Not yo mama's brussels

Ok, so first let me start by saying that I am the *the* pickiest eater. I don't like things simply if other people don't like them. So I guess you can say that I never gave brussels sprouts a fighting chance.

Then one night, at dinner with some friends -- they came as the side with hubby's entree. He didn't have a choice of sides and I am soooo incredibly glad! They were crispy, crunchy with just the right hint of flavor. I was instantly obsessed. Lucky for me, the girl we were with happens to be a personal chef and am amazing cook, and she had a recipe for me! I couldn't wait to give it a try :)

You will need:

Brussels sprouts (obviously) I always make more than I think I will need because I always eat more :)
Olive oil
Minced garlic
Salt & Pepper
Balsamic glaze -- I love the one from Trader Joe's

Now - I use my cast iron skillet to make these, they just get so much crispier.

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

2. Trim the ends, and cut in half length-wise, don't worry if some "leaves" fall off when you cut them

3. Heat up your skillet to medium-high  with some evoo and minced garlic in the pan

3. Add your sprouts and stir them around until they are bright green!

4. Transfer the whole skillet to the oven -- and roast them for 15-20 minutes, or until they are crispy. You can also stir them around once or twice so they are evenly crispy.

5. After you remove the skillet from the oven, transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

This recipe is adapted from Bobby Flay's "Roasted Brussels Sprouts" recipe -- he adds pancetta to the evoo and garlic mix and it is ahhh-mazing that way as well. I just don't always have pancetta on hand, so I usually make it without. You can find that recipe here.

After several months of making them this way, I found a new recipe on (where else?) Pinterest and made it tonight! ohmygosh --- so excited to share it with y'all. I did adapt this slightly because I didn't have ricotta cheese, but I think I liked it better this way.

All my ingredients 

Trimmed and sliced in half length-wise

Blanching them for a couple of minutes -- to get that bright green color

After they are blanched, they are super easy to core out -- perfect for stuffing!

Don't waste the insides! Chop them up really fine, and pan fry with garlic and evoo

In the bowl is the chopped sprouts, mixed with mozzarella, parmesan cheese, a tad bit of milk and broth

Stuffed and ready for the oven!!

Roasted to perfection!

All done!!! Drizzled with balsamic glaze :)

I took this recipe from here  and I want to make sure that credit goes where it's deserved :) These were so amazing, and while a little bit of prep went into making them, it is WELL worth the time! 

So tell me -- do you have a favorite way of making brussels sprouts? I'm excited to get my hands on more recipes!!