A Can of Carrots

Tad better of a Tuesday. The news was good on all accounts. The workout was good. Shane was happy. Ted, his usual cheerful self. The weather outstanding. Our little world is good. So blessed. 😎

The workout: 26 minutes running on the treadmill. 45 minutes of a grueling weight workout. My sadistic husband was in the gym bright and early to make sure I wasn’t slacking off. It was a heavy day for chest and biceps. Shane and I went for a 3.35 walk/jog. 🙄

Eats in green and orange.

I don’t know how some food items make there way into our pantry. It tends to happen when my parents visit. The other day, while putting groceries away, I came across a can of carrots. “Hmmm”…I thought. “What do I do with a can of carrots?” Well, I could use it for a food drive. But 1 can? No. I’ll wait until I have several items then make my donation.

For tonight’s vegetable, I decided to use that can of carrots. I’ve never had canned carrots before, a new experience. I decided mashed would be the way to go. But we couldn’t just have one can of mashed carrots. We had to have something much more enticing to the pallet.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts over Spiced Carrot Puree

The Brussels

1 lb Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBS minced dried onion
salt and red pepper to taste
1 TBS toasted pine nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Heat about 1 inch of water in a pot, bring to a boil and add your brussels. Boil for 5 minutes, just to soften. Drain and dry.

Place prepared Brussels in a baking dish lined with foil. Drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle on the garlic and the onion and your salt, pepper. Stir it all up to make sure every Brussel half is covered.

Place in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes.

In the meantime, toast the pine nuts on aluminum foil in a toaster oven for about 3 minutes. Watch VERY carefully. They go from brown to black in a jiff!

Puree of Carrots

15 oz can sliced carrots (or use fresh – simply cook to soften)*You could add another can of carrots without adjusting the spices if you wish.
4 oz vegetable broth (or chicken if you use it)
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black ground pepper
pinch salt
1 TBS SmartBalance (or use butter) – room temp.

In a pot on the stove, heat the carrots in the vegetable broth just to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes.

In a small cup, mix the SmartBalance (or butter) with the all spice, pepper and salt.

Drain the carrots and puree.