Brussels Sprouts w/ Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pecans

I'm in the middle of a junk food detox. I LOVE Buffalo but every since moving here I've put on a few pounds because Buffalonians love everything I love - beer and anything fried. It's delicious but it's gotten to the point where I need to realize I don't have to have it all the time. LOL Anyway, I've started looking for healthier recipes that actually taste good. I'll tell the guys "ok, I'm going to try this tonight" and then they next day I'll tell them honestly if it was worth it. So why not share with everyone? My problem is always having eaters remorse. You go through all this work to try something new and it turns out being totally tasteless and not worth it. So I'm going to take that element out for you! Here's to a healthier 2017!

My favorite way to cooked Brussels sprouts is with bacon. The more bacon the better, but obviously you're pretty much taking all the healthy aspects out of the sprouts. I found this recipe in a 15 Minute Meal Weight Watchers magazine. I'm not currently doing Weight Watchers, but they do have some pretty good recipes! I love the sweetness of dried cranberries, they're a staple in my salads. So I thought lets give this one a try. I'm going to be honest, I would much rather have the Brussels sprouts with bacon...hands down. However, this isn't the worst thing in the world. There are layers of flavor and a nice crunch from the pecans. You're not just eating soft, one decisional sprouts.

Will I make this again? Absolutely. I love brussels sprouts, so that helps too. I will say maybe try this with your kids first to see if they like it before introducing them to holy grail of Brussels sprouts with bacon. They'll never want to go back!

Brussels Sprouts w/ Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pecans

1/3 cup of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
12 ounces Brussels spouts, Trimmed and Quartered (I halved mine)
2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted (toast in a hot, dry pan for about 2 minutes)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Put the oil and water into a large skillet and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling place the Brussels spouts in the pan, salt and pepper a little and cover. You'll want to cook these until the water is almost gone and the sprout have a light brown color on them. I did notice that you can't just lift the lid to stir the Brussels sprouts so they don't brown on just one side. I had to use a dish towel to hold the lid down and so a shake to the pan. Just BE careful! This step should take around 6 minutes or so. Once cooked, add the cranberries, pecans a little more slat and pepper and cook for about one minute more, stirring it all up. Once you know its heated all the way through you're good to go! This is a really simple dish.

This serves 4 and should take you about 10-15 total. The serving size is 3/4 cup and is 136 calories. If you're on Weight Watchers, it's 4 Smartpoints!

If you give this a try you will have to let me know how it went! Also, if you have any good recipes I would love for you to share them!