Gettin’ Busy in the Kitchen

Hi, guys! Happy Monday!

I’ve been gettin’ busy in the kitchen since I got home from work. Not that “gettin’ busy” (wink, wink ). I’ve been cooking and baking in the kitchen for the past couple of hours. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Lunch

My day at NuVal flew by too! I love it when Mondays do that!

While working away, I munched on some strawberries and an Oikos Greek yogurt.

Don’t forget to enter the Healthy Start Giveaway. You have until tomorrow morning!

Dinner

I was so busy this afternoon, I didn’t end up eating an afternoon snack, so I made dinner early. I threw together a big salad with all sorts of veggies, leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, Dubliner cheese, and balsamic vinegar.

It was a GREAT salad– delicious and filling!

I also ate a bowl of Braised Brussels Sprouts in Mustard Sauce with dinner. Sound fancy, right?

The recipe is from the November issue of Shape magazine– and it was AWESOME! Lots of mustard-y flavor mixed with a mild sweetness. Delish!

Braised Brussels Spouts in Mustard Sauce

From Shape magazine, November 2009

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound brussels sprouts
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Cut off base of a sprout with a sharp knife. Slice a piece from one side of the sprout. Place it cut side down and cut it crosswise into about 5 slices. Repeat with all of the sprouts.*
• Heat in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat for 1 minutes. Add olive oil and swirl to coat skillet.
• Add shallots; sauté for 2 mintues. Stir in sprouts, salt (if using), and 3 tablespoons water; spread everything evenly across the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine mustard, brown sugar, and remaining water in a small bowl; stir until blended. Once sprouts have cooked for 5 minutes, pour mustard mixture over them and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover, cook for 3 minutes, then stir. Remove from heat or, if you prefer, cook for 5 minutes more– the sprouts will get browner and more intensely flavored. Server hot or warm with black pepper.

Nutrition score per serving (1.25 cups): 120 calories, 4 g fat, <1 g saturated far, 17 g carbs, 4 g protein, 57 mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 683 sodium.

* I just cut my brussels sprouts in half.

Dessert

For dessert, I baked some cookies! I swear I must have been the Cookie Monster in my last life!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Makes 15 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups old-fashion oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*F.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well until batter is blended evenly.
• Use a tablespoon to portion cookies on a greased baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
• Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes.
• Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.
• Eat and enjoy!

The flavor of these cookies was excellent– slightly sweet with a spicy ginger kick to them, but the texture wasn’t quite right. They were chewy, but not cookie-like. They were actually sort of rubbery. Next time, I’ll have to add some canola oil or butter to the recipe.

Update on 12 Days of Giveaways

I can’t believe that the 12 Days of Giveaways starts tomorrow! It’s sort of like Christmas Eve for me! I love making people happy, so giving people free stuff is always fun for me!

So, there’s been a few changes to the 12 Days of Giveaways since my first post. I had planned to have just 12 giveaways, but now it looks like there will be more than 20! So, I’ve decided to extend the giveaways to December 23 and hold some of them on the weekends. And, as I previously mentioned, there will be more than one giveaway on some days. Now you guys really need to check back often!

Open Sky Promo

Open Sky had an ENORMOUS response to their $25 off coupon promotion! In fact, so many people took advantage of it first thing this morning, the coupon code has now expired. However, the nice folks at Open Sky intend to offer some other promotions to restore any damaged goodwill, so be sure to keep a look out for future deals.

Tagged as: Braised Brussels Sprouts in Mustard Sauce