Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic (No knife required)

This evening, I injured myself while attempting to cut up a small chicken. I was working on a how-to video, and then my husband came in, not realizing that I had the camera on. I was giving him the “quiet, please,” face, instead of watching what I was doing. The knife slipped…and there you go. And now I have the whole thing on video. Fabulous.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Inspired by my mishap, I decided to share an extremely easy and knife-free recipe that uses only 5 ingredients (plus one optional), and is quite healthy.

Two out of three of my kids even like these. That’s about as good as we ever do in our house, since the youngest is the pickiest person I've ever known.

These sprouts are very forgiving. I have put them in the oven right before going out for a run, and returned later than I expected to find them darker than I anticipated, but just as delicious. They pair well with anything robust or tomatoey. However, in our house, we normally eat them right off the roasting pan as soon as they are cool enough to touch. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 lb. Brussels sprouts

(I like the pre-washed bag, but the long stalks with the sprouts still attached also look very cool).

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Dried flaked red pepper

Optional: 4-5 whole cloves of garlic with the papery peel still on

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F

Set out a broiler pan, roasting pan, or other large, shallow pan.

Place the sprouts in a mixing bowl. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil over the sprouts. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (probably about ¼ tsp each, depending on your tastes). Add the dried red pepper flakes to taste. I like my sprouts spicy, so I use about ¼ tsp.

If desired, add the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves. Swirl the bowl around so that the sprouts roll about in the oil and seasonings. Pour the sprouts onto the baking sheet. Roast them in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the outer leaves turn very dark and are nearly black. They might look close to burned, but the olive oil should keep them from drying out.

When the sprouts are done, remove them from the oven. Pull out the garlic cloves, and squeeze the gooey roasted garlic out of the papery skin and onto a small cutting board. Roughly chop/mash the garlic goo, then return it to the pan with the sprouts, stirring the two together before placing them in a nice serving dish and taking them to the table. (Or eating all the sprouts right off the pan like vegetable addicts)

Note:

This is not a good dish to make the first time you have a new guy/girl over for dinner. The sprouts will make your house smell like farts for the first 20 minutes they are roasting. I know that’s not very ladylike, but I thought you should know. 

Gluten-free banana nut pancakes for one or two

Every once in a while, when we get the kids off to school, my hubby and I have a quiet morning in which we get to eat whatever we want. If I have a few bananas hanging around, I love to make these flourless banana-nut pancakes. They are pretty small, but the nuts make them rather filling.

One of two small pancakes

Notes:
Keep the skillet on medium-low heat. Because of the natural sugars from the banana and the coconut flour, the cake will brown quickly. If you use high heat, the exterior will burn before the inside sets.
Since these pancakes have no gluten or xanthan gum holding them together, they can be crumbly. Take care when flipping.
This recipe may be doubled if you have 2 bananas, or if you are very hungry.

Makes two pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. gluten-free vanilla
• 2 tbsp. Bob's Red Mill almond flour
• 1 tbsp. Bob's Red Mill coconut flour
• 1/8 tsp. gluten-free baking powder (omit this for a Paleo option)
• 1 tbsp. chopped walnuts or pecans



Mash the banana with a wire whisk

• coconut oil

Directions:
Mash in a small bowl
1 ripe banana

Separate one egg. Add the yolk to the mashed banana.
Put the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer with the wire whisk blade attached.
Beat the egg white on high speed until soft peaks form.

Add to the banana-egg yolk mixture:

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form

1/4 tsp. gluten-free vanilla
2 tbsp. Bob's Red Mill almond flour
1 tbsp. Bob's Red Mill coconut flour
1/8 tsp. gluten-free baking powder (omit this for a Paleo option)
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts or pecans

Gently fold the egg white into the banana-egg-nut mixture with a rubber scraper, folding until the white is well incorporated. Do not overmix (that would deflate your egg whites)

Preheat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add and allow to melt:
1/4 tsp. coconut oil

Spread the batter around with a spatula

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the skillet. This batter is thick--you will have to spread it around with a rubber scraper to make a flat pancake shape.


Cook the pancake on medium-low heat until bubbles form in the top surface and do not immediately close up with batter, about 4 minutes per side. Gently flip the pancake with a spatula. As you start to slide the spatula under the cake, take a peek at the bottom side. It should be a rich dark brown before you attempt to flip.

Before cooking the second pancake, add another 1/4 tsp. coconut oil to the pan. It helps with flipping.

Top with pure maple syrup and enjoy immediately.