Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples

If you are in need of a new recipe to liven up your Thanksgiving, look no further. Of course, I would also recommend the pumpkin pie ice cream, but a thoughtful host does throw in a vegetable or two.

We eat a lot of brussels sprouts so I'm always looking for new ways to prepare them. I combined a few of my favorite preparations in this dish: sautéed with bacon, and roasted with apples!  Bacon adds just the right amount of saltiness and the apples bring a little sweetness. It's a winning combo.

You can shave the brussels sprouts in a food processor, using the slicing blade, or on a mandolin, or you can carefully cut them by hand into very thin slices. 

This recipe comes together very quickly, especially if you cook the bacon ahead of time and save out a little of the grease. Then just saute as you put the other finishing touches together for your meal.  Or even easier, put someone else in charge of making this while you do something else!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Get more great ideas at Hearth and Soul, Inspire Me, Inspire Me 2, Fabulous.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples

1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced thinly
4-5 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
1 crisp, sweet apple, chopped (like Honeycrisp, sweet tango, or your favorite)

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate, and drain off all but 1 Tbsp. of the grease.  Heat the skillet to medium high heat and add the brussels sprouts. Cook and stir so that they are all coated. Continue to cook and stir for about 2 minutes, then add the apple pieces. Saute for another 2 minutes, then add in the bacon, stir to combine all ingredients, and serve immediately.  Serves 6.

Gingery Pork Ramen

I love making soups, especially ones that can be made in a flash for a weeknight. Recipes that dirty only one pot and are gobbled up by the whole family earn extra bonus points.

This is one such recipe. I haven't been cooking with ground pork for too long, but Egg Roll in a Bowl and the Green Bean Stir Fry have made me a convert. 

Ground pork combined with bok choy (one of the most underrated vegetables of all time, in my opinion) and ramen noodes in a gingery broth, makes a delicious, easy soup that can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. So when you drive home in a snowstorm, or the temps dip below zero, or you just feel like soup, I hope you'll try this. It's a fantastic way to get warm from the inside out.

Get more inspiration at Inspire Me, Inspire Me 2, Fabulous, Hearth and Soul, Tasty Tuesdays.

Gingery Pork Ramen

1 pound ground pork
8 cups chicken broth
1 pound bok choy, white parts thinly sliced, green leaves coarsely chopped
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. ginger paste
2 Tbsp. garlic paste or fresh chopped garlic
5 green onions (green parts only), sliced 
2 tsp. Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
2 (3 oz) packages ramen noodles, broken up (do not use flavor packet)

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, brown the pork over medium high heat until cooked through. Drain fat, if there is any. Remove to a bowl.

Add the broth, white parts of the bok choy, soy sauce, ginger, green onions and sriracha to the soup pot. Bring to a boil and lower the heat; simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the ramen noodles and pork and simmer for another minute. 

Turn off heat and stir in the bok choy leaves. Let sit for 2-3 minutes until noodles are tender.

Recipe Source: Noble Pig

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Thanksgiving is coming up and pumpkin pie is a traditional dessert at most family's tables. In fact, if I don't see a pumpkin pie, I get a little twitchy. I LOVE pumpkin pie.  But I am well aware that not everyone does - for most people it has more to do with texture than flavor. So, here's an idea for a great Thanksgiving (or anytime, really, let's be honest) dessert that I think everyone can be on board with, even if they don't like pumpkin pie.

This pumpkin pie ice cream is perfectly spiced and has just the right amount of pumpkin. But wait, there's more! Atop the ice cream sits beautiful, tiny pieces of pie crust studded with cinnamon and sugar. Can you just see how delicious they are? You certainly have the option of stirring in the pie crust with the ice cream as it churns, but that will (spoiler alert) lead to soggier pieces. I like my pie crust crunchy, so I just sprinkle the pieces on top of each bowl of ice cream. 

I've adapted Jeni's recipe for this ice cream (she calls for cooking a REAL pumpkin, but we'll used canned!) and as usual, it turns out perfectly creamy. The creaminess of the ice cream is a wonderful contrast to the crunchy crust pieces.  Time to get thankful. Time to make pumpkin pie ice cream!

There are more great ideas at Inspire Me, Inspire Me 2, Fabulous, Hearth and Soul, Full Plate, Tasty Tuesday.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Ice Cream:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup honey

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 cups whole milk

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Pie Crust:

1/2 of one store bought rolled pie crust, like Pillsbury (1/4 of the package)

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the ice cream: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp. of milk with the cornstarch to make smooth slurry. 

In a large batter bowl or mixing bowl with a cover, whisk cream cheese and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice and honey and whisk until combined.  

Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup  in a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat slightly and boil for 4 minutes.

Give the cornstarch mixture another good whisking, then remove the cream mixture from heat and gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry. Bring mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into pumpkin-cream cheese mixture until smooth. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the crust, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out the dough and place on a parchment or silpat lined baking pan. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then cut into small pieces (I used a pizza cutter) and store in an airtight container. 

To freeze the ice cream, pour the batter into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and churn until it reaches soft serve stage. Pack the ice cream into a freezer-safe storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours and up to a few weeks.

Serve the ice cream topped with pieces of the pie crust. Makes 1 quart.