Balsamic & Bacon Brussel Sprouts

I have a confession to make.

Up until this past weekend I had never eaten a brussel sprout.  My mom never made them growing up and I guess I just never got on the bandwagon.  They've gotten a bad rap over the years, but lately you are seeing more and more recipes for them - and I kept thinking, "why aren't I making these?"

I put them on the grocery list {even the husband asked why I included them} and thought I'd give them a shot.  I was watching the Cooking Channel the other day and they were preparing them this way....a way that looked delicious to me!

Pan seared with bacon then drizzled with a balsamic glaze.

Don't need to tell me twice!

Just look at the crust on those babies!  I'm pretty sure the reason people often turned up their noses to these baby cabbages was because of how they were prepared.  Doing a simple boil and butter method, often gives you a bland and rubbery taste.

But searing them and letting them caramelize and adding BACON and a sweet reduction, well, that just gives them a completely different taste.

Give these a shot.  The husband and I loved them.  Unfortunately the kids turned up their noses {I'll keep trying}.  They are an easy side dish to compliment any meal.

Balsamic & Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Print this Recipe!

3 c. trimmed and halved brussel sprouts
3 strips of bacon, diced
1 c. water
1 c. balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

1.  Rinse the brussel sprouts under cold water.
2.  Trim off the ends and halve.
3.  In a large skillet cook the diced bacon until crispy.  Remove from the pan to drain, but keep the drippings in the pan.
4.  Keeping the skillet hot, place the halved brussel sprouts face down in the pan.  Cook until bottoms are seared and brown.
5.  Add in 1 cup of water, cover with a lid and let the brussel sprouts steam for 1-2 minutes.  Remove the lid, drain off the water and turn down the heat to low.
6.  Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, pour in the balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil.  Let this boil and reduce down a more than half, until vinegar has reached a syrup consistency.  About 5 minutes.
7.  Pour the balsamic syrup back over the brussel sprouts and top with the cooked bacon, season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm.

So, so, good!  Put these in your side dish dinner rotation.  Stat.

I teased you on an earlier post about how I have some big news coming.  I still do!  Just a little life changing event in our lives.  Stay tuned, I have a few more posts I need to crank out first.

On Wednesday, I'll be sharing two recipes from the Life Time Foundation out of Des Moines, Iowa.  March was National Nutrition Month and I've partnered with them to show families just HOW EASY it is to feed your kids healthy, nutritious food {in this case breakfast foods} without breaking the bank.  And I'll be giving away some of their product.

Then after all of this - I have yet another giveaway for some great spice blends, a super easy recipe for Strawberry Cheesecake Quick Bread and much, much more!

I hope you are all excited about this as much as I am.  I appreciate ALL of my readers and glad you are here with me on this journey.