Brussels Spout Slaw with Walnuts

I'm determine to incorporate brussels sprouts into my weekly menu! Why? The answer is simple, I read somewhere that brussels sprouts help with cancer prevention. While I'm not the type of person to be SUPER careful about what I eat and don't always eat healthy foods, I will try my best to keep my meals nice and balanced. 


We've been eating a lot of asparagus lately so switching it up with brussels sprouts was a change I was ready to embrace. This slaw was surprisingly tasty for a cold dish. My brussels sprouts are usually sauteed or roasted so I didn't know what to expect. I think many of you will be surprised as well with this tasty version that I found in Bon Appetit. I changed it up a little and used walnuts instead of pecans and I sliced it thinly as I didn't have a food processor to slice the sprouts for me. 


This is also another dish you can make ahead of time to take to a dinner party or when you're hosting one at home as the longer it sits in the dressing, the better it tastes!! So go to the store and pick some up and start fighting cancer!!

Brussels sprout slaw with walnuts

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of walnuts

- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning

- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

- 1/4 cup whole grain dijon mustard (regular dijon mustard was just fine)

- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon of sugar

- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

- 1.5 lbs of brussels sprouts, trimmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. 

2. Whisk maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add walnuts, toss and coat well.

3. Spread in a single layer on a piece of parchment paper (or foil) lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, stir. Continue to make for another 6 minutes until the glaze is bubbly. Take the nuts out of the oven and let cook completely. This can be done ahead of time. 

4. Whisk mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. 

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous about of salt. Add brussels sprouts. Cook until they are crisp but tender (about 5 minutes). Drain. Rinse with cold water. Cool on paper towels.

6. Slice into 1/4 inch disks and transfer to a large serving bowl. Cover and let chill in refrigerator. 

7. An hour before you are about read to serve, toss brussels sprouts with enough dressing to coat (not all is needed). Let marinate for 30-60 minutes. Mix in nuts. Enjoy!!

Maple Soy Salmon

My Maple Soy Salmon recipe is even easier than my "fan favorite" salmon! I really like making salmon for dinner because people are so impressed when they see salmon and it's much easier to cook than most meats. Make the sauce (2 ingredients), marinate for 30 minutes, place on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. That's it, I mean does it get any easier than that!?


The real reason why I make salmon is simple: 1) it's healthy, gotta get those omega 3's when you can 2) baking this gives me more time to socialize with my friends.


If you are uneasy about what kind of salmon you should pick and what size would be appropriate for a group of 4-6, please go talk to the seafood guy/girl as they are very knowledgeable and can explain the difference. The seafood guy at Whole Foods was great cause he already had 6 ounce pieces ready to go and the pieces were all the same size, so I know it all will be cooked correctly at the same time and temp.

Marinaded for 30 minutes and ready to be baked.

Baked and ready to eat!

Maple Soy Salmon
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup GF soy sauce
- 4 6-ounce pieces of salmon
- salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Mix maple syrup and soy sauce in a pie dish, place salmon flesh side down in marinade, marinate for 30 minutes. Make sure you turn the salmon a few times during the 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven at 400 degrees. 
3. Take salmon out of marinade and place on foil lined baking sheet. Salt and pepper each fillet.
4. Pour marinade into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer afterwards and let it reduce slightly.
5. Bake salmon for 20 minutes. 
6. Place salmon on serving platter and drizzle marinade from saucepan over cooked salmon, serve and enjoy!