A New Art Form for the New Year

I've started this new year by introducing a lot of new things into my life and one of those things is experimenting with culinary arts. My sister has always been such an inspirational cook, creating so many wonderful organic meals from scratch for her family. I can see how it is truly an art form in itself and I'm enjoying the process as much as the end results.

I think my family is enjoying it too.

One of my first experiments was for our New Year's Eve dinner. I received some Pampered Chef microwave chip making trays for Christmas so I used them to create some Barbecue chips.

1. clean trays  2. cut potatoes into thin slices  3. Dry on paper towels (*important step: blotting the slices a couple of times to absorb moisture)   4. Add seasoning of your choice

 5. Arrange in single layer on tray  6. microwave according to instructions (*I added extra time in 30second incriments until desired crispiness was achieved without burning)

 7. Enjoy! (*We had ours with yummy angus steak burgers)

My next adventures came with the meals we created while Jeremy's parents were here visiting us for a few days last week.

Yummy parmesan crusted asparagus. *recipe adapted from: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/03/crispy-parmesan-asparagus-sticks/

Clean and break off the tough ends of the asparagus before dipping in egg whites and rolling in the parmesan bread crumb mixture. Then lay on a wire rack or broiling pan to bake in the oven.

 They came out perfectly crunchy and delicious (also great to dip in ranch, mmm). We had them with some amazing ribeye steaks that Jeremy and Monte cooked on the grill and baked potatoes and crescent rolls that Brenda made. Delish!

The next night I just had to try a recipe I found for brussel sprouts here: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/10/pan-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-brown-butter-and-toasted-pecans/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+howsweeteats%2FsmSp+%28How+Sweet+It+Is%29

I know, I know some of you are thinking "brussel sprouts? YUCK!" but wait.... don't knock it till you've tried them this way, seriously!

Clean and slice the brussel sprouts before pan roasting in olive oil. Note: I left out the onions listed on the original recipe and added a sprinkle of sugar while roasting. I also used 3tbsp of brown butter to drizzle over the finished dish. The toasted pecans were the perfect touch making this recipe a definite keeper for a side dish at our house. Yummo!

 We enjoyed this special treat with crusted tilapia. Yes, we will make this again for sure!

Finally we had to try creating the cabbage wedges that Brenda and Monte had heard about from aunt Mary.

Check out a recipe here: http://www.edesiasnotebook.com/2011/03/bacon-roasted-cabbage.html

We cooked bacon first and then used a little of the bacon grease to lightly brown each side of the cabbage wedges. Then we drizzled them with a little olive oil and bacon grease and sprinkled on some sea salt and cracked pepper before baking in the oven. They were topped off with the crumbled pieces of bacon and served with some great pork chops that Monte cooked on the grill.

I didn't really do too much with desserts this week (with all my new calorie counting and all) but I did try these little delights, inspired by one of my pins on Pinterest.

I cut strawberries in half and dipped them in vanilla yogurt and froze them.....

But they still needed something, so I added a second step. I drizzled chocolate almond bark over them, a necessary finishing touch in my opinion. They didn't last long.

Now after eating like kings this past week tonight's macaroni and cheese with tuna didn't seem so spectacular.

I hope I can find some creative ways to keep spicing up my kitchen creations without breaking the bank.
Wish me luck.

Oh, and feel free to share any recipes you think I should try.

I'll make it and you can come for dinner.... sound good.  ;)