Who knew-I like Brussel Sprouts....

I recently made a trip to visit my BFF Melissa. She has been my friend since the beginning of time (at least our time here on earth ;) We live far away—too far away, from each other. But she flys here…I fly there–and we chat on the phone–we keep in touch.

We have been friends for 36 years…. (me on right, Melissa on left, her brother Mark in the middle ;)

Often times when we go out to eat together—she gets something off the menu I would never think of ordering for myself. We have very different taste when it comes to food. This past trip—we went to a great little restaurant called Plate. She orders pork chop, which came with sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Not my favorites at all! She tells me how amazing the brussel sprouts are…Really Melis…come on—there brussel sprouts. “When is the last time you had a brussle sprout?” She ask me….I have to think—“probably when my mom cooked them, I hated them because they were so mushy”….I knew where she was going with this…I often will tell her I don’t like something…and she knows good and well that I haven’t tried it to even know if I like it or not. She kind of knows me well….

I try the brusslesprout…it is crunchy and savory—and I love it! We talk about brusslesprouts and how Stu cooks them (her fabulous hubby…who treated me to my dinner:) So….I of course had to come home and make some for my family…here is what I did…hope it changes your mind to try them too! They are very high in Vitamins A and C, lots of good fiber and folic acid—and a great source of protein!

They are sold in a mesh bag—close to the broccoli in the vegetable section. I took half out of the bag for one meal. I cut off the ends and cut them in half from root to end.

In a saute pan, put 2 T of olive oil and heat on med/high. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and put them in the pan too (don’t burn the garlic—it becomes bitter) just gently heat. Toss in the brussle sprouts. Saute for about 5-6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Taste one after about 5 minutes…you want them crunchy—but cooked. Stu tells me if you overcook them they become very bitter tasting and mushy. I squeezed a bit of fresh lemon juice on them right before I served them. Kid verdict: Emily likes (8 out of 10), Conner (4 out of 10). I make them rate any new food—-all they have to do is try it and score it…if they don’t like it…they don’t have to eat it. They do have to score it again next time it comes on their plate though.

Thanks to Melissa and Stu for sharing!!!