Fried Matchstick Carrots

Fried Matchstick Carrots

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. I suspect that you already have your main dish planned. Turkey or ham or maybe both, right? And you’re having stuffing and rolls and some sort of pie? But what else are you having? I’m giving you another quick and delicious side. Fried Matchstick Carrots are so very easy. And surprisingly wonderful.

When you are making these be careful. Because the carrots are so full of water when you place them into the hot oil, the oil will bubble up. Fill the skillet less than half way with oil. Don’t catch your kitchen on fire!

Finally, you could buy carrots and julienne them or you could save yourself a great deal of time and buy matchstick carrots. I cannot even tell you how cutting them yourself will change the recipe. There was no way I was going to do all that work.

Servings: 4-6

Time: Active: 10 minutes; Cook: 10 minutes; carrots in less than 10 minutes

Hardware: Measuring spoons, a small bowl, a small rubber spatula, a skimmer (spider web), tongs, a very deep skillet or a deep fryer, an oil thermometer, a paper towel covered plate, and a serving dish

Ingredients:

• 3-10-ounce bags of matchstick carrots
• 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon dried orange peel
• ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• Oil for frying

1. Using the rubber spatula, mix the thyme, sugar, orange peel and salt into the softened butter. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil to 375˚. You may need to cook the carrots in batches depending upon the size of your skillet. Carefully place the carrots into the oil. Be careful, as the oil will boil up. You may need to use the tongs to spread them out. It only takes 3 minutes or less to finish the carrots.
3. Place the carrots onto the paper towel covered plate. As soon as they are cool enough to touch toss them in the serving dish with the herbed butter.

 If you like this recipe try
 Roasted Carrots

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Peas

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Peas is another easy recipe for Thanksgiving. We all loved macaroni and cheese as kids, right? Nothing could be more comforting than all those carbs! This dish is the grown-up version, which is just as comforting but with the added goodness of peas. And bacon, because everything is better with bacon.

I used smoked Gruyère because I wanted a rich, sharp, smoky flavor. However, Gruyère isn’t cheap. You can substitute with smoked, sharp cheddar. You can also do both.

If you hate onions, then leave out the onion powder. If you love onions and don’t mind doing a little more work, add a quarter cup of diced yellow onion instead. Cook it with the bacon.

Finally, not everyone loves peas. I don’t understand that. The love of my life HATES peas. We try not to talk about it. If, like my husband, peas aren’t for your family, you can substitute broccoli. Get a small steam-in-the-bag package of broccoli and place it in a bowl of very hot water. Then put the broccoli into the colander just before draining the pasta. Drain the boiling pasta over the broccoli and follow the rest of the instructions. OR just realize that you can’t please everyone, so you might as well please yourself and use the peas.

Servings: 6-8

Time: Active: 10 minutes; Cook: 20 minutes; yumminess in about 30 minutes

Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a whisk, a wooden spoon, a large pot, a sauce pan, a skillet, a colander, a paper towel covered plate, a bowl, a large mixing bowl

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Peas

Ingredients:

•  ⅓ cup crumbled smoked bacon (about 5 slices)-you can use more
• 16 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• ½ stick butter (¼ cup)
• ⅓ cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• 3 cups shredded cheese (12 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup frozen peas
• Fresh black pepper

1. Put a large pot of salted water onto boil for the pasta. Cook the bacon and set aside onto the paper towel covered plate. Place the frozen peas in the colander and rinse. Place the rinsed, frozen peas into the smaller bowl.
2. Cook the macaroni according to package directions.  
3. While the macaroni is cooking, melt the butter in the sauce pan on medium and then whisk in the flour and onion powder. You are now making a roux. Continue to whisk until the roux is a golden color.  This should take about 5 minutes. Whisk until the mixture has no lumps.  Slowly stir in the milk.  Allow the milk mixture to reach a simmer, but DO NOT BOIL.
4. Add the shredded cheese, soy sauce and salt to the milk mixture and allow the cheese to melt. Stir often. This should take about 5 minutes.
5. Drain the macaroni and fold it into the cheese mixture.
6. Fold in the peas (don’t worry if they are still frozen) and crumbled bacon. Generously top with as many grinds of black pepper as you can stand. Serve warm.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Preparing Thanksgiving dinner is like participating in a triathlon, non-stop cooking for three days. So, you should choose your side dishes not only for how tasty they are, but for how easy they are to make. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta is both crazy easy and crazy good. Five ingredients and the ability to chop veggies is all you need. Well, you also need patience to not eat all of these before you get them to the table.

Prep time will increase if you don’t have a food processor. However, you may be able to find the Brussels Sprouts already shredded in the produce section of your grocers’.  In which case, your prep time will decrease to almost nothing.

I usually give you suggestions for changing up my recipes. Not tonight. This is perfect. Even people who don’t love sprouts will love this dish.

Servings:  6-8

Time: Active: 5-10 minutes; Cook: 30 minutes; sprouts in about an hour

Hardware: A food processor, a knife and cutting board, a large mixing bowl, measuring spoons, a rimmed baking sheet, foil, a spatula

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Ingredients:

• 1-pound Brussels sprouts 
•  4 ounces pancetta-sliced thick (you can substitute bacon)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375˚. Line the baking sheet with foil.
2. Using the food processor to slice the sprouts and garlic. Dice the pancetta.
3. Toss the sliced sprouts, garlic, pancetta and olive oil together in the big bowl.
   Spread the mixture out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Roast for 30 minutes. Toss after 20 minutes and lightly salt. Return to the oven and continue to roast until desired tenderness.
5. Serve warm.