms off the vegetable and then quartering them (if the brussels sprouts are small you can simply half them).

Place the quartered brussels spouts in a medium size bowl and dress them with olive oil, pepper, salt, and garlic, season them to taste. Toss the brussels sprouts until every quarter has been coated.

Now, it’s time to make the skewers! Pierce the bacon, at the end the strip, with a skewer. Next, push one of the pieces of brussels sprouts onto the skewer, to meet the bacon. Loop the bacon strip around the veggie and thread it back on the skewer. Continue three more times until there are four brussels sprouts on the skewer and the bacon is at the end. When the sequence is finished, push the items to the top of the skewer and begin the next bacon and brussels sequence at the bottom.

Put the skewers on a pan and into the oven for about fifteen minutes or until the bacon is crispy and the brussels sprouts are tender. Once the skewers have slightly cooled, cut the skewer in half, so that you have two mini vegetable skewers.

These are great as appetizers or for a side. Honestly, these skewers have turned brussels sprout haters into lovers… The bacon sure doesn’t hurt ;-).

Stop yoking around! This recipe is egg-straordinary. I wasn’t at the wall when Humpty Dumpty fell but I heard his last words were “Put me in some boiling water and place me on a bed of polenta.” I may be paraphrasing…. but who are you to go against a dying egg’s wish?! Not I, thats for sure. Humpty Dumpty you were one good egg. Now, we don’t know why you were on the wall that fateful day but we all do wish you hadn’t fallen….I’m sure you made one delicious breakfast for someone though. RIP Humpty.

Makes enough for 4

avocado cream:
1/4 c. greek yogurt
1/2 an avocado
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic
pinch of salt

4 eggs
4 pieces of bacon

Spinach:
1 bag of spinach
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp. pepper
Olive oil

Polenta:
1 c. polenta (corn grits)
3 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Start by making the polenta. Put 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, stir in the cup of polenta. Remember to stir the polenta frequently otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan, cook until it is very thick (about 20 minutes). Add two tablespoons of butter to the polenta and stir. Now, put the thick polenta onto some plastic wrap and roll it up like you would with sugar cookie dough. Put the log of polenta in the fridge to firm up (10-15 minutes).

Meanwhile, place 1/4 cup greek yogurt and half an avocado in a bowl. Add the lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic. Using a hand blender whip up the avocado mixture until its smooth. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the avocado so that it doesn’t turn brown while in the fridge. Keep the avocado cream in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Heat up olive oil in a frying pan, when the oil is hot place the bacon in the pan and fry them up. Once the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan and keep aside till later. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Just before they are finished cooking add the spinach (For four people I used almost a whole bag of spinach). When the spinach, garlic, and onion is fully cooked put the mixture in a bowl. Crumble three of the bacon strips into the spinach mixture and set aside.

Get the polenta out of the fridge and unwrap the log. Make slices about 3/4 of an inch thick. In the same pan the bacon and spinach was cooked, place the polenta (you’ll want to add a little more olive oil at this point). Begin frying the polenta. Once it is slightly brown on one side flip it over and do the other side.

Once the polenta is finished browning remove from heat and begin boiling your water for the eggs. While you are waiting on the water to boil you can assemble the plates. First, place the spinach mixture and then the polenta on top.

When the water begins to boil place the egg in the water and then lower the heat (poached eggs take about 3 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, take the eggs out of the water one at a time. Place the poached egg on top of the polenta and top with avocado cream. For decoration break the remaining bacon strip into four parts and place them on top of the avocado cream.

*The polenta recipe will make more than four plates.

Tag: bacon

Brussels Sprout Skewers

Egg and Polenta