Balsamic Roasted Veggies

Last night I grilled chicken, made balsamic roasted vegetables (on the grill!), and black bean spaghetti. It was delicious!

Olivia is away at camp, and Sophia had leftover pizza, so dinner was a breeze. Andy spent the week with my brother in Conway while he was attending classes in Little Rock, so I was happy to make him dinner. I was excited to serve a non-picky-eater when I remembered Andrew doesn't like brussels sprouts!

DANG.

Just kidding! I decided to mix it up a little bit. Normally I roast them in the oven and serve them with red pepper, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and parmesan cheese. DELICIOUS! Only, its just the sprouts and I think that may be why Andy doesn't like them very much. Too sprout-y. haha! I made little tin foil packets and roasted them on the grill with different flavors and he really liked them!

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

12 brussels sprouts, halved

1 cup sweet corn

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

crushed red pepper

sea salt

black pepper

local honey

Once you've halved your sprouts, peel off the first 2-3 layers from each, and lay everything on your tin foil. Roll up the edges of the foil to create a sort of "tray" to hold your liquids in. Add the drained corn, oil, and vinegar. Sprinkle with the spices to taste, and then drizzle the honey over the top (optional). Roast on the top rack of your grill for about 10 minutes, and then move to the bottom rack for 3 minutes, or until sprouts are desired level of "roasted," (I like mine pretty crispy). Once they're finished, you can drizzle with a bit more honey to make them sweeter if you wish.

Best Damn Guac

Avocados.

You love them or you hate them. Until a couple of years ago, I hated them. Sometimes, when they're too mushy and I try to eat them any other way besides guacamole, I still hate them. GAG over that texture!!

Last night I had some leftover spicy chicken soup (I made extra last week and froze individual portions for easy dinners this week!) for dinner, but my problem is.. I love a CRUNCH. I normally top the soup with avocado slices but my avocado was a smidge overly ripe for me. So I threw some kale in the oven for kale chips & made some guacamole! I felt rather lazy so I didn't chop up all the fresh ingredients I normally would.

Lazy Lady Guac is what I should have named this. haha

For this super easy guacamole, I only used 1/2 an avocado (it was all I had leftover from the previous day).

1/2 avocado

6 grape tomatoes

1/8 tsp garlic powder (I didn't measure but this is approximate)

1/8 tsp onion powder (I didn't measure but this is approximate)

1/8 tsp seasoned salt (bet you can guess what I was going to type here)

1/2 tsp freeze dried chives

sea salt & black pepper to taste

generous dousing of lime juice (1/2 a lime)

Mix everything together and Voila! you have super fast, easy, still delicious guacamole. I normally add fresh cilantro but I was out, so I just went with extra chives. 

For my kale chips:

place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, seasoned salt, honey, and crushed red pepper. Bake until crunchy at 300 degrees.

Perfect snack for any time!!

xo