Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mustard Vinaigrette

Creating an easy, tasty and very elegant side dish is easier than you might think. Brussels sprouts receive a bad rap, but given a fair shake, these may become your “go-to” favorite side dish. They are mine! This particular recipe, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows), is free of all the recognized allergens plus gluten.

Tell me! Doesn’t get much better than that, now does it?

Onion and Mushroom Gravy

Longing for some of that comfort food your mom made for you when you were growing up? If you answered yes to this question, you are not along. Okay, let's through nutrition to the wind for just a moment, although there are remarkable amounts of trace nutrients in this simple dish. We all sometimes have a hankering for comfort food that just plain ole' soothes the sole.

This Mushroom and Onion Gravy recipe just happens to be one of those. The first complete meal my sweetie ate being "glutened" from Snyder's of Hanovers Restaurant Style Corn Tortilla Chips was the one you see in the picture above. 

I made a basic hamburger steak with steamed broccoli on the side, per his request, and topped the hamburger steak off with this fab gravy that I promise you cannot tell from the gravy your mom made for you when you were a wee bitty thing.

This dinner hit the spot for him. Rick cleaned his plate which was reward enough for me.

Spaghetti Topped with Pan Fried Chicken and Homemade Marinara

This is a super meal for as few as one or multiply to accommodate a crowd. I typically put my chicken breasts in the marinade one night and then cook the next evening. The, from start to finish takes way less than an hour.

For those of you who are working, but want a good gluten free home cooked meal at the end of long day, this recipe just might be what you have been looking for.

Chocolate Pudding Topped with Pink Whipped Topping and a Chocolate Heart

Nothing says Valentine's Day like a chocolate dessert topped with a heart.

While this is not a stellar dish when it comes to nutrition, it does stand out in the crowd when it comes to pretty. Although it looks as though it takes a long time to make, it really doesn't. While the pudding is chilling, you can make the hearts and keep them in the freezer until show time. 

This dessert can be changed up for St. Patrick's Day by simply using green food coloring and a shamrock instead of a heart. So many possibilities! 

Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Risotto

When I cook chicken or turkey in any way, I typically plan to incorporate it into at least one other dish. This is a perfect example of using "planned over" chicken. I also roast a lot more vegetables than I need for the same reason. The prep time on this baby is somewhat deceiving; the recipe assumes you are starting from scratch. I had both my chicken cooked and my veggies roasted when I started, so my prep time was only a few minutes.

Pictured above is my complete meal which included Caramelized Mushrooms and Steamed Broccoli with Italian Dressing. A side salad rounded out the meal.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mustard Vinaigrette

When planning my menu for Christmas dinner, nothing I thought about or ran across for a green side dish sounded good to me. Most seemed rather mundane, certainly not something I wanted to serve to my guests. I was discussing my problem at a Christmas luncheon that was hosted by the owners of The Auburn Villager, the newspaper where I write a weekly column.