Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Feta

We have a winner from Thursday's giveaway!

Thanks all for linking up!  Speaking of Thanksgiving…

I'm going to be blatantly honest here:  I felt kinda sick on Thanksgiving.  I had a sore throat and generally yucky feeling.  Therefore, the idea of eating Brussels sprouts…well, it doesn't sit well with me.  I honestly don't know if I'd be willing to eat them again, simply because we relate memories/feelings to food.  However, Scott loves them…and some of you do too.  I think that this recipe needs to be shared simply because it's a festive way to prepare these little mini cabbages (That's just what they look like to me).

I never had Brussels sprouts before this Thanksgiving and when I asked Scott if he'd ever had them, he looked at me like I was crazy.  Apparently, he used to buy frozen steam-in-bag Brussels sprouts all the time.  In college, when he lived on his own, etc.  I do find it interesting that, after 5 years of marriage, I never actually knew this.

Everyone always talks about how they're trying to get past their childhood's version of Brussels sprouts.  I suppose some of your parents used to boil sprouts and make you eat them?  Mine never did. I'm assuming that this may be because they themselves don't like this particular vegetable because, goodness knows, they tortured me with everything else they could find:  tuna, beets, meatloaf.  Blech.

So I went into this recipe without any Brussels sprouts background and, really now, I only set the smoke alarm off once, so I suppose we can count it as a success.

I think this would make a perfect side dish for Christmas or any fancy holiday meals you have coming up.  Roasting them really brings out the flavor makes the edges nice and crispy.  I used convection to roast so, after the smoke alarm went off, I switched to a much lower degree setting.  I would go with 400 degrees for a conventional oven or 300-350 on convection.

I thought the outside leaves were crispy and yummy.  To actually eat a plate of Brussels sprouts…well, I don't know if I'm there yet.

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry and Feta
makes 4-6 servings (depending on how much you like Brussels sprouts)

20 Brussels sprouts, halved
Olive oil
Sea salt

3/4 cup craisins
3/4 cup crumbled feta

After washing, drying, and halving your sprouts, toss them in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast for about 20 minutes (see above temperatures).  You're looking for the outer leaves to be golden brown and crispy.  Let cool.  Toss them into a serving dish with craisins and feta (or any other kind of fancy cheese) and serve warm.

{Healthy} Cranberry-Orange Scones

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                                    Happy Hunger Games!

Are you going to fight the crowds today???  I might wait 'til Sunday... 

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These scones were quite delicious and I had the dinner of champions on this particular Monday:  Cranberry-Orange Scones and booze.  Boozey Strawberry Slush to be exact.  I'll get around to that recipe one of these days.  It was really good.  Something tells me it would have been even better if I had fresh limes...

I didn't particularly feel like baking on this day, but I had bought the buttermilk and the orange over a week before and I really needed to use up those ingredients.

So.  I adapted a recipe.  I mixed.  I baked.  I tasted.  Perfection.  I went on to enjoy three of them with my strawberry slush.  At 4pm.  Like I said, dinner of champions.

Then I arranged some scones on a plate and picked up my camera.  No memory card in it.  Okay, I must've left it in my computer.  Oh.  It's not there.  Well.  Now what?  I ripped this place apart, couch cushions included.  I checked the pockets of everything I had been wearing for the previous 3 days, even though I knew, *I KNEW*, I was just using it the night before and thought I had left it in my computer.  So either the Toshiba ate it, or someone broke in and took only an SD card with pictures of food on it.

It's particularly unsettling when  you lose something you know you just had.

I went to Wal-Mart and shelled out $10 for a new one. 

That night, as I was climbing into bed, there was my memory card.  Underneath my comforter.  How that happened, I'm still not sure.  I'm glad it happened though because: #1 Now I have a back up memory card.  #2 I didn't lose the pictures of the milkshakes and quesadillas I had taken the day before.

 I really don't need another excuse to make more milkshakes..

Cranberry Orange Scones
makes 10-12 scones, depending on size
adapted from skinnytaste.com

*I got the idea to adapt this recipe because I made some delicious orange scones a few years ago.  They were a Food Network recipe, and used tons of butter.  This recipe actually tastes better than that one.*

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1 egg
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. orange extract
1 T. orange zest
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1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup craisins
1 egg white
sugar for sprinkling

In a bowl, whisk the buttermilk, extracts, egg, and zest.   In another larger bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender (or use two forks).  Fold in the craisins.  The mixture should be crumbly.
Slowly add the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Form into a flat disk, like a thick 9-10" pizza.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Cut into wedges (10, 12, it really doesn't matter).  Brush with the egg white and sprinkle with some sugar (about 2 teaspoons).
Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown.  Mine took 18 minutes.
After cooling, scones can be stored in a tupperware container for up to a week.