Brussels Sprouts Chips

ETA on 10/18/12:  I've made this numerous times since my initial post, and I've found that low and slow is the way to go.  300 degrees F for 25 - 30 minutes allows for most of the leaves to dry out and get crispy before anything starts to burn.  I left the original recipe as-is, but am including this update at the top.

So y'all know how much I love my kale, and kale chips are one of my fav ways to prepare and eat them.  It was just a matter of time before I'd try "chipping" some other leafy green.  Tonight's "chipping" experiment: brussels sprouts.

I was just going to roast them up for dinner, like I usually do, but these sprouts were huge (~3")!  Much larger than the small 1" - 2" ones I normally buy.  So the big leaves got me thinking about chips.  When I roast them normally, some of the outer leaves always fall off and crisp up anyway, and they're yummy, so why not a whole pan (or two) of them?

I removed the outer leaves of all my brussels sprouts, about halfway into the core.  I put all the "hearts" back in the fridge to roast for another day.  I took all the outer leaves I'd removed, washed and dried them in my salad spinner, and prepped them like I do my kale.  I roasted them for a little less time than kale only because the leaves are smaller than my kale pieces tend to be.

The verdict:  they were yummy, but not as evenly crisp as kale chips, most probably due to the thicker bottom-middle stem parts.  The thinner parts browned before the thicker parts could crisp up.  Also, because brussels sprouts leaves are very curved, the tops tended to also brown before the bottoms.  They were still delicious, though, enough so that I would definitely try this again, maybe tweaking oven temps and cook times to see if I can improve on the "chipness" factor.  Oh yeah, and don't season as liberally as you would kale.

Oh, and the 3-year-old ate a handful and demanded more.  And more.  And more.

Brussels Sprouts Chips

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of large brussels sprouts
• olive oil in a mister
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• grated parmesan

Directions:

• Remove the large outer leaves of the sprouts.  I removed leaves halfway to the core.  (Put the "hearts" back into the fridge for another day.)  Wash the outer leaves and thoroughly dry them in a lettuce spinner or by spreading them onto a few paper towels on your kitchen counter.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 2 baking sheets lightly with olive oil.
• Spread the sprouts leaves out on the baking sheets in a single layer.  Spray the tops lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or your other favorite seasoned salt, or just plain kosher salt).  Grate some parmesan over the whole thing, as much or as little as you like.
• Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the leaves are mostly crispy and some parts are lightly browned. 

Fettuccine with Chicken and Mushrooms

At the local Asian grocery store yesterday I found some gorgeous oyster and trumpet mushrooms.  (I was actually looking for shiitakes, but none were to be found.)  Sprouts had a sale on whole wheat Delallo pasta last week and I'd picked up a bag of fettuccine, so fettuccine with chicken and mushrooms it is.  I LOVE mushrooms, so I put a lot in.  Feel free to use less (or more!).

Fettuccine with Chicken and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound whole wheat fettuccine noodles
• 1 tablespoon Smart Balance
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used equal parts oysters and trumpets tonight)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 teaspoon-ish dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon-ish dried oregano
• 1/2 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1/2 lemon

Directions:

• Prepare the pasta to al dente according to package instructions.  Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta liquid, and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the Smart Balance on medium-high heat and saute the shrooms with the spices and herbs for a few minutes until the shrooms begin to soften.  Add the chicken and continue to saute until cooked through. 
• At this point the shrooms had released about 1 cup of liquid in the skillet, which was perfect.  If your shroom/chicken mixture seems a little dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.  Sprinkle a tablespoon of whole wheat flour into the skillet and stir for a minute.
• Add in the cooked pasta and spritz with the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Toss and serve.

Shrimp Jambalaya

We spent the day celebrating Mardi Gras at Disneyland, so I felt like throwing together some jambalaya for dinner.  I made it up, so it's totally not authentic, but it was easy and good in a pinch.  If I had chicken or sausage on hand I would have added some.

Shrimp Jambalaya

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• a few dashes of cayenne pepper
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Directions:

• In a large pot, saute the onion, bell pepper and celery with the garlic and all the spices for a few minutes on medium heat until the veggies soften.
• Add in the rice, tomatoes, chicken broth and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 45 - 50 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.  If the jambalaya is still too liquidy at this point, continue to simmer, uncovered for 5 - 10 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates.
• Add the shrimp and cover the pot.  Cook for another 4 - 5 minutes until the shrimp are just done.  Adjust spices as necessary.
• Stir and serve.