Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

I love roasted vegetables! Here's a simple recipe if you like brussels sprouts and honestly, even if you're not sure if you like them, you will be eating them up after you make this dish.

Ingredients:
1 lb bag of Brussels Sprouts (Trader Joe's has them pre-washed) - halved lengthwise
6 Small Portobello Mushrooms (Trader Joe's has these packaged) - sliced
4 Tbsp of Butter or Vegan Margarine
1-2 tsp of Rosemary Leaves
2 tsp of Garlic Powder
1/4 cup of Olive Oil
1-2 tsp of Salt
1-2 tsp of Black Pepper
1/4 cup of Water

Preparation is key for this recipe to work under 30 minutes. First, pre-heat your oven to 450º, meanwhile halve your brussels sprouts and place them in a baking pan or sheet. Take the olive oil and spread evenly across your sprouts. Take 1-2 tsp of salt and sprinkle evenly over the sprouts. Do the same for garlic powder and black pepper. Place pan in oven. Bake for about 20 minutes.

While your sprouts are in the oven. Slice your mushrooms. Heat your pan with 2 Tbsp of butter or margarine. When butter starts to melt toss in your sliced mushrooms. Cook until covered in butter or until soft. Toss in rosemary, salt and black pepper to taste. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Take an additional 2 Tbsp of butter and melt in the pan again. Stir until well mixed. Pour in water. You'll want to make a sauce out of this so the dish won't be dry.

Once the sprouts are finished in the oven... (they're done when you see them begin to caramelize.) Yum! you can take them out of the oven and taste test it as well. When you're satisfied, take the sprouts and place them in the pan with the mushroom sauté. Make sure you have enough sauce so that your dish doesn't wind up dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Finish by serving over a bed of rice! (I can't believe how good this is...) Oh and if you want to get adventurous add fried onions. Heh.

Portobello MMM-Mushroom

These portobello mushrooms complimented my asparagus recipe very well. Steve, my favorite guest chef, made the mushroom side and I made the asparagus side. (We stuck to the 30 minutes rule).

Required: Portobello mushrooms, Spinach, White onion, Cayenne pepper, Vegetarian oyster sauce, Canola oil, Salt, Corn starch

Optional: Asparagus (see asparagus recipe), Olive Oil, Garlic, Sea salt, Basmati rice

Slice 2 large portobello mushrooms into thin strips. Chop half of an onion into small pieces. After the basic preparation, place about 1-2 Tbsp of canola oil into a medium-sized skillet at high heat. Toss in all of the mushrooms first. Stir. Throw in the onions too. Stir. Add a pinch or two of cayenne and black pepper to taste. Also add in about 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce. Check consistency of sauté. If it's too watered down you'll want to add in some corn starch to absorb the liquid. Stir again. Save the spinach for last. Once you add the spinach you'll want to turn down to medium heat.

Be sure to keep moving and stirring the sauté.

If you get super ambitious, you can try cooking the asparagus while you make this mushroom dish. The two compliment each other very well. MMM!