Brussel Sprouts Recipes

These two brussel sprouts recipes are each quite different, so hopefully one or the other will please your family. Learn how to cook brussel sprouts and a little brussel sprout nutrition while you're at it.

Brussel Sprout Nutrition

These tiny cabbage cousins don't always enjoy the best reputation -- perhaps it's the sulphurous odor as they're cooking -- but they are nutrition packed and make a very satisfying vegetable side dish.

• Brussel sprouts recipes are good sources of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
• They also contain a quite a bit of potassium and folic acid, as well as fiber.
• Calories, of course, are not much of a concern: about 35 for a 1/2 cup serving.
• B sprouts, like cabbage, are praised by nutritionists for their cancer fighting properties.

How to Cook Brussel Sprouts

You may find brussel sprouts available year round but they are at the peek of their growing season in the fall. Here's some tips for preparing your brussel sprouts recipes:

• Look for fresh, vibrantly green sprouts. Avoid those with brown spots, yellow leaves, or that have a strong odor.
• Store them unwashed in the vegetable bin in your refrigerator in an airtight plastic bag. They'll be fresh for about three days like that.
• To prepare, cut the stem off of the sprout, but not so short that the leaves fall off. Remove any yellowed or dried leaves.
• To clean them, submerge the brussel sprouts in vinegar water to eliminate any insects that might be lurking in the leaves. Rinse abundantly with clean water.
• To make them more easily digested (some people complain that brussel sprouts give them gas or a bloated feeling), blanche the brussel sprouts by placing in boiling water for several minutes, discard the water, rinse the sprouts in cold water, and then cook them according to your brussel sprouts recipe.
• To get them to cook more uniformly you can cut an x in the bottom of the sprouts, or if they are large, cut them in two.
• Brussel sprouts can be steamed, boiled or braised. They are done when you can poke a fork through them. They should still be a lively green color -- if they've turned army green, you've gone too far.

Here's a stick to your ribs side dish. Serve it with oven roasted chicken smeared with honey and mustard for a great taste combination.