Brussels Sprouts Awesome – Fall Edition

This is a very similar recipe to the Broccoli Sprouts Awesome recipe.  The difference is that it focuses on some more Autumnish flavors, meaning Thanksgiving leftovers are ingredients here.

Ingredients

1.     3 cups shredded brussels sprouts. (You can either take a long time to do it yourself, or pick up two bags at TJ’s or whereever)
2.     5 ouces of diced Thanksgiving turkey (or turkey breast if you don’t have leftover turkey)
3.     2 ounces of unroasted pepitos (these are shelled pumpkin seeds)
4.     2 ounces of monterey jack cheese (shredded works well, sometimes I dice it into 1/2″ by 1/2″ squares, that’s fun too)
5.     2 tablespoons of vegetable broth
6.     1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

Recipe

1.    Put the pepitos in a large frying pan on medium heat.  This is a way to get some of the oils out of them, which gives it a bit of a nutty flavor in the overall dish.  The way you can tell if they are done or not is to smell them.  If you are about 2 feet above the pan and it smells nutty, it’s done.  If you are the bathroom and they smell nutty, they are overdone.  Toss them and start over.  There is no timing this as pepitos are not uniform in size.  They are done when the smallest one is done, not when the largest one is done.  You would rather have 75% underdone pepitos and 25% perfectly done pepitos, than the other way around.
2.     When you smell the nutty smell, pour the veggie broth, turkey and paprika all in.
3.     Saute all for about 3 minutes, then add all the brussels sprouts in.  (you see why you needed a medium saucepan)
4.     Brussels sprouts are done when they are done. Mine usually take about 8 minutes of stirring fairly often.  But brussels sprouts can be finicky and are awful when overcooked.  Do your best.  They do not need to be soggy to be done.  A bit of crunch is desirable.
5.   Cut the heat and stir in your cheese.  Some people stir it in to melt it, some people cover it and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Either way is fine.  I like to stir it in so it gets all melty and awesome.

Let me know what you think of this variation.  We cook with brussels sprouts a lot and find them to be a hearty and great substitute for a starch in a dish.  This dish also works well with cauliflower as the base as well.  (Riced of course)