Hiding in Brussels

I left work early today with a blinding migraine so I came home and slept (for 2 1/2 hours, dang it Billy for not waking me up!!) When I woke up, I felt MUCH better and had plenty of energy since I slept half of the day away so I got to work on this week's meals.

Tonight, for dinner, we had baked chicken with oven roasted Brussels sprouts and "mashed potatoes." The "mashed potatoes" had a mixture of regular baking potatoes and parsnips. It's one of those hidden foods recipes and I wanted to give it a try. I had never had parsnips or Brussels sprouts, so tonight was uncharted territory for me.

I took the sprouts and washed them

Cut the ends off and peeled off the outer layers
Placed them on a pan, drizzled with olive oil and sea salt and baked for about 45 minutes at 350. (this turned out to be too long)

Here are the potatoes and parsnips. I didn't even know what parsnips looked like. Luckily, these things are labeled for idiots like me in the grocery store. I got the recipe from a book called Clean Foods, by Terry Walters. The book is really interesting. It gives recipes by seasons, so you know that what you are buying and eating is in season. I modified her recipe a little bit but she deserves the credit.

The parsnips smelled like gingery carrots. They are root vegetables in the carrot family so that makes sense. They had a weird, waxy outer cover.

I peeled and chopped the parsnips and potatoes and put them in boiling water until they were tender (just like you would for regular baked potatoes).

Then I mashed them with some sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, almond milk and a TEENY bit of light sour cream to make them smooth. I also added some garlic salt, but just salt to taste. I have a salt addiction. I need to seek treatment.

They look just like the real thing...

Here is the finished product. I don't know how to turn the picture because I am am idiot. As you can see, the Brussels sprouts are a little overdone. I think I was so terrified of them that I wanted them to be crispy. Mission accomplished.

The verdict:

The sprouts were a little too crispy, but they were surprisingly good. I would eat them again. The parsnip potatoes were DELICIOUS!! Seriously, they were so good. The meal was quite delicious, especially when you got a bit of chicken, potato and sprout all on the fork at once...it was a divine combination. (I know some of you weirdos don't like to combine your food, but it was so good).

Billy didn't even notice that the potatoes had hidden scary vegetables. I eventually told him, but only after he had tasted them and said they were good. Yesss.

I also made some fresh Zucchini for Carter man. I just steamed the zucchini and pureed it. It was a little bit watery, even though I didn't add water. Perhaps I shouldn't have peeled them first? Oh well. He hasn't eaten them yet but he has been enjoying the green peas I made for him on Saturday.

I also prepared tomorrow night's meal tonight, because I have a late consult and will be home too late to cook. We're having lentil enchiladas, inspired from the recipe I got from peasandthankyou.com. Pictures and review to follow.