Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash and Bacon

Yummy note: I had seen several of these fall or Thanksgiving-inspired recipes floating around before using some amazing fall and winter vegetables and I knew I had to give them a try. I just adore brussels sprouts and butternut squash on their own, so why not bake them all together in a big dish-- yes! Then adding in the bacon and onions, who could resist that in the crowd I wanted to feed. I was slightly skeptic on the brussels sprouts, as they can be a bit intimidating or overpowering for people, so I knew I had to win them over. I made this dish twice for family gatherings around the holidays and I had like no leftovers and people ate it up, and kept asking for the recipe, so I guess this side dish was considered a hit.  

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash and Bacon 

Adapted from these recipes: 
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/brussels-sprouts-squash.html   http://www.perrysplate.com/2013/12/roasted-brussels-sprouts-and-butternut-squash-with-bacon.html    http://itsyummytomytummy.blogspot.com/2014/11/roasted-brussels-sprouts.html


Ingredients: 
1-2 pounds of brussels sprouts, ends trimmed off and cut in half
1/2 of a butternut squash, peeled and diced (cut into smaller 1/2-inch cubes)
4 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
4-5 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced or crumbled
half of onion, diced
salt and pepper to season

* optional - add in 3-4 diced carrots 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place trimmed brussels sprouts and diced butternut squash in a large 9x13 baking dish. Depending on the amount of vegetables you have, you may need two pans to distribute them. Toss the veggies in the garlic olive oil until coated.  Spread them evenly in the pan and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and place in the oven. Meanwhile, on the stove top, saute the diced onions and bacon until soft and partially done. Check the veggies after about 20 minutes of roasting, and then add in your bacon and onions to the veggies and mix together to infuse all the flavors. In the next 15-20 minutes, the squash should be starting to get fork tender and done. Keep a close eye on the brussels sprouts so that they don't start to burn, and stir every few minutes if needed towards the end. The vegetables will start to almost caramelize at the end and begin to turn a golden brown when ready.

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

Yummy note: Every summer, I always forget, how do I freeze fresh green beans again?? Between trying to grown them in our gardens and buying them at the farmer's market, I always seem to overdo the amount I have and don't want them to go to waste. So instead of eating them for like 4 days straight, I try and freeze a batch for later to enjoy. So this isn't really a recipe, but it is more of a how-to, and I always seem to have to look it up in my cookbook each summer. So I figured I should just archive it here so I have it for reference.

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans 

Ingredients: 
fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into pieces
water

Directions:
First, trim the ends of your green beans and cut the beans into smaller pieces, if desired. The general rule of thumb I've heard about having enough water to boil, is to have roughly 1 gallon of water to 1 pound of fresh green beans. So adjust accordingly, and then bring that large pot of water to boil. Then working in batches, drop the green beans into the boiling water. Blanch the smaller pieces of green beans for about 2 minutes or for larger cut beans closer to 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water to have off to the side. Once green beans have reached your desired time, carefully remove the green beans from the boiling water and place into the ice water bath. Another tip I've heard is that they are to spend as much time in the cold water for as long as they have spent in the boiling water. Once green beans have cooled, prepare them for freezing, by using either freezer-safe containers or freezer bags.  

Trim the ends of the green beans and cut into smaller pieces, if desired. 

In smaller batches add green beans to boiling water. 

This process, also called blanching, preps your food for freezing. 

After blanching, drop beans into the ice water bath.

When preparing green beans from the frozen state, saute in a pan with a little bit of water for about 3-5 minutes or until they are tender crisp and done to your likeness.

chicken enchilada dip

Yummy note: Over here at It's Yummy to My Tummy, it has been a whirlwind of the last few months here, and blogging has been set on my back burner. Long story, short, my family has finally relocated back closer to both of our families. We made the big move out of state, sold our townhouse, and bought a single family home in just a few short months. Phew, now if any of you all can tell me when it begins to get easier with transitions and "normalcy" again, I'm all ears... Taking a little bit of time off from blogging was needed to focus on our family and take care of things on the home front. After being in our new house now for just a few weeks, it is fun to kick off my mini-vacation from blogging and get back to our Secret Recipe Club. This is the first time in over 4 years I've taken a longer break in my blogging here at It's Yummy to My Tummy, so I thank you all for being patient and letting me run idle for a bit while I get back into the blogging routine again. 

This month for our SRC group, I was assigned Happy Go Lucky. What a fun name for a blog, and sounds like a good theme for me to go along with for my next chapter of life here. I need to be more like that and less worry about things! :) So Kara at Happy Go Lucky has such a variety of blog posts that appeals to many audiences- from her creative artsy tutorials to her crafty items to her awesome recipes. Some of the DIY projects on the blog fit right in with my new house projects, and seriously, I can't wait to try out a few! This month, I was all about the least amount of mess and kitchen involvement for this SRC pick. So I was keeping an eye open for a crockpot recipe. I figured since it was the move weekend, a few dishes that could be easily done in the crockpot was a done deal; plus something hot and ready in the kitchen for the hungry guys would be a good thing, too! Kara had this one post that had about 20 different ones that hit the mark, oh, the possibilities... I finally settled on the Chicken Enchilada Dip. What a crowd pleasing recipe, it was a hit, when we ran out of chips, we were seriously using whatever we could to eat up the delicious dip. Tortilla chips, Pringles, or maybe just a spoon, whatever the method is, it is a great appetizer that you can practically turn into a meal, as it is that satisfying. 

Chicken Enchilada Dip

http://www.happygoluckyblog.com/2014/12/crock-pot-chicken-enchilada-dip.html

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce

1 can (7 oz) chopped green chiles

2 cups Mexican Blend shredded cheese

Optional add-ins: 
1 can of black beans
1 can of Southwestern corn (corn with red and green peppers)
additional shredded cheese or jar of queso salsa

Directions: 
Shred the cooked chicken. Then add all of your ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours. If in a hurry, this can be made in the microwave by melting everything together until creamy and the cheese is melted thoroughly. Then you can keep the dip in a crockpot on low or warm while serving dip.

Yummy note- I took Kara's advice and added a can of beans and tossed in a can of corn with peppers in it as well. I noticed the dip was getting rather thick and needed a bit more "goo," so I all I had on hand was a jar of queso salsa and it was just the right add-in of flavor and creaminess. So if you opt for the additional ingredients, you might need to adjust your cheese ratio to ensure creaminess of your dip.

Just a few ingredients thrown in your Crockpot makes for a fantastic appetizer! 

Getting all mixed together and gooey! Mmm, cheesy chicken dip... 

Let's dip into action! I barely had time to capture the finished product as it was flying out of the crockpot.

Happy flavors mixed in this bowl here- a little spicy, cheesy, and meaty topped on a little crunchy chip. Practically a walking taco-enchilada!  

These tortilla flavored Pringles made the perfect little vessel for the chicken enchilada dip. Did I mention that you can just eat this for a meal? oh yes, you can... and I did just that.. The next day I had just a little amount of leftovers, that warmed up nicely, and you know there just wasn't enough to share.. or well maybe I just didn't want to share ;)
  

Also, Kara had some great drink recipes on Happy Go Lucky, that I can't wait to sip on these bellinis once I get a few more raspberries from the backyard! A nice nightcap drink perhaps in the backyard at night might be just what is needed lately with all the move craziness.

The kids helped me prune and pick up canes from our one purple raspberry patch, while the other red raspberry bush has just begun to bloom. Yeah, for backyard fruit at our new home!   

 
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An InLinkz Link-up

Southwestern Eggrolls

Yummy note: A new year, brings along a new Secret Recipe Club blogger to feature. It has been about 3.5 years since I've been involved in this recipe posting group, and have been lucky to review a wide variety of bloggers and different types of recipes. This month might have been one of the first blogs that I can remember having with the SRC that featured a variety of content on the blog, besides cooking. What fun this site was -  Jenna at The Painted Apron has an abundance of creativity and drive, not to mention tips, how-to's and more on this site, http://thepaintedapron.com/categories/  -  wow! Please make sure you stop by her blog, The Painted Apron and dive on it. You will just love Jenna's creative ideas and projects.  So I am a sucker for pizza and breads, so this recipe here almost won my heart, the creative use of breadsticks on this recipe and turning it into like a flower-shaped "pizza". Perhaps the kiddos might like it for Valentines. So Jenna has this series she does called Take Out Tuesday, which I got sucked into and finally decided to pick one from here, as everything was looking just amazing... southwestern eggrolls is something I've never really dabbled with trying to make, as I'm not an eggroll person, I would rather have like a potsticker, dumpling, or something a little smaller to nibble on for an appetizer. The filling for these eggrolls is fantastic and I was eating it just as a salsa towards the end of it!

Southwestern Eggrolls

Original recipe adapted from The Painted Apron

Ingredients: 

1/2 bag of fresh spinach 

1/2 cup shredded cheese, I like the Mexican variety best like Chihuahua

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

12 wonton wrappers or 6 eggroll wrappers

1 bag (about 12 oz) of Fire Roasted Black Bean Blend frozen veggies (consisted of sweet corn, black beans, red and poblano peppers)  

OR 

1 ear corn

1/2 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 can of diced green chiles, drained

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Heat the spinach, just slightly just until it begins to wilt. If you are using the prepared black bean veggie mix, microwave for about 1/2 of the time desired in the directions, just until it starts to thaw and cook partially. In a large bowl mix together the corn/bean/pepper mixture with the wilted spinach, cheese, onions, chiles, and seasonings. Prep your wonton wrappers or egg rolls and place a good spoonful of the filling near the center. Fold the sides in and then fold bottom over filling and close tightly. Tip- use a small amount of water near the corners of the eggroll/wonton to seal. Repeat with the remaining and place them slightly apart on the prepared baking sheet. You can also spray the tops of the eggrolls with cooking spray to help prevent them from drying out while baking. Bake for about 10 minutes of so for the smaller wonton bites, or closer to 15-20 minutes if you use larger egg roll wrappers. Make sure to flip them halfway through baking.

Quick tip- I found these frozen veggies and used this as a replacement for the canned beans and chiles since I couldn't find any fresh corn this time of year. It was a fantastic substitution. 

Mix all ingredients together. 

I could eat this here with a spoon... can you say, Salsa!?!

I easily made dairy-free versions, by leaving out the cheese in some and replacing it with a substitute as well. 

Make sure to place enough filling towards the center so your appetizer doesn't explode!

Ready to bake! So pretty looking with the veggies inside. 

Your crispy southwestern eggrolls are done! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Yummy note: Yes, the dreaded kitchen pantry, you know that closet that is often bare and I hear, "there's nothing to eat but random stuff..." Oh, someday I hope to have a larger one or perhaps one that is laid out a bit nicer, to achieve better harmony in my kitchen. :)  So this "random stuff" is what Feast on the Cheap calls a "well-stocked kitchen".  I was very excited to run across this "well-stocked kitchen" idea as it helps me justify better some of my odds and ends things in the cabinets. haha. so thanks to the mother-daughter duo of Mariel and Mary Anne from the Feast on the Cheap blog, as they were my feature for this month's Secret Recipe Club. Earlier this year, they featured my 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe here with the SRC, so I was happy to finally return the favor back to them. 

 I had a few recipes in mind for this month's assignment, so I went rummaging through my pantry to see what I could do... I was making myself a quick lunch with the kiddo, so I wanted something small, quick, yet lunch worthy..  I went back and forth between the Gourmet Pizza and those Brussels Sprouts. It came down to time, and finally realizing, I don't think I have pizza dough in my freezer anymore, so the Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Garlic won. 

Mariel mentioned it would be a good Thanksgiving side dish with a healthier twist, and oh I'd totally agree... I thought it was good as a small lunch or meal just by itself,  however, my little guy was not as excited about them as I was. My youngest took one bite and was like "no thank you" - so we try, that was good, as hopefully the flavors and textures will grow on them the more and more they "just try a bite." So I guess, it's ok as it was more for me to enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Bacon and Garlic

adapted recipe slightly from 

http://feastonthecheap.net/roasted-brussel-sprouts-with-crispy-pancetta-and-garlic/

Ingredients: 
2 pints (about a pound) of brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half
4 ounces of bacon or pancetta, diced
5 tbsp of olive oil (I used a roasted garlic grapeseed oil.)  
2 tbsp white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio.)
5 cloves garlic, sliced
pepper to taste

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare brussels sprouts by trimming of the bottom end of the sprout and then slicing each one in half. Next, in an oven-safe sauté pan, heat the oil until it is hot and then lay the brussels sprouts, cut side down in the pan. Reduce the heat slightly, and add in the diced bacon, sliced garlic, and white wine. Cook until they begin to brown slightly on the bottom, about 5-8 minutes. Next, transfer the oven-safe sauté pan to the oven. Roast for about another 15 minutes or until the bacon is nice and crispy and the sprouts have a nice brown coloring and are fork tender. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Just a few ingredients needed to make some big flavors!

Everything getting all toasty in the sauté pan on the stove.

Next, it heads straight into the oven for more roasting. No extra dishes or pans to clean-up when you use an stove/oven-safe pan! 

Finished product of Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Bacon and Garlic 

A little dish of crispy, salty, savory deliciousness.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Caprese Bites

Yummy note:
This month's Secret Recipe Club selection was amazing. Everything on the Authentic Suburban Gourmet's website was just picture perfect. Lisa is one of these people I would love to go over to her place and visit with, and or course, be one of those lucky guests to be invited to one of her festive dinner parties. She has had her blog up for many years now, starting back in 2009, and her photography skills have always been pretty top notch which truly makes her blog so appealing. I often look back at my fellow bloggers at their earlier years, as you can see how they progress and how the blog changes, especially in the digital age, people often switch to different photography styles. But Lisa's is picture perfect- since the beginning, so hats off to Authentic Suburban Gourmet. I mean she has dishes on there that I'm not a fan of, and typically wouldn't eat, like these Deviled Eggs, but the way she photographed them, made me want to try it out almost! The eggs looks so dreamy like frosting!  I knew I wanted to feature something from her Friday Night Bites series, as she had several delectable recipes that I had a hard time selecting from. So I did what any of you do, and try out a few :) I'll feature the Caprese Bites recipe, with some inspiration from this recipe as well, as my kids like pepperoni better than salami. 

Caprese Bites

original located here 

http://authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com/2010/11/caprese-bites.html

Ingredients: 
12 small mozzarella balls
12 basil leaves
12 slices of pepperoni or salami
12 cherry tomatoes
24 toothpicks
Extra virgin olive oil Sea salt or Fleur de sel

Directions: 
Cut the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half, the short direction. Then, slice the basil leaves in half lengthwise. Finally, cut the pepperoni and/or salami in half. Next comes the assembly- Put the cherry tomato next to the mozzarella ball, it should form like a small ball when put together. Next wrap the half basil leaf and half salami or pepperoni around that. Secure caprese bite with a toothpick. Continue to assemble bites. Once all are assembled, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt for tasting. This makes about 24 appetizers.
 
Yummy Note:
I had some fresh basil growing abundant in my garden patio planter, so I thought this was a perfect fit for this caprese bites recipe. 

Some more basil hanging out on my windowsill. Did I mention I really like fresh basil? ;) 

The key players - mozzarella, little cherry tomatoes, basil, pepperoni or salami, a quality extra virgin olive oil, and some sea salt. 

Look at these fresh ingredients, ready to be assembled into a delicious appetizer.

Now the tricky part, wrapping the basil and pepperoni/salami around those little buggers!

All cute, almost too cute to eat. Ok, really, it's ready to be devoured :) Finish off with some evoo and sea salt.

An InLinkz Link-up

Avocado Cup Salad

Yummy note: I am so excited for this month's Secret Recipe Club, as it is my first month with a new to me group of bloggers. In the past year and a half or so, I have been blogging with a great, group B, but I thought a nice change up was in order with the new year. So I offered to switch it up and move to another group, and I got to move to group C. I thought this might be my chance to see some more great food bloggers out there better. I love seeing so many new sites for inspiration. So SRC group C friends, it looks like I am here to party with you now! 

For my first assignment with group C, I was assigned to The Ginger Snap Girl. Wow, what a great first impression of group C, as I just fell in love with Gloria's site. Gloria has such wonderful pictures on her site, that how can you resist not making a bunch of stuff from her blog as they all look so beautiful and tasty! She confesses that her favorite things to bake are cookies, and well, I can't disagree with that. Gloria has several chocolate chip cookies recipe variations on her site, that you must check out and see what kind of cookie fits your cup of tea. I love my cookies too, however, I am trying to eat a bit healthier. Shh.. don't tell anyone that I still love my desserts, and it seems I must eat something little and sweet after my evening meal or else I feel my day isn't complete. So fighting my urges to make these cookies, I went for the avocado cup salad; yes, I did it, I picked something lighter. :)  Oh, but it did not lack any flavor, as this salad was amazing; it had wonderful flavor, texture, and color. Definitely adding it to my rotation of salsas. 

Avocado Cup Salad

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of olive oil1 cup of fresh or frozen sweet corn about a half of a pepper, diced (The Gingersnap Girl recommended using a red, yellow, or orange pepper, However, I used red and green peppers, diced, as that is what I had on hand.)
2 roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro (Adjust accordingly, from 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons to your liking.)
2 limes
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into thin strips (about 2 cups)
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
The original recipe called for these ingredients, which I did not use in my recipe. I didn't have them on hand, but I’m sure it would have added extra crunch and flavor! 
1/2 of a green chile or jalapeno, finely diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
tortilla chips, broken into pieces

Directions: 

For the salsa part, heat a pan or skillet with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. Add in the frozen corn, peppers, and the optional chile. Saute for about 10 minutes or until veggies begin to get tender or begins to have a roasted appearance in the pan. Set aside in a small bowl to cool. Begin chopping the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Once the roasted corn, pepper, and chile mixture has cooled slightly, add in your chopped tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Take the juice of one lime and pour over the salsa and stir.

Next, prepare the jicama slaw by peel the jicama and chopping it into thin sticks. Place the jicama in a bowl and toss in a pinch or so of chopped cilantro. Take the juice of your other lime and pour over the jicama and cilantro, and mix until nicely coated.

Prepare your avocados by slicing them in half, and then peeling and pitting them.

Assemble your plates starting with the jicama slaw on the bottom layer, with the half avocado next and then your beautiful salsa on top. Top each salad with a sprinkle of green onions and crushed tortilla chips. 

The Ginger Snap Girl said you can serve 4 side salads with this dish, but I liked it for a main meal dish, so I split it between 2 dishes. I served mine with a simple sauteed shrimp dish and it was a delicious pairing.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Yummy note:  I have enjoyed an Asian flair lately in my cooking. Usually once a week now, in my meal plans I have started to incorporate an Asian night. I'm not sure if it is the easy to toss ingredients together to make something delicious, or if it is healthier, or perhaps it has to do with it is really easy to make dairy-free for my family. I find these Asian Lettuce Wraps great to make as a main meal dish. They are fairly quick to make and I often have almost all of the staple ingredients in my cabinet which makes for an affordable meal. I hope you enjoy these lettuce wraps as much as we do.



Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

a head of lettuce (or about 10 lettuce leafs)

1 lb ground turkey, beef, or chicken

a handful or about a cup of shredded carrots (optional)

about a cup of diced mushrooms

1/2 white onion-chopped (I often use dried onion flakes or powder if not available)

2 tbsp garlic minced

1 small can water chestnuts, chopped

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable or sesame oil
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

handful of thin sliced green onions, optional

Directions:  

Brown the meat. Then add in onion, garlic, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, soy sauce, vinegar, and red chili pepper flakes.  

After the carrots and mushrooms begin to soften, add in hoisin sauce, green onions, and extra oil if needed. Cook until mixed together and green onions begin to wilt, just for a few minutes really.

Serve in large lettuce leafs like a wrap or serve in a tortilla shell too if you wish. 

To garnish you can also add in fried thin rice noodles to the top.