Homemade Lasagna and Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Tomorrow is a special day for my boyfriend - and for me. He starts a new, fantastic, awesome and promising new career. So today was mostly about him!

This morning I got up and ran some errands, dropped Dogwood trees off to my friends out in the country and let Miss Weezer play with their cute little girls. When we got home, it was time to get all the laundry ready for the week and make the boyfriend a special dinner!

He has been bugging me to make lasagna for a couple of weeks now and with the discovery of a TON of Oregano growing in our herb terrace, I figured tonight I would spoil him rotten!

And since I visited with Ciscoe yesterday morning, I thought I'd make my yummy Brussel Sprouts and share the recipe! Try them - I promise, you'll LOVE them!

Bon Appetite!

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1/2 - 1 lb. Brussel Sprouts

(get the smallest ones you can find, they're more tender)

1 Medium Shallot

3 Large Cloves Garlic

Olive Oil

Butter

Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Onion Powder

Fresh Rosemary & Sage - Adjust to your taste

Trim remaining stems off the Brussel Sprouts and cut in half. Mince shallot and crush garlic with a garlic press. Heat olive oil & 1/2 tbsp. butter over medium low heat. Softly saute 3/4 of the shallots and garlic until just translucent. Add Brussel Sprouts, 1 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. pepper & remaining shallots then turn heat up to medium.

Start browning the Brussel Sprouts until they are crisp and getting dark. Once the pan shows all the little brown bits on the bottom, it's time to deglaze. Add 1 shot glass worth of water to the pan, then immediately cover with a lid. This not only deglazes the pan, but also steams the Brussel Sprouts so they are slightly softened.

Once most of the water has steamed away, remove the lid and add your finely chopped rosemary and thyme. (Don't overdo the thyme - or it will taste like Thanksgiving!)

Then turn up the heat to medium-medium high. Now what you want to do is really roast those Brussel Sprouts, get 'em dark & crispy, but make sure not to burn them. Once they are dark, golden brown and as tender as you prefer, they are done! YUM!

Now serve them with the lasagna and you are golden!

I'm sure you have a favorite Lasagna recipe - I just made mine, which I love because you don't have to precook the noodles. I'll post the recipe for that soon. Enjoy!