mama mel's super easy rice pilaf and kristen's grilled brussel sprouts

After my traumatizing revelation (on my birthday of all days), I regained the resolve to get my body back. Believe it or not I was not always the blob you all know and love-I did have an actual figure at one point. I just love food WAY too much and don't love the gym enough.

So last night I decided that grilled chicken was the way to go. Mr. Wonderful thinks I'm weird, but I was raised that a meal consisted of a protein, a vegetable, and a starch. So I put him in charge of choosing the veggies and picked up some lovely chicken breasts and the fixin's for my mom's rice pilaf. Once you try this you will never make it from the box again. Although this is the recipe I learned-I would imagine you can make it with any ingredients you want-the technique is all the same. I didn't think to take pictures until the end so you're gonna have to use your imagination on the prep steps.

Momma Mel's super easy rice pilaf (serves 2-4)

1/2 lb Crimini mushrooms (Liss, I'm sure you could sub zucchini or artichoke hearts for these. If you play around let me know what you come up with.)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic-depending on how big they are
2 stalks celery, diced (optional-but I like the crunch and texture they add.)
Rice prepared according to package directions (I use brown minute rice because of my inability to not burn regular rice)
Olive oil (my mom uses butter cause she's old school, but I'm trying to keep it figure friendly)
salt and pepper (S&P)

Prepare rice according to directions. Set aside.

Heat medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, add a few tablespoons olive oil (I usually go around the pan once or twice), and a pinch of salt. When oil is warm-NOT hot, add onions and celery. Sweat onions and celery until they are tender-we aren't using these in a white sauce or soup, so if they have a little color, that's ok. You just don't want them sauteed. Once onions and celery are tender, add mushrooms, garlic, and a little more S&P* to pan. I usually need to add a little more olive oil to cook the mushrooms, but this is all to taste. (Cook's note on garlic: be VERY careful when you're cooking garlic as it burns in the blink of an eye. I always add it very last regardless of what the recipe calls for and NEVER cook it over high heat. Try to keep it on medium to low whenever possible.)

Once mushrooms and garlic are cooked, push all veggies to the side and add rice.
heat rice through and add a little color with the residual oil in pan, then combine with veggies. Taste for seasoning, add more S&P if needed.

This dish is great with poultry and pork. Even BETTER on the next day.

Cook time: 20 minutes if you're using minute rice.
Mr. Wonderful rating: went back for seconds

*Most people wonder why their food still tastes bland although they follow the recipe. The secret is to taste and season your food with each step (unless you're dealing with raw meat-duh). The goal is to build flavor as you go. I add salt and pepper with each step rather than a ton at the end. You're cooking-it's allowed, even expected that you're tasting and checking for seasoning as you go.  No one likes to serve a dish when they don't know how it tastes. As long as you're tasting it you can tweak it however you need to. Always start small and build. Anyone who's over salted a dish will tell you that you can always add more, but once you've gone too far you're S.O.L.



Brussels Sprouts get a bad rap. They are one of my favorites and not just for Thanksgiving anymore! I cook these several ways, but Mr. Wonderful managed to find HUGE ones I decided to grill them instead of caramelize them on the stove like I usually do. They turned out so well I may just I refuse to put my grill away so I can make them outside for a while. If you don't want to grill 'em outside you can use your grill pan.

Kristen's Grilled Brussels Sprouts
*you can make as many or as little of these as you like-it's pretty impossible to mess this up.

Brussels Sprouts (I usually can't find them in bulk so I have to buy them in the 1-2lb prepackaged mesh bags. Those usually yield 2-6 servings depending on how much you serve and if you have to fight to keep the grazers at bay like me.)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon pepper
2-4 Tbsp Olive Oil

With a paring knife prep sprouts-trim bottoms (be sure to only cut off a little, you want them to stay together) and remove any wilted top leaves. Using a prep knife cut in half length-wise-you can use the paring knife to cut them if they're small, but I always recommend using the right tool for the job at hand.)
Place halves in a colander and rinse quickly with cool water and drain.
Put oil and S&P in medium to large bowl and lightly whisk together (keep in mind you will need room to toss the brussels sprouts).
Place drained sprouts in bowl and gently coat with oil mixture, adding more oil if necessary-they should look wet but NOT saturated-you are only adding enough moisture so they will steam as they are on the grill.
(Be careful with the sprouts as they will fall apart if you toss too hard-some leaves is normal-I always taste those to make sure my seasoning is on.)

Place sprouts cut side down on the grill and cook over medium heat. You want grill marks on the cut ends so
only turn once*. These will burn quickly so you will have to baby sit them.
Remove from grill and serve or you can add grated Parmesan/Romano cheese if you're feeling extra scandalous.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Mr. Wonderful rating: I have to threaten him with his life to leave leftovers for lunch.

*Cooks note: I prefer my vegetables to still have a little bite to them once they're done, but if you prefer a softer veggie do a quick blanch before you coat in oil and put on the grill.