Brussel Sprouts I Actually Want To Eat

I always thought I didn't care for brussel sprouts until I finally tried making them.  I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit that sounded intriguing so I decided to try it (with some tweaking of course).  The brussel sprouts turned out amazing and they have now become a side dish staple at our house.  Our dad even requests them at summer BBQs (odd but we are happy to oblige since it is such a tasty dish).

Side note: the pre-chopped Volpi pancetta is one of my favorite products.  You can find it in the cheese/prepared foods area of both Schnucks and Dierbergs.  The nice thing is that it comes with two individually wrapped packages of pre-chopped pancetta so you can use it for another meal as well.  We enjoy the pancetta (after being cooked) mixed in with our scrambled eggs!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. EVOO (divided)
• 1/2 pkg. of Volpi Chopped Pancetta (found in prepared foods area of Dierbergs and Schnucks)
• 1 pound Brussel Sprouts (look for firm sprouts that feel heavy for their size)
• Cut off the root end.
• Peel off one outer layer of leaves
• Rinse
• Chop (just make a mess, they taste better in smaller pieces we think)
• Kosher Salt (to taste)
• Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
• Granulated Garlic (to taste)

Heat 1 tsp. EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the pancetta and cook until  the fat has rendered.  Drain the pancetta on a paper towel lined plate.  Add 1 tsp. EVOO to the same large skillet over medium heat.  Add in the brussel sprouts and stir to coat.  Stir occasionally for the next 10 minutes.  Season to taste with kosher salt, ground black pepper and granulated garlic.  Stir to combine and re-add the pancetta.  Cook an additional 5 minutes then serve warm.

Mom's Pasta Salad

If someone asked Josie and me what one dish we think of when we think of summer I know that both of us would 100% answer our mom's pasta salad. Our mom made this pasta salad all summer long whether it was for a pool party we were hosting or for a BBQ we were attending. I may be biased but I think this is the best pasta salad in the world.

Mom's Pasta Salad Serves a large crowd!

• 1.5-2 boxes of Tri-Color Rotini (I use Barilla, has never failed me), cooked, drained, rinsed with cold water. DO NOT OVERCOOK or you will get mushy pasta salad and no one wants that.
• 1 packaged sliced Pepperoni, slice in half
• 1/2 of a large red onion, diced into tiny pieces
• 1 jar of Artichoke Hearts, chopped (I usually buy the jar where the artichokes are soaked in olive oil and Italian seasoning)
• 1 pint of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on preference
• 1 small can of sliced Black Olives
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese 
• 1 small jar of diced Pimentos (you will only use about 1-2 tablespoons of these)
• 1 bottle of semi-homemade Italian Dressing (We ALWAYS use the Good Seasons dry Italian dressing mix. You can buy 2 packages of the mix and it comes with the dressing container. I swear it is delicious.)

All of the ingredients.

The hardest part of this pasta salad, and it really isn't very hard, is just preparing all of the ingredients. Get the pasta cooked and cooled. Chop the onion, slice the pepperoni, slice the tomatoes, chop the artichoke hearts....you're done! Place the pasta in a very large bowl and prepare to add all of the ingredients.

Everything all prepared and ready to be mixed.

I usually wait to mix everything until 30 minutes-1 hour before I am going to serve it. I like to add everything but the dressing and cheese to the pasta and mix. Then I add the bottle of dressing and the cheese and mix again. A full bottle will work for 1.5-2 boxes, use less for 1 box of pasta. 

The pasta salad half eaten, I forgot to take a photo 'till after people ate, oh well!

The great part about this pasta salad is that it tastes amazing as left-overs! Joe and I ate some for dinner the night after (and a few noodles for breakfast, shhhhh). If you invite me over, can I please bring the pasta salad?

Summer Veggie Tian with Lemon Pepper Tilapia

The other night Josie came over for dinner and we were both really craving veggies and fish. If you have the same craving I would highly recommend the meal we made. We slightly adapted the recipe from Saveur Magazine.

Summer Vegetable Tian - Serves 6 as a Side Dish (great as leftovers)

• 1 medium eggplant, peeled
• Salt
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Pepper
• 2-3 medium zucchini, sliced diagonally (to make larger)
• 4 ripe farm grown tomatoes, sliced
• 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into as many thin pieces as possible
• Baking Dish
• PAM
• Have Oven Preheated to 400 degrees.

Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes then place in a colander in the sink. Generously sprinkle salt all over the eggplant and let sit for at least 15 minutes to drain the bitterness out of the eggplant.

Cook the onions in 3 tablespoons of EVOO in a skillet over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Then add garlic, salt and pepper to the onions and cook for at least 2 minutes, until you start smelling garlic and before the garlic turns brown. Spray your baking dish with PAM and add the onion/garlic mixture to the dish.

Onions and garlic cooking away!

To the same skillet add 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO and keep over medium heat. Squeeze your drained eggplant to get excess liquid out of the eggplant. Add the drained eggplant to the skillet and saute for about 8 minutes, until soft, season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked eggplant to the onion/garlic mixture in the baking dish and stir to combine.

Eggplant added to the onion/garlic mixture in the baking dish.

Arrange the zucchini and tomato slices in overlapping layers in the baking dish over the eggplant/onions/garlic. Top with 1-2 tablespoons EVOO, Italian Seasoning, and Salt and Pepper.

All the veggies layered up. Josie did a fabulous job with this!

Bake the dish (400 degrees) for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add the fresh mozzarella slices on top of the veggies. Put the dish back in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Everything tastes better with CHEESE, our finished veggie tian.

With the veggies we decided to serve a very easy to prepare fish, tilapia. We thought that lemon pepper would be a nice flavor next to the veggies. Be prepared for the easiest fish recipe ever.

Lemon-Pepper Tilapia - Serves 3 (me/Joe/Josie)

• Baking Sheet
• Aluminum Foil
• 3 fresh tilapia fillets (less than $7 for all 3 at Schnucks that night)
• 3 teaspoons EVOO
• 1 tablespoon (more or less) of Lemon Pepper Seasoning (I buy it in the shaker of the seasonings, very easy to shake on)
• Have oven preheated to 400 degrees (already done with the veggies)

Lay a large piece of aluminum foil on the baking sheet, this means NO CLEAN UP, so I would highly recommend this step. Place the 3 tilapia fillets on the foil. Add 1 teaspoon of EVOO to each fillet. Rub the EVOO over the top and bottom of each piece of fish. Shake the seasoning in an even light layer over the top and bottom of each piece of fish. Place the baking sheet into the oven and leave it there for 15-20 minutes, I find that 17 minutes is basically perfect. The fish is ready to serve nearly immediately.

Our yummy dinner. We didn't even miss a large carb side, we all were very full after this meal!

This was a great, fresh, summer meal. Of course we needed a tasty beverage with our meal and one of our favorite summer beers is the O'Fallon Wheach beer. It is a wheat beer with peach flavor from O'Fallon, MO and hit the spot!

The best local summer beer!!