Now that we are firmly in resolution territory….brussels sprouts and kale for everybody!

Amirite? Or amirite? Great!

As already discussed, I am one of those suckers that looks forward to January 1st for that giant, metaphorical reset button. In life, in health, in food.

I mentally press it with all my might the second I pop out of bed New Year’s Day and get excited to start eating super cleanly again, as though I needed permission to do so.

This salad is decidedly virtuous. I get a straight up health high knowing how good it probably is for me. Between the sprouts, the ever true health beacon that is kale, and the endless pops of anti-oxidants as I chew down on those pomegranate seeds. Oh MAN! I am so good at being healthy!

Please don’t hate me when I post so many salads over the next coming weeks. I’ll come to my senses eventually and balance all this clean eating shit out with some sort of sinful something.

I promise. <3

Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons of maple syrup

squirt of mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

1 pound brussels sprouts

½ bunch of kale

½ cup of toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

seeds of 1 pomegranate

¼ cup of shredded parmesan

Directions:

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, syrup, mustard, salt and pepper together until combined. Set aside.

Thinly shred brussels sprouts (the easiest way is to use a mandoline) and chiffonade the kale leaves by destemming them, layering them on top of one another and then rolling them up into a long tube. Cut across tube to create thin strips of kale.

To assemble salad --- toss brussels sprouts and kale with hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds and parmesan. Drizzle dressing on top and then gently toss again to coat evenly in dressing.

Serves 6 as a side.

Here’s my dilemma: It’s 8:05 on a Sunday night. I’ve just spent all day testing recipes and the majority, failed. Or it was all desserts. This means...I still need to make dinner without much time to make things or maybe even the will to make anything else more complicated.

On days like this I usually fall back on my lazy girl dinner, which is meatloaf. And my other secret weapon is the fact that, on Sunday mornings -- we eat bacon.

After I finally got my act together and learned that making bacon in the oven is actually, the best, I now always end up with sheet pan of bacon drippings on Sundays. This means that without fail, whatever languishing vegetable is in the crisper drawer gets tossed in a coating of bacon fat, salt, pepper, and whatever else seems like a good idea and thrown into the oven for 40 minutes.

This dish is salty, spicy, and a bit sweet --- the sprouts get crispy, the squash rings chewy --- it is all the things. I’d love to tell you I made a beautiful roasted chicken or perfectly seared steak to go with these.

But what I really did was #putaneggonit. (and it was glorious.)

Welcome to “What I Really Eat”, the series.

Now this is not to say that I wouldn't routinely eat the things I post up on here. If I've spent Sunday testing something that we can eat for dinner, then of course, that’s what’s on the table.

"What I really eat" are my "Iron Chef" meals. My pantry meals. Shit, my fridge is empty meals. The things that come out of necessity and lack of time. The ingredient list will usually be small and the execution usually simple. Something that is less of a recipe and more of a guideline. If something exceptionally awesome comes out of my Sunday night scramble, it will get posted as a “What I Really Eat” and probably be accompanied with a not-my-best photo.

We can’t have it all.

Roasted Sprouts & Squash

Ingredients:

1 pound brussels sprouts, halved

1 to 2 delicata squash, sliced into ¼ inch rings -- seeds scooped out

drizzle of olive oil or if available bacon grease

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

chili powder to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

On a large sheet pan that has hopefully been recently used to cook bacon, spread out the squash rings and sprout halves evenly. (If bacon grease is not available, just drizzle well with olive oil)

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of maple syrup over vegetables, then season with salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste. Give the vegetables a quick toss to coat in the syrup, fat, and spices.

Roast in the oven for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, tossing occasionally so the veggies caramelize evenly.

Serves 4 as a side